Fixing The Finance Function For Dummies
Anders Liu-Lindberg
Leading advisor to senior Finance and FP&A leaders on creating impact through business partnering | Interim | VP Finance | Business Finance
The Finance Function is changing and has been doing so for a while. I've written countless articles about this and last week in "The CFOs Road Map To Transforming Finance" I committed to investigating what's beyond (not behind) all this change. To do that we need to start with the basics, though. The finance transformation for dummies you could say. The reason is that before you start to think about doing any of the interesting stuff like supporting the business and doing Big Data analysis you need to master the fundamentals such as AR/AP, book close, internal controls etc. And you need to master them at a lower cost than ever before. You can do outsourcing, offshoring and even automation as in "Have You Met Your Robot Accountant, Yet?" More importantly, though I've learned through recent offshoring projects that ensuring that one team/person has end-to-end (E2E) accountability for the processes is critical for success.
Don't look at me it was the service centre
When different teams are doing part of a process despite having clear handover points it's always difficult to find the root cause to a problem. It becomes too easy for anyone involved in the process to point fingers at someone else. So first thing first, when you want to fix your basic finance function, is clear roles and responsibilities, clear demarcation lines between teams and one person responsible for the process E2E. Once this is in place you can start to optimise the heck out of your basic finance processes and aim for a four-day top quartile performance in closing the books. Now it's time to start working on your data quality which might actually set you back a bit as highlighted by the same survey. For what good is a fast close if the data is garbage?
One set of numbers
First, you fix the data quality so you ensure that numbers used for management reporting cannot be challenged from a technical perspective. Then you ensure that there's only one way to get these numbers and that's from Finance. Too often it has happened that other functions bring their own numbers into a meeting and no conclusions are reached because you can't even agree on the baseline. Or how about the time you showed up at an important senior management meeting and the CCO looked at your slides and immediately pointed to a number that didn't seem right? Whether it was the system that didn't have the right number or you made a formula error in Excel, we've all seen this happen. If you can't get data quality or simple calculations to work then you've got no place sitting at the senior management table.
So in short, you need to do the following to fix your basic finance function.
- Recognise that you need to deliver this service at the lowest possible cost, faster than ever before and at an even higher quality
- Once you've outsourced, offshored or automated you need to ensure that there's still one responsible person for a given process and the execution of it
- Own the numbers! Don't let other functions create their own numbers and make sure you eliminate all the small mistakes that lead to mistrust in the numbers
"I'm sorry our system doesn't have that capability"
Let's say you nailed all of the above and you can comfortably sit down at the table. You've fixed all the basics of finance and now the business starts asking for more. Quickly you realise that your old outdated systems don't have that capability. They might help you close the books fast and give you the correct numbers but advanced analytics, fancy graphics, and fast working data cubes are all out of reach. In fact, you might have been allowed to sit down at the table but you'll quickly be thrown out again if you don't have more to bring than the latest monthly P&L and balance sheet. Fixing the basic finance function is merely the ante that will get you in the game, however, we all know that all the players before you won't fold so you will need to do something to play in the game. Next week we'll then try to explore what system capabilities you need in order to do 21st Century Finance.
What else is necessary to fix the basic finance function? Are you working with any systems today that you believe are cutting edge then let me hear about them! And what else is going on in your finance function these days? Are you doing some interesting new developments or are you just trying to keep up with everyone else? Like, comment and share also if you think this a stupid idea or if it’s already been done and what I’m doing is only stating the obvious.
I also encourage you to take a tour of my old posts on finance transformation and not least “Introducing The Finance Transformation Nine Box” which is really that starting point for the transformation. Last but not least, you should join my Finance Business Partner Forum where we will continue to discuss this topic.
The Skills Of A Finance Business Partner
What Finance Business Partnering Really Is
You’re A Finance Business Partner, Now What?
Case Study: Becoming A Finance Business Partner
Why We Need Business Partnering Transformation
How To Define Finance Business Partnering 2.0?
Don't Explain Yesterday. Predict Tomorrow!
Now You Wish You Were Beyond Your Budget
5 Ways For Finance To Seize The Day In 2016
There Is A New Kind Of CFO Needed In Town
Finance Transformation Should Be All About... People
Why We Need Business Partnering Transformation
How Finance Can Help When Business Is Bad
Why Accountants Are An Endangered Species
How Finance Can Become An Analytical Powerhouse
How To Speak Finance In A Non-Finance World?
Anders Liu-Lindberg is the Senior Finance Business Partner for Maersk Line North Europe and is working with the transformation of Finance and business on a daily basis. Anders has participated in several transformation processes amongst others helping Maersk Drilling to go Beyond Budgeting and transformed a finance team from Bean-counters to Business Partners. He would love the chance to collaborate with you on your own transformation processes to help you stay out of disruption. If you are looking for more advice on how to get the most of LinkedIn Anders also has a few tips to share as well as if you want help in your job search. Don’t be shy! Let’s get in touch and start helping each other.
Senior Business Development & Alliance Strategist - Data Analytics - Financial Services - big 4
7 年Pravin Kashid Micha Helbig
Founder Model Citizn || Co-founder EXL Cloud || Providing fractional and interim CFO support) ?? Assisting relevant, informed and purposeful business decisions with Insight??
7 年Good post Ander, one aspect that is often the biggest challenge (having led a number of large scale Finance transformation programs at a major Australian bank), is the cultural and adaptive challenges people face with transformation. Particularly as these transformations often mean their roles have to evolve almost completely in some respects. As accountants we generally don't cope well with change and therefore the change management aspect of supporting, coaching, guiding staff is critical. Bringing everyone along for the ride cannot be underplayed as a few bad apples (even senior ones...) can ruin it for everyone very quickly, no matter how much value this will bring for the organisation, shareholders and staff.
Business Leader
7 年Soft Costs are often overlooked when calculating the numbers. Declined Payments are an excellent example. (NSF Checks, Failed ACH transactions, Recurring Credit Card Payments that fail to clear) If a check fails to clear on the first pass, the Bank represents the check within 24 hours costing businesses around $40 for the two failed transactions(this varies bank to bank). Yes, the business can recoup the fees from the payee after recovering the payment (if it ever gets recovered) but it takes time to follow up on the declines. These soft costs are rarely included in a cost of sale model and erode margins over time. Free services exist to help businesses process declined payments, but the acceptance is much slower than the market demand should be. Any insight is appreciated!
Head - CFO Services @ Cashcow Consulting | Financial Planning & Analysis l Finance Transformation
7 年I am working with a client , and they are into the business of producing specialty chemicals. More than 50% of the purchases are NON PO based as a result of which they , there are loss of discounts, dollars spent without upfront approvals, cost of overnight deliveries etc . I dont have time in my hand to do a detailed analysis and actually quantify the demerits of NON PO. How do you think I can convince the client to move to a NO PO NO PAYMENT environment?