"The Silent partnership that often goes overlooked"
As we look to drive a new era of business operations that are financially guided, we have to keep in mind that partnership is a 2-way street!
"The Rub"
“When we say the word finance in the business environment, it immediately comes with a stigma. How do"WE" as finance professionals overcome this hurdle”
Strategic Partnership
The purpose of a strategic relationship is to create value and understand each other's point of view. In finance, like most support functions, there is always a stigma around what “we” in the business do. It is said that the finance function is there to close the books and manage the accounts. WRONG!!!! The true meaning of a finance business partner is someone who supports/engages their counterparts to drive success. The CFO of today needs to step out of their comfort zone and spend some time out in the field, whether that be from a service perspective riding around with the employee or in a product-driven world in which they must use the product. This gives context to those in charge of the financial well-being of a business; it also allows them to look at a situation differently.
"Conflict isn't always a bad thing"
“Imagine a team of ten people that all thought the same way. Sounds boring doesn't it?”
Next Steps
Most ideas today are left unsaid or not made public because of a few reasons. First and foremost is the thought of being wrong. That follows swiftly by "I am unsure of my data and the problem" and finally (Give me some leeway with the 1,2,3 approach!) "we tried that already". Where am I going with this? Well, Finance has a great deal of data at its fingertips usually, but most often lacks the resources and know-how of the business model. Operations on the other hand has a tremendous amount of knowledge of the business model, but often lacks the data/analysis to change the paradigm. This sounds like a match made in heaven doesn’t it? Unfortunately, most organizations are compartmentalized and don’t foster this communication/support within their ranks. For businesses to truly achieve scale and growth, especially given the current pandemic we are all facing, this needs to change!!