How the Seattle Seahawks rebuilt finance for the speed of the game
When the 2026 NFL champions needed to replace a 20-year-old ERP, they turned to RSM to build a cloud-first financial platform—on time, on budget and ready for what's next.
Understanding the Challenge
Meet the team behind the team
Behind the championship wins and the sports headlines is a finance organization that manages complex revenue streams, vendor relationships, procurement cycles and reporting obligations.
For more than two decades the Seahawks' finance team ran on Microsoft Dynamics GP. The team knew the ERP inside and out, and month-end close ran smoothly largely because of the institutional knowledge they'd built up over 20-plus years.
However, GP didn't operate in isolation. The Seahawks' broader technology stack included separate tools for accounts payable automation and expense management, each running independently from the ERP. It was a model the team had grown with, and one that worked well enough that no one had reason to question it.
Client
Seattle Seahawks
Industry
Sports Franchise
Revenue
$7BN
A growing business created opportunity to modernize finance
Two decades ago, the cloud was in its infancy, but with cloud-based systems now more mature and effective, an ERP transition presented an opportunity to do more than replace a legacy platform. The Seahawks and RSM used the initiative to modernize finance operations, simplify the technology landscape and establish a scalable foundation for future innovation.
"As we moved through the discovery process, it became apparent that the opportunity was broader than simply replacing an aging system," said Behren Aydt, Seattle Seahawks managing director of finance.
RSM's expansive knowledge of Microsoft solutions and deep understanding of accounting processes and reporting requirements combined to evolve the project into a broader digital transformation effort focused on improving efficiency, enhancing visibility and enabling finance to better support the business.
Just as importantly, RSM invested the time to understand the Seahawks’ operating model, revenue streams, reporting needs and day-to-day finance workflows.
RSM ultimately gave us the highest level of confidence...The final differentiator was the reference-check process. We spoke with several organizations and received consistently positive feedback regarding RSM's implementation approach, project management and ongoing support capabilities,
Peter Fonfara, Vice President of Finance, Seattle Seahawks
Understanding the Solution
From a growing finance ecosystem to one connected platform
RSM helped the Seahawks implement Business Central—a full-scale ERP migration and modernization that consolidated key finance processes into a more connected Microsoft ecosystem. Rather than simply replicating legacy processes, the project created an opportunity to rethink how finance teams access data, manage approvals, support reporting and use technology to work more efficiently.
The Approach
The right team on the ground
The RSM project team—a combination of remote resources and local, Seattle based consultants—brought deep accounting experience alongside Business Central proficiency. That combination mattered.
Simplify wherever possible
Rather than defaulting to heavy customization or a purely out-of-the-box approach, RSM challenged assumptions where appropriate, balanced system design with practical process improvement recommendations and helped the Seahawks simplify wherever possible.
The Execution
01
Business systems assessment
Performed a business systems and process assessment, including a current-state evaluation and modernization planning
02
Vendor selection
Analyzed business needs against potential ERP solutions to select the optimal finance transformation platform
03
Dynamics 365 Business Central pre-implementation planning
Developed a future-state design, with implementation and migration planning, and a comprehensive project roadmap
04
Business Central implementation
Replaced Dynamics GP and consolidated multiple finance systems into a single ERP platform
05
Solver integration
Integrated Solver into Business Central for enhanced cloud-based financial planning and analysis
06
Continia integration
Introduced Continia for accounts payable, accounts receivable and expense management automation
07
eOne integration
Connected core business solutions in eOne for more effective data management and integration, and streamlined reporting across all apps
08
Managed application services
Providing ongoing RSM Catamaran support to optimize Business Central and scale solutions as operational needs evolve
A Connected, Scalable Finance Ecosystem.
This was genuinely one of the cleanest go-lives I have been a part of. We came in on time, in scope, and day one processing was smooth, which is rare, with complex ERP implementations.
Behren Aydt, Managing Director of Finance, Seattle Seahawks
Understanding the Impact
A smarter, more connected finance function
The Seahawks are still in the early stages of post-go-live. But the improvements are already tangible.
20+
years of legacy ERP history replaced with a modern cloud-based platform
04
manual workarounds streamlined
01
seamless migration to a robust, cloud-based platform
Manual work is disappearing
Automated job queues and integrated workflows have eliminated several tasks that once required manual intervention. Backend processes now run in the background.
Faster, more flexible reporting
Customized views for general ledger analysis make monthly reporting more efficient. The Edit in Excel feature alone has dramatically reduced manual effort on large data sets.
Streamlined approvals
The implementation provided an opportunity to reevaluate procurement approval workflows, cutting unnecessary complexity.
A more connected organization
Full integration within the Microsoft ecosystem—Teams, Outlook, Business Central—has improved connectivity across the finance team's entire technology stack.
Less searching, more doing
A single source of truth replaced three and four disconnected systems. The finance team no longer has to hunt for and piece together information from multiple places.
Early Results
A legacy ERP retired. A cloud-first future unlocked.
Full performance metrics are ahead. Right now, the finance team is focused on stabilization, user adoption and refining new processes. To date, early indicators are strong, and the roadmap is clear.
Full results will be published as they become available. This is just the beginning of the story.
New KPIs being established
Month-end close duration, invoice processing cycle times, and reductions in manual effort will be formally tracked.
Power Automate expansion
Accounts payable workflows are next in line for automation.
Advanced reporting integration
Business Central data will feed into a broader reporting environment to give leadership more timely, accessible insights.
By establishing a modern, integrated platform today, we are well positioned to leverage those innovations as they mature and continue improving operational efficiency over time.
Seahawks finance team
Same team. New field.
The Seahawks and RSM are expanding their relationship, this time into tax.
The Power of Being Understood
The world is changing fast, and the modern middle market feels it first. The advice that helps clients meet that change is only as good as the understanding behind it. That's why RSM begins with the full picture of the business and brings the full power of our firm to help our clients succeed and move forward with confidence in a world of change.
Unlock Exponential Possibility.
Powered by our century of understanding.
Talk to RSM about ERP modernization, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Business Central implementation.
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