How SiriusXM unified 3,000+ users and achieved 99% financial accuracy with Tempo

The challenge for SiriusXM

Multiple systems created governance headaches

SiriusXM's technology organization faced significant portfolio management challenges from their disconnected Jira instances across the company. They had multiple different teams operating with their own management practices and reporting standards, creating inconsistencies that made it nearly impossible to maintain alignment and governance.

The fragmentation created serious downstream consequences. Financial teams struggled to reconcile conflicting reports during quarterly close periods, spending countless hours manually consolidating data.

Audit compliance became increasingly risky as the company couldn't provide consistent, audit-ready documentation for capitalization decisions or R&D tax credit claims across multiple jurisdictions.

Without a unified system, the satellite radio and streaming entertainment leader couldn't track capitalization accurately, understand resource investment across strategic initiatives, or provide clear visibility to leadership on technology priorities and progress.

The lack of standardization made it difficult to validate contingent worker invoices, identify capacity constraints, or make data-driven portfolio decisions.

We spoke with Jamie Stanley, the senior technology program management support analyst at SiriusXM about his team's challenges, and how Tempo's SPM toolkit helped overcome them.

Solutions found with Tempo

Amplifying visibility and accuracy across global teams

SiriusXM's technology program management (TPM) team partnered with their collaboration and productivity group to consolidate all Jira instances into a single, unified platform. They selected Tempo's SPM solutions to create a comprehensive governance framework that bridges execution teams with strategic, financial, and governance partners.

The implementation included:

• Timesheets for work logging, capitalization support, and strategic roadmap investment analysis

• Structure for managing complex, multi-team programs and providing transparency into strategic initiatives

• Custom Charts for Jira to create executive-aligned dashboards that track progress and performance

• Capacity Planner for resource planning and constraint identification

• Financial Planner (connected vehicle team) for project cost estimation and forecasting

Orchestrating governance from the ground up

SiriusXM established clear governance systems that defined hierarchy from initiatives down to subtasks, ensuring organization-wide alignment on capitalizable work and consistent reporting standards.

The team focused heavily on change management, communicating transparently with the 3,000-5,000 users about how and why data would be used to build engagement and accountability from day one.

The TPM team created detailed documentation on time categorization standards and worked closely with finance to establish what activities qualified as capitalizable versus operational expenses. This foundation enabled consistent tracking across both core business and connected ehicle divisions, each with slightly different focuses but unified data standards.

Results

The transformation delivered measurable improvements across financial reporting, governance, compliance, and strategic visibility:

99% financial reporting accuracy eliminates reconciliation burden

During a major financial evaluation, SiriusXM aligned Timesheets data directly to their general ledger with 99% accuracy – a remarkable achievement that virtually eliminated the manual reconciliation work that previously consumed financial teams during quarterly close periods.

This accuracy strengthened confidence across the organization in capitalization tracking, budget forecasting, and financial planning. The consistent data framework now enables semi-annual reviews that clearly show how time and resources are allocated across initiatives, with visibility that has proven valuable even at the CEO level for understanding product and technology focus areas.

"Tempo has helped us collaborate more effectively with finance and deliver sharper insights into capitalization, budgeting, and project performance. The most significant value has been in financial reporting accuracy – we achieved 99% alignment between Timesheets data and our general ledger."

Jamie Stanley Senior Planning & Portfolio, Technology Program Management Support Analyst, SiriusXM

Harmonized governance across three continents

Tempo enabled SiriusXM to create a consistent governance model where every initiative is managed with the same standards, regardless of team or geography. Structure provides transparency for strategic initiatives, Timesheets track effort spent, and Custom Charts visualize how time is distributed across activities – from requirements through development to post-production support.

This harmonized approach has strengthened their change management culture. As processes matured, SiriusXM adapted governance and reporting standards across teams spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, improving collaboration organization-wide.

Teams now manage complex, multi-geography programs – like integrating their automotive and commerce platforms to track the customer experience from vehicle to app or connected device – with unprecedented clarity and coordination.

With a single, consistent definition for time tracking and categorization across all regions, SiriusXM gained improved understanding of capacity, resource constraints, and delivery timelines. Individual team members no longer struggle to interpret different reporting standards or reconcile conflicting data – they work from one source of truth.

"Our goal has been to create a unified governance model so every initiative is managed consistently. By aligning these tools, we're achieving clear, consistent reporting and better transparency across the technology organization."

Jamie Stanley Senior Planning & Portfolio, Technology Program Management Support Analyst, SiriusXM

Streamlined R&D tax credit compliance across multiple jurisdictions

Both SiriusXM's Core Business and Connected Vehicle teams leverage Tempo for R&D tax credit tracking across multiple countries and U.S. states – delivering significant financial value while dramatically reducing administrative burden and audit risk.

The platform's consistent time categorization and detailed activity tracking provide audit-ready documentation for these complex, multi-jurisdictional tax programs. Previously, preparing R&D tax credit documentation required extensive manual effort to gather and standardize data from disparate systems.

Now, finance teams can generate comprehensive reports with the granular detail tax authorities require, complete with clear trails showing which activities qualify for credits in each jurisdiction.

This automation has reduced audit preparation time by an estimated 60-70% while improving compliance confidence. The financial impact extends beyond tax credits – the same detailed tracking supports capitalization decisions and helps validate that development investments align with strategic priorities.

Data-driven portfolio decisions and resource optimization

SiriusXM now leverages Tempo data throughout their strategic planning processes. The platform has become integral to validating contingent worker invoices against actual logged time, identifying capacity constraints before they impact delivery, and prioritizing work based on strategic value using frameworks like RICE scoring.

Portfolio leaders can quickly assess whether teams have bandwidth for new initiatives, understand which programs are consuming the most resources, and make trade-off decisions backed by real execution data rather than estimates. This visibility has improved forecast accuracy and enabled more strategic resource allocation across the technology organization.

Enhanced organizational accountability

With 3,000-5,000 active users, clear communication about how and why data is collected has built strong engagement and accountability across the organization.

Teams rely heavily on Tempo data for understanding how time is logged and where effort is being spent, creating a culture of transparency that extends from individual contributors to executive leadership.

The consistent data has also enabled more meaningful performance conversations. Managers can identify bottlenecks, recognize high-performing teams, and make informed decisions about staffing and process improvements based on actual execution patterns rather than anecdotal evidence.

Key takeaways for planning leaders

• Start with governance: Establish clear, flexible governance structures before deployment – define hierarchies, capitalization rules, and reporting standards that can evolve as your organization matures

• Prioritize change management: With thousands of users, transparent communication about how data will be used is essential for building engagement and accountability

• Embrace continuous improvement: Don't expect perfection on day one – adapt your processes as you learn what works for your organization

• Connect execution to strategy: The real value comes from bridging operational data with strategic decision-making and financial reporting

Looking forward

Expanding automation and deeper integration

As SiriusXM continues migrating to the cloud and expanding their strategic portfolio capabilities, Tempo remains central to their governance and planning structure.

The team is planning a comprehensive Tempo relaunch initiative for 2026 to reinforce the platform's purpose across the organization – emphasizing its critical role in capitalization, R&D tracking, and capacity management.

Looking ahead, SiriusXM is exploring increased automation opportunities, including tighter integration between Timesheets and JIRA workflow statuses.

This integration would provide real-time insight into blockers and enable proactive process improvements based on where work is getting stuck. The team is also investigating opportunities to leverage Tempo data for more sophisticated predictive analytics around capacity planning and project forecasting.

The TPM team's advice to peers considering similar transformations? Ensure your governance structure is both clear and flexible – able to adapt to change and support continuous improvement. Transparency builds engagement, and the right tools can transform portfolio management from a reporting exercise into a strategic advantage.