Practical operating model, governance and performance improvement for Gulf organisations.
Finance transformation, process redesign, governance frameworks, KPI design and operating model work for corporates, conglomerates and government entities.
Business & Management Consulting
Organisations in the Gulf are professionalising rapidly: family groups are separating ownership from management, government entities are adopting corporate governance codes, and companies preparing for listing or investment must demonstrate control and transparency. The gap between where they are and where they need to be is usually operational, not strategic.
ECT's consulting practice focuses on that gap. We redesign finance and business processes, build governance frameworks, define KPIs and reporting structures, and produce feasibility studies and business cases that lead to decisions. Our work is grounded in accounting and financial discipline, which means recommendations come with the numbers to justify them.
Engagements are delivered by senior consultants with Big 4 and industry experience, in Arabic and English, with your team involved throughout so that the change lasts.
Assess
Interviews, document review, process walkthroughs and data analysis produce a fact base and prioritised issues.
Design
Options are developed with your team; recommendations are quantified and sequenced into a roadmap.
Implement
We support the change with project management, templates, training and progress reporting.
Embed
KPIs, governance routines and documentation ensure improvements survive after we leave.
- Family conglomerates institutionalising governance
- Government entities and state-owned companies
- Companies preparing for IPO or investment
- Finance functions needing a faster close and better reporting
- Boards seeking independent operational review
The technicality behind Business & Management Consulting.
Straight answers to the questions finance teams, auditors and boards ask us most often.
What does a finance transformation engagement typically cover?
We assess the finance function across process, people, systems, data and governance, then design a target operating model. Typical outcomes are a close calendar that materially shortens the month-end close, a rationalised chart of accounts, defined roles and controls, automated reporting, and a roadmap for system enhancements. Where an ERP selection is needed we prepare requirements, evaluate vendors and support implementation from the finance side.
How do you build a governance framework for a family business or a government entity?
We start from the applicable code (for example the Capital Market Authority corporate governance regulations in Saudi Arabia, the Bahrain Corporate Governance Code, or public sector governance guidelines) and the shareholders' objectives. The framework typically comprises a board charter, committee charters (audit, risk, nomination and remuneration), a delegation of authority matrix, a policy hierarchy, a conflict of interest and related-party policy, and reporting lines between management and the board. For family groups we add family governance elements such as ownership councils and succession policies where requested.
How do you design KPIs that management will actually use?
We cascade from strategic objectives to a small set of outcome KPIs, then to driver KPIs owned by individual managers. Each KPI has a definition, data source, calculation, frequency, owner and target. We test data availability before finalising the set and design the dashboard around decisions rather than data. A typical organisation ends with 8 to 12 board-level KPIs and 20 to 40 operational KPIs.
What is included in a feasibility study?
A market assessment (demand, competition, pricing, regulation), a technical and operational assessment (location, capacity, resources, licensing), and a financial assessment (capex, opex, revenue build-up, financing, NPV, IRR, payback, sensitivity and risk analysis). We conclude with a recommendation and, where applicable, the conditions under which the project is viable. Studies are written to satisfy lenders, investment committees and government approval bodies.
Do you implement or only advise?
Both. We prefer engagements where we stay for implementation, because that is where value is realised. Implementation support includes project management office set-up, change management, drafting of procedures and templates, training and progress reporting to steering committees.
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