Kick-start a finance transformation with finance consulting

Finance teams have historically operated in the background, providing the most basic but critical business solutions including financial management and knowledge of accounting standards.

Contemporary companies, however, expect their finance teams to provide more value addition and play a critical role in strategising the future of a business.

A skilled finance team should be empowered to:

• Identify activities that add value to the business and identify those that do not
• Develop strategies that support the short and long-term trajectory of a company
• Provide suggestions to execute these objectives

If your finance team has fallen short of supporting your company’s strategic outlook, then an experienced finance consulting firm will be able to provide guidance on how to overcome the two main reasons why your team may be failing:

A preoccupation with past trends: The typical finance function involves an endless array of reports analysing past figures, budgets, and financial statements. With the current volatility of the market, however, these past figures are not necessarily accurate precursors of future success and performance.

Spreadsheet dependence: While spreadsheets can be quite useful for small-scale enterprises, they are growing obsolete and overused. When all of the organisation’s financial records are stored on a spreadsheet it grows in complexity and employees become more reliant on manual methods. This increases the chances of errors as well as wasted time and effort.

Businesses that have been relying on traditional financial systems can find it intimidating to take the initial steps to kick-start their finance transformation and this is where finance consulting can help with the following critical steps.

Knowing your value creation process — in detail

The first step is to analyse the value-creation process of your organisation. When you are aware of who your customers are and what adds value to them, you can dedicate your resources to delivering what is necessary instead of what you think will keep them coming back.

Once you have a thorough understanding of your value chain you can move ahead to financial transformation. The Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Business Model, for example, discusses this in detail where an organisation must have a complete overview of their business model before executing measures that secure long-term success.

Build relationships of trust

Finance consulting reveals that many businesses are unprepared to make the leap into financial transformation due to fear that human roles may be made obsolete if automation is implemented or opportunities for value addition will be limited as a result of increasing digitalisation.

This is why building relationships of trust is crucial. For finance transformation to fully take root, a business must be:

• Open to new perspectives and the transformation of corporate culture
• Investing in employee support and training to improve employee relationships and skills

Although this may seem simple, they carry intricacies when it comes to implementation that can make getting the right advice invaluable before carrying out any strategy. Finance consulting offers this insight.

Monitor external finance transformation processes beyond your own

Financial consultants will come in and monitor the internal and external environment to identify any emerging trends and how they can affect your business. The financial transformation of your business and the strategy you leverage to implement it will depend on this comprehensive analysis.

When such an analysis is carried out, you will have a better understanding of how you should shape your finance teams to act as strategic partners and offer critical advice on your company’s future.

On top of this knowledge, a finance consultant has the right tools at their disposal to accelerate your company’s time to goals while also being able to use their experience in the industry to offer more personalised insights.

Finance consulting can be a determining factor in the success — or failure — of your business

Finance consulting has gradually become a necessity for businesses especially if the business in question is continuing to operate under the impression that the finance function has no scope outside of traditional processes and operations.

Finance teams must start taking a more active and strategic role in the overall business driven by the practices of financial transformation.

The focus must be on gaining the trust of internal stakeholders as it is a crucial step in getting them to participate in or implement any business transformation. Stakeholders must understand that transformation offers valid and sustainable solutions to their existing workflows while securing a competitive future.