Companies often look to MorganFranklin Consulting when facing transformations driven by major transactions (M&A, carve out, IPO), control breakdowns, escalating costs, new system implementations and/or changes in leadership. Regardless of the type of event driving enterprise-wide transformations, we often see too many finance departments remaining focused on their traditional accounting roles. But today’s business climate requires CFOs and finance departments to think strategically and to reinvent themselves.

Using finance strategically means evolving from a traditional scorekeeping role to a competitive differentiator by providing critical decision support and analytic capabilities to business stakeholders.  Broadening the finance function in this way moves it toward becoming a business partner that connects to each component of your organization’s strategy. Every aspect of the organization is pressured to transform, but where should you start?

From Transformation to Refinement

Finance leaders are no longer able to undergo lengthy, costly transformation efforts to meet these needs, as management is pressed to strengthen controls, realize efficiencies, and improve analytic capabilities in real time. Instead, businesses should consider adopting a targeted view of finance refinement that focuses on smaller, incremental improvements while building toward a long-term vision.

A successful finance refinement turns the finance function from accounting-focused into strategic business partner by identifying and sequencing improvement initiatives that maximize value across the finance function and organization. This requires a more agile and targeted approach, one that rewards lower costs and utilization of existing assets to deliver change.

First, you must clearly articulate and understand your organization’s strategy and objectives. Once this is crystal clear, you can identify and prioritize the finance refinements that align you better to the company strategy. One useful framework is to categorize these refinements into four classes of focus with clear objectives to bring success:

  1. Control: To operate an efficient and effective finance and accounting organization to capture, process, and report business events.
  2. Risk management: To preserve assets of the company, monitor compliance with financial regulations, and evaluate and mitigate risks
  3. Synergy: To drive enterprise improvements that reduce costs, improve processes, and create value through realized synergies.
  4. Strategy: To provide financial leadership that aligns the business and finance strategy.

We help you create and execute a portfolio of finance refinements with the right combination of these areas of focus that best align with your organization’s strategy. MorganFranklin partners with organizations to identify, prioritize and execute the finance refinements that deliver immediate and lasting value.

Finance refinement engages virtually every aspect of the organization, requiring a team with integrated capabilities and experience that spans every facet of finance operations. Regardless of how you allocate your finance refinement portfolio, the result should be a value-driven strategic finance organization that:

  1. increases organizational effectiveness and efficiency (Delivery Model and Organizational Design)
  2. improves leadership structure and sets the right performance metrics to invest in and retain the right talent (Talent Management and Retention)
  3. enables technology and leverages data to align with the needs and direction of the organization (Technology Enablement)
  4. manages risk through proper governance (Data Governance)