“Raising the bar on finance talent is critical for continued finance success in aligning with business priorities.”Finance Executive,Consumer Products
There are four areas finance can focus on in prioritizing its objectives to support the business and cement its role as a valued partner:
Assess the foundation
Finance needs to understand where it stands in relation to the needs of the business and in comparison to its peers. Finance needs to make sure it is performing the basics well. If not, identify the biggest performance gaps and improvements that align finance’s priorities with those of the business.
Develop an aggressive plan to address the most critical issues quickly
In executing change, speed is of the essence. Act first on the most critical gaps and weaknesses. According to our study, finance would do well to elevate establishing KPIs and resource allocation to match the level of importance the business places on them.
Refine priorities to align with the business, where appropriate
Finance needs to realign its resources to better support the business, knowing where it makes the most sense and where it can add the most value. It is critically important with limited resources to recognize where finance can add value, and where it cannot. This often involves taking a hard look at finance talent.
Maintain relevance by delivering on the business’s priorities
Once finance has realigned its priorities to those of the business, the organization needs to ensure that it has the people, processes and systems in place to deliver.
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