Speaker
Description
This paper critically examines the integration of Business Process Management (BPM), Process Mining, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems enhancing modern accounting automation. The study focuses on the context of large corporations operating in emerging European economies, using OMV Petrom SA—Romania’s largest energy company—as a flagship case. Faced with growing operational complexity and the need for real-time financial control, the company undertook a strategic transformation by migrating 170 legal entities to SAP S/4HANA through the S4Strive program and adding BPM workflows, process mining, and RPA.
The objective is to understand how this integrated architecture impacts accounting performance in large enterprises. The research asks: How does the integration of BPM, Process Mining, and ERP technologies influence the efficiency, accuracy, and strategic value of financial operations in large corporations?
To answer this, the research adopts a mixed-methods approach. A qualitative-descriptive analysis of relevant literature is complemented by an in-depth case study of OMV Petrom’s S4Strive project, analyzing its SAP S/4HANA implementation. Data collection included ERP transaction logs, process documentation, and interviews with finance and IT personnel. A process mining tool was applied to the ERP event logs to map actual accounting process flows and identify performance bottlenecks. Concurrently, BPM techniques were used to model and redesign the target workflows, and RPA scripts were deployed to automate high-volume, rule-based tasks (e.g. invoice posting). Key performance indicators (processing cycle times, error rates, labor cost) were measured before and after implementation to quantify the impact of the integrated solution. Expert triangulation and internal documentation validation ensure robustness.
Preliminary findings indicate that the integration of BPM, Process Mining, and ERP technologies yielded substantial improvements in OMV Petrom’s accounting operations. Process redesign and automation sharply reduced manual workload and shortened cycle times for tasks like invoice-to-payment processing. Bottlenecks identified through process mining were eliminated, accelerating order-to-cash and procure-to-pay flows. Transactional error rates and reconciliation mismatches dropped significantly, reflecting enhanced accuracy and compliance. The changes translated into measurable efficiency gains and cost savings. Moreover, the unified ERP platform now provides real-time dashboards and reporting tools, improving the speed and quality of financial decision-making. The integration led to a 50% reduction in invoice processing and closing cycles, over 225,000 labor hours saved annually, and cost reductions exceeding €8 million in downstream operations. The results highlight a strong positive correlation between such digital investments and improvements in compliance, transparency, and managerial decision-making.
