The finance function is under pressure to enhance its value contribution to the business, deliver information and maintain effective controls in line with ever changing governance needs. It simultaneously faces internal demands to reduce its operational costs. These pressures combined create a challenging environment for the finance function.
Multiple demands imply multiple roles:
- Scorekeeper — processing transactions and maintaining accounting records at a low cost and delivering efficient month-end reporting processes
- Communicator — explaining the business story to internal and external stakeholders
- Diligent caretaker — ensuring effective operation of governance and control in matters of financial management and operations
- Business partner — providing the business with insight and advice on competitive issues, developing strategy and plans, operating as a business advisor and challenging the complexity of the business model.
If this is your situation
You want to:
- Reduce complexity, standardise and simplify the business model and finance function
- Establish an integrated governance framework
- Understand the value drivers which impact business performance and align key performance indicators (KPIs) with business strategy to support [employee] behaviour and drive performance
- Improve the efficiency of the finance team and their professional qualifications
- Improve management information to align internal reporting to how external stakeholders view the business
- You want to leverage investment in Sarbanes-Oxley and moving from ‘project’ mode into a sustainable process.
How PwC can help you
In Financial Effectiveness we work closely with CFOs, Controllers and Treasurers to provide innovative viewpoints, independent advice and support in developing and optimising their finance operations, in order to meet the changing requirements of their businesses.
Services we provide include:
Performance management
- Advising on strategy implementation through Balanced Scorecard and integration with the corporate motivation system
- Assisting in the alliance of financial and business strategies, preparing value driver analysis and setting strategic objectives
- Developing KPIs to support strategy implementation and to improve performance management
- Improving Cost Management, including detailed cost review, elaborating costs drivers and implementation of costs management instruments
Finance Function Effectiveness
- Conducting detailed diagnostics and benchmarking of core finance processes and functional activities
- Improving budgeting, planning and analysis
- Establishing optimal management reporting package
- SmartClose — accelerating the closing process to achieve more timely and accurate financial and/or management reporting
- Designing the optimal finance structure to focus on decision-making support, rather than scorekeeping
- Supporting the design and setup of a company’s shared service centres as a separate business unit created to perform and improve the efficiency of repetitive common processes.
