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Transcript of HumanResources-CaseStudy2
Amazon Confidential
This case and the numbers published in this case are not representative of any Amazon businesses
within India or in any other region where Amazon has offices or operations and should not be used for
any public or media consumption.
Human Resources – Case Study 2
About the Team
The Finance Analytics team based out of Bangalore commenced in 2011 and has grown steadily
since then. This team is working directly with business teams based out of multiple locations in
the world and provides accounting and analytical support to the Finance Operations and Central
Accounting teams. They ensure that the profit and loss and balance sheet statements are
accurate for fixed assets, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, bank accounts and
intercompany accounts. The team’s primary role is to ensure that the process controls and
accounting controls are working in the intended way. The Bangalore team owns several key
aspects of accounting and analytical support and is responsible for enhancing the control
environment and driving quality initiatives.
Background
The growth of this team in the last two years and subsequent increase in complexity of
projects/work being undertaken has led to pertinent need to hire qualified finance professionals.
The underlying assumption for this scenario is that a qualified accounting professional is trained
to challenge the existing practice and conduct rigorous audit in order to improve the current
structures and processes. They don’t need a lot of handholding; they thrive on ambiguity,
building detail on the basis of even the most limited information.
(Note: If Level X = 1, then Level Y = Level X + 1)
In the external market, the top ranked qualified finance professionals are mapped to specialized
roles like Treasury, Taxation etc. which are typically Level Y+ jobs at Amazon. Independent
decision making, ability to logically represent any data to senior leadership and a thorough
understanding on their area of work are essential at Level Y. In the Finance Analytics Team in
Bangalore, at Level Y, such fresh qualified finance professionals are faring well in the technical
competencies. However, they fail to meet the Amazon hiring bar w.r.t other critical
competencies defined above. Hiring them at Level Y would imply that we as an organization are
in tune with Industry practices, but we could potentially lower the existing Level Y bar in the
team and have an added risk of failure to deliver results.
In 2013, 14% of the total population at Level X comprised of qualified finance professionals who
are not rank holders, and only 25% of this subset has shown the potential to move up to Level Y
in less than a year’s time. Going by the Amazon Hiring philosophy, such candidates are fit to be
hired at Level X and not Level Y. Given defined training interventions, such candidates could
Amazon Confidential
This case and the numbers published in this case are not representative of any Amazon businesses
within India or in any other region where Amazon has offices or operations and should not be used for
any public or media consumption.
prove to be on the fast track route for promotion and could help in boosting the internal
pipeline for Level Y positions. However, in the current population at Level X, there is a large
population of other finance specialists, and creating a specialized program catering only to
specific qualifications could possibly lead to creating a culture of haves and have not’s .
The team is currently experiencing heavy growth and is taking up new and high complexity
projects and this year their focus is towards automating most of the processes and improving
the quality of reconciliations performed. Given the scope of work defined for the team this year,
qualified finance professionals would be able to add a lot of value with their advanced technical
skills and ability to improve the quality of the final output and bring about process
improvements.
Case Questions:
Based on the above mentioned facts, do you feel that there is a need to hire qualified
finance professionals in this team? If yes, what would be the appropriate levelling (Level
X or Level Y) for them. Also design a corresponding development and retention plan for
them.
What are the challenges you foresee in implementing your plan? Also, call out the
possible risks and benefits of your plan.