Industry: Financial Services
Service Focus: Operational Ownership Audit and Process Redesign
The Challenge
At one global asset management firm, client onboarding and contract management had become a recurring pain point. Over time, legal review responsibilities had been shifted from the Legal team to Client Service in an effort to manage high volumes without hiring additional attorneys.
The move was intended to increase efficiency, but it had the opposite effect.
Client Service Representatives were flagging legal language they did not fully understand. Contracts circulated across multiple departments. Approval meetings turned into weekly fire drills.
Despite the additional steps, the firm continued to experience compliance exceptions and delays.
The Chief Operating Officer put it best: “We’ve added control but lost clarity.”
The Action
Recognizing the growing risk, leadership initiated an internal review to map the workflow and identify where accountability had drifted from expertise.
The review uncovered three key issues:
Ownership Drift: Legal had delegated too much responsibility to non-experts.
Process Bloat: A checklist intended to reduce errors had turned into a 40-step bottleneck.
Risk Blind Spots: Key clauses were being approved without appropriate legal oversight.
Once the gaps were clear, the firm took decisive steps to realign process ownership with the right teams.
Key actions included:
Reassigning all contract review and clause approval back to Legal.
Creating a simple triage form for Client Service to flag exceptions without interpretation.
Setting measurable turnaround targets for Legal to prevent bottlenecks.
Introducing a shared digital dashboard to give all teams visibility into review status.
The Outcome
Within three months, measurable improvements followed:
45 percent reduction in contract review errors
30 percent faster turnaround on legal approvals
60 percent fewer internal escalations between Client Service and Legal
100 percent compliance accuracy in the next audit cycle
Client satisfaction improved, internal tensions eased, and leadership gained visibility into ownership and accountability.
The COO summed it up:
“Once the right team owned the process again, the chaos stopped. We didn’t need more steps, we needed the right expertise in the right place.”
Key Takeaway
When the wrong team owns the wrong process, even the best controls create confusion.
True efficiency comes from aligning ownership with expertise.
If your organization is struggling with rework, delays, or compliance gaps, it may be time to examine whether your processes are owned by the people who truly understand them.
