Paul Dennis spreekt op het jaarcongres Finance Transformation!

This increase in volume demand is happening in an environment with materially higher complexity and under a premise that finance should continue to reduce costs as a percentage of revenue.  For many companies, transforming finance is the only sustainable option. Yet, in spite of huge investments in both internal and external sources of support, CEB research has found that only one in three finance transformations succeed.  Leading CFOs attribute high failure rates to conventional transformation approaches focusing on the wrong efficiency drivers. As a first step on a transformation journey, most companies benchmark transactional effectiveness and finance costs. Often, the benchmark score results in an efficiency goal and the goal then becomes the cornerstone of the transformation strategy.  __________________________________________________________________________________

12 Components of World-Class Finance TransformationCEB’s Finance Transformation support is uniquely positioned to guide finance organizations through the entire finance transformation process, from diagnosing business partner needs and desired outcomes to developing a detailed finance strategy and aligning it with business needs. Read more…__________________________________________________________________________________This over reliance on efficiency benchmarks is flawed for two reasons. First, these metrics only provide a backward looking perspective on departmental costs and, second, they focus on finance cost as a proportion of annual revenue even though functional complexity is a far greater driver of functional cost. Benchmarking exercises are usually followed up with back office efficiency targets, often achievable only though greater levels of automation.  While better integrated Finance IT solutions can be an attractive means to improving reporting capabilities, this is not a silver bullet for improving finance effectiveness and delivering targeted business support.What first, then HowWhich brings us to what works. Successful finance transformations do not just focus on how finance does things. Successful transformations focus on what finance does.   Transforming a function requires making difficult choices with regard to the activities finance will invest in and which it will stop. Successful companies have a clear vision of the activities that create most value and drive business outcomes  and they understand the skills and competencies needed now and in the future to realize their vision.  Act like a profit centreSo here is a call to action for finance. It’s time to be brave and to drop the service centre mentality. Currently, 90% of finance departments aim to support EVERY business partner request.  In a resource constrained environment, it is simply not possible to meet an increasing volume of demand and simultaneously delight the internal customer.  Instead, think about a finance department as a profit centre and act accordingly. In practice, this means the doing following: – Build a finance strategy based on alignment with business goals rather than functional cost. – Take ownership of the level of support that different parts of the business receive and tier support based on business need and appropriate levels of risk.- Track the time and the cost of ad-hoc requests. Take data back to the business and actively manage internal customer behaviour.         In an economic climate where they only certainty is continuous change, finance departments should not fall into the trap of trying to look like everyone else. Instead, build a vision for supporting business growth, scale back the activities that don’t contribute to this vision, and actively manage your internal customer to bring them with you on this journey. For more information on how CEB is helping global companies transform their finance departments using profit centre principles, please visit www.financetransformation.com. In addition, readers can use our interactive finance transformation tool. All participants will receive a custom report that includes an action plan, peer use cases, and sample resources.Leading CEB’s Finance Practice in EMEA, Paul Dennis oversees CEB research and advisory services for C-Level Finance Executives in Finance Transformation, Planning and Analysis, Investor Relations, Shared Services and Treasury. Working with over 200 client companies in the region, Paul helps finance leaders implement best practice solutions that improve effectiveness of the finance function and enhance business performance.   Paul’s areas of expertise include:• Finance Transformation• Business Performance Management• Financial Planning and Analysis• Contingency Planning As well as overseeing the direction of CEB Finance research in EMEA, Paul delivers strategic counsel to European CFOs and Senior Finance executives, providing them with insights and advisory support to enhance their own performance and the performance of their teams. With an international background working on multiple continents, Paul has facilitated CFO level seminars and executive workshops across the globe and his recent media engagements include interviews on CNN International and the BBC, in addition to regular contributions to international press publications. Paul has a BSc in International Relations from the University of Bristol and a BA in Human Geography from Lancaster University. __________________________________________________________________________________ Paul Dennis spreekt op het Jaarcongres Finance TransformationWat verklaart het verschil tussen succes en falen in Finance Transformation? Paul Dennis en zijn CEB team identificeerde 3 overeenkomsten tussen de finance teams die zorgden voor een drastische toename van hun toegevoegde waarde voor de onderneming. Is het een kwestie van focus, karakter of intelligentie? Paul deelt zijn inzichten met ons en neemt u mee in benchmark-studies, verhalen van echte bedrijven en talrijke wereldwijde cases. Meld u nu aan.__________________________________________________________________________________