July 22, 2024
Unified Success: Strategies for Integrating Finance Teams with Company-Wide Goals
Sign up for our newsletter
Stay informed with the latest trends and best practices in finance and procurement.
Finance is evolving into a more holistic and collaborative position within an organization. Gartner predicts that by 2025, more than 40% of finance roles will be new or significantly reshaped due to finance technology.
In the dynamic landscape of modern business, integrating finance teams with company-wide goals is the next logical step to achieving continuous success. It promotes better decision-making and ensures financial insights inform strategic planning (and aren’t just lost on the accounting room floor).
Uniting teams and goals improves resource allocation by directing investments toward high-priority tactics. Here, we’ll explore strategies for effectively integrating finance teams with company-wide goals, ensuring that financial planning and analysis are seamlessly woven into the fabric of strategic initiatives.
The Shifting Function of Finance
Why is it so important to integrate finance teams with broader organizational goals? These people play a pivotal role in providing in-depth insights that drive smarter business decisions.
When finance teams function in a silo, there’s a greater risk of misalignment between financial planning and the strategic direction of the organization. This leads to missed opportunities, suboptimal performance, and inefficient resource allocation.
The benefits of integrating finance teams with company-wide goals include:
- Enhanced strategic planning through insights into performance, trends, and risks
- Improved resource allocation based on strategic priorities
- Improved agility where integrated teams are quicker to adopt change
- Aligning goals ensures performance is measured accurately
- There is a culture of transparency and accountability
Strategies for Integrating Finance Teams
To reap the benefits of integrating finance teams with organizational goals, you have to have a strategy in place for how to do it. Here are a few tips to consider:
#1) Align Priorities with Objectives
One of the first steps is mapping strategic priorities with financial objectives. This type of alignment involves:
- Goal Cascading: Strategic initiatives are cascaded down to departmental and individual performance objectives. This ensures every team member understands how their individual work contributes to broader company-wide goals.
- Strategic Planning: Include finance leaders in strategic planning sessions. They can provide more in-depth advice on the financial feasibility of proposals.
- Performance Metrics: Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect both strategic and financial objectives. This more balanced approach ensures financial performance is assessed in the context of overall business success.
Once you have a broader understanding of what to tackle first, you can start laying the foundation for successful team integration.
#2) Encourage a Culture of Collaboration
One of the foundational steps to integrating any team of people with organizational goals is fostering a collaborative culture. This involves breaking down the echo chamber and encouraging cross-functional communication. It means reaching over the wall and restructuring the image of finance as more than just the “no police.”
Currently, soft skills are in high demand for finance departments. A recent survey from FP&A Trends shows that while analytical skills remain a top recruitment priority (from 51% in 2021 to 45% in 2023), business partnering skills are exploding (from 16% to 41%). As finance incorporates forward-thinking data views, it becomes more influential in the overall decision-making process.
Some ways to encourage a culture of collaboration include:
- Regular interdepartmental meetings
- Cross-functional projects
- Open communication channels
- Encourage honest feedback
Using soft skills (like collaboration and the ability to explain numbers in layman’s terms) builds a bridge between departments, presenting information in a more clear and user-friendly manner.
#3) Leverage Advanced Technology
Most finance leaders (64%) think their teams are not using digital finance tools effectively. Technology plays a vital role in integrating finance teams with company-wide objectives. Advanced tools and analytics provide real-time insights and facilitate more efficient decision-making. Consider the following tips:
- Implement integrated financial systems that provide a unified view of financial data
- Leverage analytics to identify trends, forecast future performance, and assess the impact of strategic initiatives
- Use dashboards and reporting tools to provide real-time visibility into financial performance
88% of business executives struggle to capture value from their tech investments. Integration is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adjustment. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your chosen software and make the necessary adjustments to stay on track.
Additional Tips
- Invest in Training and Development: This includes training finance teams in strategic thinking, the latest technology, and leadership development.
- Establish Clear Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly define the roles of finance team members in the context of strategic initiatives.
- Collaboration Framework: Establish a framework that outlines how finance teams will work with other departments. Consider using technology for simplified budget control.
- Performance Reviews: Conduct regular performance reviews to evaluate progress towards strategic goals.
- Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances.
Summing it Up
77% of CFOs use new cost-cutting strategies due to growing economic strain. It’s more essential than ever before that everyone works together towards a common goal.
Organizations can ensure that their finance functions are seamlessly integrated into the broader business strategy by aligning financial goals with strategic objectives, fostering a culture of collaboration, and leveraging advanced technology.
These types of collaboration enhance decision-making, improve resource allocation, and drive overall performance, paving the way for sustained success in shifty markets.
