How Glassdoor Simplified Operations With Workday Financial Management

Unscalable Systems Take a Toll

As a fast-growing tech company, Glassdoor had outgrown its existing financial system. The company needed a modern, scalable, cloud-based financial platform to keep pace with increasing operational complexity and to align with the broader financial reporting requirements of its parent company, Tokyo-based human resources firm Recruit Holdings. Glassdoor chose Workday for its price, capacity, future AI roadmap and stability. They were already using Workday’s payroll and Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) modules and were familiar with the software.

To make this change, the VP of finance at Glassdoor sought more than just a software implementation provider. He needed a trusted advisor who could provide strategic clarity, align executives around the project and offer cross-functional expertise to the high-stakes transformation. That’s where Armanino stepped in.

End Financial Chaos With Platform Simplicity

Glassdoor’s financial operations were hampered by disconnected systems and limited visibility. They were using NetSuite for enterprise resource planning (ERP), Coupa for procurement and SAP Concur for expenses, all of which required significant manual integration efforts and created data silos.

Glassdoor outlined four core needs:

• Transition to Workday Financial Management to align with their parent company
• Improve consolidated reporting capabilities
• Eliminate redundant tools like Coupa and reduce platform costs
• Better integrate financial systems with Workday HCM and payroll (which were already in use)

Switching enterprise applications from multiple legacy tools to one platform required a thoughtful and aligned approach. What Glassdoor needed was a provider who could bridge the gap between long-term business strategy and practical implementation realities.

Collaboration Drives a Smooth Workday Implementation

Workday recommended Armanino as a preferred provider for its strong reputation in strategic finance transformation.

To begin, Armanino helped Glassdoor assess its existing systems, integration challenges and readiness for a full financial platform transition. Rather than rush the process, Armanino first emphasized finance, IT and executive leadership were clear on ERP scope, priorities and internal team responsibilities.

Taking a personable but pragmatic approach, Armanino guided Glassdoor through the Workday Financial Management implementation, addressing challenges as they emerged, such as unknown HCM misalignments from an 8-year-old deployment. When roadblocks came up around Workday’s revenue module or unexpected integration needs, Armanino didn’t delay. They offered workarounds, nimbly adjusted plans and remained focused on business outcomes — not just technical checkboxes.

Armanino also supplemented Glassdoor’s internal team during staffing gaps, ensuring continuity and momentum. “Armanino’s application managed services team made sure that we got the right people who would help our team the best so the project wouldn’t slow down,” said the VP of finance

Holistic Approach Delivers Positive Results

For organizations like Glassdoor, implementing Workday Financial Management is not just a technology decision — it’s a strategic pivot. “In those moments, who you work with matters,” the VP said. “Armanino brought a unique blend of financial advisory and systems integration expertise, offering guidance that was as much about long-term value as it was about deployment timelines.”

The approach helped deliver many positive outcomes.

• Modern technology: The VP of Finance was able to move his team from manual, disconnected processes to a modern environment, without compromising business continuity.
• One system, full visibility: With all finance processes in a single platform, users can now approve purchase orders and expense reports directly from their phones, simplifying workflows and improving user adoption.
• Two-day close achieved: Within two months of going live, Glassdoor was able to meet a two-day monthly close KPI that had been requested by their parent company. Early on, staff could see the efficiency impact, with fast transactions in Workday and found the single system easy to use.
• Multi-book efficiency: Workday supports multi-entity and multi-book accounting, supporting smoother consolidation and reporting across the parent company’s structure.
• Strategic groundwork: Although some features (like revenue management) were deferred, the financial foundation is now in place for future innovation.

Time to Streamline With Workday Financial Management?

See what’s possible when you leave manual processes behind. Learn how our Workday experts can help you transition seamlessly to Workday Financial Management — bringing simplicity, clarity, control and scalability to your finance operations.