Finance Transformation Best Practices
There has been a growing need for Finance organizations to partner with business functions to grow profits while using fewer sources and means in the fast changing digital economy. The roles of Financial decision makers in an organization is changing rapidly from the conventional accounting, budgeting, and auditing to unconventional offering guidance and support.
Stakeholders of a business organization look at the Finance team to provide future analytics, pricing, and planning that will enable the organization to cope with the complexities of the market. In today’s market and economy, an organization that does not have a blueprint, clear vision & goal, and a right approach may not be able to leverage properly on its Finance transformation.
Finance Transformation Explained
Finance transformation is a set of initiatives that enable Finance executives to measure their financial planning, align them with the vision of the organization, and assist the management to achieve an increased overall value to shareholders. In an organization, the finance team must have clear-cut financial strategies that they can rally behind to spur its growth. In other words, the essence of finance transformation is aimed at finance leaders creating finance initiatives that will give business leaders a leg up to make better business decisions.
Finance transformation helps business organizations to achieve the following:
A financial function that is devised to create a cost-effective budget, will trigger the growth of a business. It provides analytical data to offer value-added services to customers, improves services/performance of business organization and enhances image of the company.
With the Finance transformation, the whole departments of the business organization can be transformed into a strategic, and efficient segment of the fast-growing evolution of the business. Financial transformation improves these departments to be efficient, effective and to play key roles in driving decisions to grow the business.
How to Achieve Financial Transformation
Financial transformation, when implemented correctly, drives the growth of a business. How do you intend to create and implement the financial transformation of your business organization? Here are few guidelines on how to implement financial transformation
Form a Team
Creation of a team is considered the first step that is taken toward financial transformation. A business team can take time to build. It may additionally require significant amount of resources to identify the right talent, hone skills, put them in the suitable position but the arduous process is worth it. A team laden with the right skills ensures that the goal is reached quicker and more efficiently done.
In the business setting, the senior leadership team should form a communication link with others as to keep everything player abreast with developments and drive transformation.
All Hands on Deck
Be sure to encourage every member of the Finance organization to take part in the cross functional collaboration and decision-making. Starting from the IT to the treasury and corporate development, they should have ideas that may be vital to reposition the organization on the intended trajectory.
Creating a spirit of inclusiveness within the organization offers members the sense of belonging to some transition and eggs them on to contribute every ounce of their strength to actualize the objectives.
Talent
The financial transformation objective, regardless of the strategy used cannot be realized if there is a lack of a workforce that possess the technical and professional skills and talents to achieve them. Considering that the finance leaders are expected to provide analytical data and chart a growth course, they should possess the subject matter expertise as well as technical skills to offer these financial functions. The human resources of the organization should be able to identify and employ individuals with talent and skill to offer financial transforming ideas that will support and provide a model for the growth of the organization’s value.
Delegation of Roles
To execute financial transformation, you have to be specific in the delegation of roles. Identify who should handle the data, report, auditing etc. Tasks will be accomplished efficiently and there will be increased performance and accuracy if the key players in financial transformation know the role they have to play. Make the objectives of the organization to be as clear as possible. An opposite of this adds to the complexities of the financial function devised and could stunt the growth that is intended.
Automation
Automation can be brought in to weigh the progress of the tools invested in financial transformation. The data managed by the financial team enables the detection of loopholes and modification of the modality to ensure the growth is attained using smaller resources.
Bringing Financial transformation to an organization is not done overnight. It is achieved by careful implementation of the practices described above. The financial leaders of various business organizations today can meet up with the increasing demand for their new role. By selecting the right people, a delegation of tasks, making goals specific, and including every member of the team to the implementation of the financial function, a financial transformation is definitely going to be executed.
External Specialists can make Financial Transformation cost effective and efficient
Managing Financial Transformation, whether you are building systems from the ground up or by restructuring your current processes, can be a complex project. However, with a clear vision and management support, it is possible to manage the process that fits into your organization seamlessly.
Precision Analytics has worked with a variety of organizations to spearhead the development of their FP&A processes and we offer industry best practices expertise. We understand and encourage the importance of organizational alignment and the success that comes with it.
You can contact us for assistance, and we’d be happy to help.