A key decision in the development of a global delivery model will be the decision to outsource specific functions. There are a variety of reasons why a company may choose to outsource a finance process, including access to current technology, access to industry specific knowledge and ability to scale up capabilities without a large capital investment. A detailed business case detailing the reasons for the outsourcing decision should be created. The same hold true for the retained finance organization. There will be very good reasons why some finance processes will be retained in-house, including reasons related to governance and control.

However, despite the best efforts of the sourcing team to evaluate the overall delivery strategy in the captive vs. outsourcing decision, the reality is that conditions change and assumptions that were once thought reasonable are proved to be untrue. As part of the ongoing effort to maximize the effectiveness of the delivery structure, the Finance Management team should periodically reevaluate the need to outsource a process that was previously handled in-house. It may be that supplier capabilities have matured in that area or that competition among suppliers has pushed prices down further.

Keep in mind that the process works both ways. Sometimes an outsourcing relationship isn’t working out as planned and it makes sense to insource the process to provide better service. A company with outsourcing contracts should be continuously reviewing the suppliers performance according to the Service Level Agreement (SLA). It could also be that a company's strategic direction has changed and it makes sense to bring some capabilities back in-house.

World-class companies use a portfolio approach to delivering finance services. There will almost always be a mix of captive and outsourced activities. In a dynamically changing world, it's incumbent upon finance organization to stay on top of the best ways to deliver those services.