How can you ensure your team meets its goals as a Corporate FP&A manager?

Ensuring your team hits the bullseye starts with aligning their goals with the company's mission. Open communication with stakeholders like senior management and business units is crucial. Gather their expectations and translate them into SMART goals for your team. These clear, measurable objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, directly relevant to the company's priorities, and have defined deadlines. By aligning your team with the bigger picture, you guarantee their efforts contribute to high-impact results and propel the business forward.

To ensure my team meets its goals as Corporate F&A, I first align them with the company's key business objectives. Clear communication with stakeholders is essential to understand their expectations and translate them into SMART goals for the team. This helps ensure that everyone understands their role and how their work directly impacts the larger business strategy. By breaking down objectives into specific, measurable tasks and regularly reviewing progress, I can ensure the team stays focused on delivering high-value results that align with overall corporate priorities.

To ensure your FP&A team meets goals: Set clear, collaborative goals aligned with the organization. Establish performance metrics and monitor progress regularly. Provide training and resources for skill development. Foster open communication and adaptability to change. Empower and recognize team members. Encourage cross-functional collaboration. Utilize technology for efficiency. Conduct regular feedback and performance reviews. Cultivate a positive work culture aligned with organizational values.

The key thing to always remember is that finance is a support function. So whatever the goals of the wider organisation, the finance teams objectives need to be to support that. To name a few: Report sales and profit initiates robustly Manage and drive cost out of the business Cash flow effectiveness Deal value maximisation

I think this is one of the major differences between a leader and a manager. Leader would always want their team members to acquire new skills and get better with time. While mangers just consider it a part of annual exercise of goal setting and performance review. Many of the managers fail here because of their own insecurity. Therefore make it part of the culture. Assess individual needs and provide with required resources.

Building a high-performing team starts by investing in their capabilities. Conduct a skills gap analysis to identify areas where your team excels and where they require further development. Provide targeted training opportunities – technical workshops, communication skills courses, or industry certifications – to bridge these gaps and enhance their skillsets. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing – encourage team members to mentor each other, share best practices during team meetings, and actively seek constructive feedback. By empowering your team with the right tools, resources, and a growth mindset, you equip them to tackle challenges with confidence and ingenuity, paving the way for achieving ambitious goals.

The road to achieving team goals is paved with regular monitoring and measurement. Establish clear performance metrics – quantifiable benchmarks aligned with your SMART goals. These metrics could track project completion rates, client satisfaction scores, or key performance indicators (KPIs) specific to your team's function. Metrics are not set in stone – review and update them as business needs evolve or your team tackles new challenges. Provide consistent feedback – celebrate achievements and offer constructive criticism that empowers improvement. By establishing a data-driven approach and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you can ensure your team stays accountable and delivers results that align with the bigger picture