Does your finance department add true value to the business? Do you see finance influence decision making in your organisation? Is finance always invited to attend strategic business meetings? If the answer to any of the above questions is “no”, it means a transformation from controlling to finance business partnering function is needed.

Most professionals working in the FP&A discipline have degrees in finance or accounting and previously worked as accountants or auditors. The transition from such backend core finance functions to a highly business focused partnering function is one that requires certain shifts in mind-set as well as skillset. Below is a discussion attempting to highlight some of the key ones.

In short, the finance business partner is an experienced, well-rounded, and dynamic professional who can step into any organization and quite quickly deliver long-term value.It is important that we identify and apply the term Finance Business Partner in the hiring process to clearly communicate and align our business needs and expectations of the candidates.

Design thinking is a creative and practical approach to problem-solving. It involves the creation of multiple options which are then scrutinised through varying viewpoints and lenses to determine the most effective solution.

For most marketing managers doing the annual budget is a bore or waste of time. With most transactional services outsourced and financial management centralised in the home country of the company, local financials spend more and more time with planning, budgeting and forecasting.

This article highlights some of the common cognitive biases that the author has come across in his career and how awareness and mitigation of these could lead to our becoming better finance and FP&A business partners.