The power of Finance Business Partnering enables Finance to step outside of their traditional Performance Management roles (setting budgets and reviewing actuals) in order to contribute to real value creation initiatives.
Simply put, spending more time working together is mutually beneficial for both Finance and the business.
But what is the best way to structure that relationship? Should Finance operate as an advisor, a consultant or perhaps even an investor?
By Ryan Sullivan, Principal at Collectiv
It’s often been said that we’re in the agile phase of strategic thinking – the stage of strategic thought that focuses on flexibility in planning and rapid, quickly responding iterations - and it really can’t be emphasised enough just how important it is to build a responsive and agile FP&A strategy. It makes all the difference between an efficient and high-performing strategy and one that’s dead in the dust.
Does your organization’s strategy seem like a mystery or carefully guarded secret? Can it feel as if people's daily work doesn't relate to the direction where your business wants to go? Are people unable to access and understand your corporate goals easily? If you answered "Yes" to any of these scenarios, chances are that your organization is not as connected as it needs to be.
Similar to a conductor of an orchestra, the finance team looks at all different functions, allowing some to grow faster at times but never taking eyes off other functions so that every function in the company always performs as one to achieve the best results possible.
FP&A professionals need to be motivated and motivate others to trust and to make strategic decisions based on insights from the team. If trust is not yet established between you and your business partner, find the trigger that will make them believe in your analysis and the numbers behind them.
There is no doubt that 2020 has been one of the most disruptive years for all of us in many aspects of our professional and personal lives. In this article, I would like to discuss the new challenges in FP&A and how we need to face the new circumstances in the short and long term.
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