A day in the life of Frances the Finance Director
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Explore our article series as we dive into the daily lives of the team at a large plastics manufacturer. Meet Frances the Finance Director, Oliver the Operations Director, Ian the IT Director, Susie the Supply Chain Director, and Mike the Manufacturing Director. Discover how they tackle the challenges of their complex roles and witness firsthand how Sage X3 ERP simplifies their tasks, streamlines their processes, and ultimately enhances their productivity. Don't miss out on these exclusive insights into how Sage X3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is revolutionising the way these leaders operate.
This article introduces Frances the Finance Director.
Frances the Finance Director
Frances is not just a Finance Director; she is the driving force behind a large plastics manufacturing company, helping to steer it towards success with her strategic financial management skills. At 43 years old, she has played a pivotal role in the company's fourfold growth. Frances handles a wide range of tasks, from operational and strategic responsibilities to daily financial operations, profitability analysis, and cash flow monitoring across the organisation. Highly esteemed by the board of directors, she reports directly to the Managing Director and leads a dedicated and skilled team of five individuals.
Early starts
Frances starts the workday with her team to review the progress of delegated tasks and projects. Thanks to Sage X3, the team can easily generate reports highlighting progress or issues in specific areas. The Sage X3 dashboards offer personalised worklists with specific issues for each user, such as identifying open sales orders with credit concerns.
Subsequently, Frances utilises the user-friendly process map in Sage X3 to review financial statements, such as the Profit & Loss statement, while enjoying another much-needed cup of coffee. In case of any concerns, she can delve into the details by drilling down to view areas like location, period, or department, to identify the root cause of any issues and determine necessary improvements. The process maps in Sage X3 are customised for each role, guiding everyone in the company through their respective processes.
By analysing the company's performance, Frances prepares for a meeting with other directors to address any emerging issues or opportunities. She also provides updates on the progress of ongoing projects within the finance department during these discussions, utilising reports from Sage X3 prepared by her team to highlight the current status. Sage X3 seamlessly integrates with Sage Enterprise Intelligence (SEI), the advanced business intelligence tool for Sage X3. This allows the team to effortlessly generate visually engaging and detailed reports. Today, there is an additional item on the agenda. With the company's planned growth and expansion into new markets, along with heightened competition, Frances acknowledges the increasing complexity that needs to be addressed in how Sage X3 functions for the company. Frances and the directors discuss the necessary steps to ensure that Sage X3 can effectively manage the growing complexity.
Big responsibilities
Renowned for her scrupulously prepared financial reports and monthly analyses presented directly to the Managing Director, Francis has earned the reputation of being the most reliable pillar of the company. Her presence in board meetings is not just symbolic; it signifies her crucial role in shaping the company's financial decisions.
Afternoon analysis
Right after lunch, Frances dives into handling some administrative tasks, like preparing reports for the executive team and ensuring a seamless month-end process. Today, she's analysing the performance of each of the 4 different local subsidiaries in Sage X3. All these companies use Sage X3 and are set up as separate entities in the system, consolidating up to the Head Office. Frances dedicates time to reviewing the consolidated group reports to ensure everything is running smoothly.
She also takes a detailed look at cash flow and creates a forecast based on outstanding debtor and creditor transactions, along with other factors that influence cash balances in Sage X3. With Sage X3, she can easily select the specific documents she wants to review, such as purchase requests, receipts, sales quotes, and shipments. This empowers her as the Financial Director to delve deeper into the company’s financial position and explore potential solutions, like delaying payments or accelerating forecasted revenue.
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The rest of the afternoon is dedicated to a meeting with the Operations Director and IT Director to discuss the next steps in utilising Sage X3 for their future international growth plans. Together, they determine the team members involved in the expansion of Sage X3, assign tasks for writing specifications for new work, and inform their Sage X3 partner about the upcoming project. While it’s still early stages, ensuring Sage X3 can support their international expansion is crucial.
After the meeting, she addresses some inquiries from the finance team, working with the team to ensure the smooth progress of the monthly closing procedures. Sage X3 offers helpful process maps that effortlessly lead the team through each step of month-end, simplifying the month-end closing procedures.
A day in the life of the Finance Director
For Frances every day in finance is unique and filled with a variety of tasks to manage, all while maintaining a busy schedule and providing support to ensure the business runs smoothly. The positive changes ahead fuel her confidence in the future, knowing that her strategic vision and relentless efforts are steering the company towards continued success.
What is Sage X3?
Sage X3 is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system designed for medium to large organisations. It empowers you to streamline your entire business operations, from manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, and sales to aftermarket services. With a more efficient, user-friendly, and personalised business management solution at your fingertips.?
How a finance team uses Sage X3
For more information on Sage X3, and how it’s used in a Finance Team, check out some of our guides:
If you would like to discuss your project with us, please contact our team or book a Sage X3 demo.