*Why the future of finance is built on value creation*
At Workday Rising EMEA in Stockholm, finance leaders from Kainos, Monex and Veolia shared their thoughts on what being a value creator really means
Steve Dunne, EMEA Staff Writer
The world is changing, really, really fast. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. That means organisations need the finance function to step up from the role of business partner and become a value creation partner. At Workday Rising EMEA in Stockholm, finance leaders from Kainos, Monex and Veolia joined Workday Co-President Robynne Sisco to get to the heart of the finance function’s changing role and what being a value creator really means.
Today’s business landscape is fraught with challenges as macro forces reshape the way leaders think about how their organisations operate. The finance function is at the heart of how businesses work in this new world. In the post-pandemic landscape, finance teams are being tasked with being more proactive than ever before. Once considered the “number crunching” department, today finance is tasked with delivering the strategic insights that enable the broader business to make better, faster decisions.
The need for finance to move from the role of business partner to one of value creator has not happened by chance. COVID-19 and myriad ongoing macro challenges have seen businesses shift from crisis management to recovery mode, and redefined how finance works and creates value for its various stakeholders. Finance is now deeper engrained in helping businesses understand the threats and opportunities from a multitude of environmental, societal and technological factors.
Defining value creation for finance
For Matt McManus, Group Head of Finance at Kainos, being a value creation partner is about three key areas: agility, efficiency and reporting. It also means ensuring processes are as efficient as possible to ensure data gets to the right people and at the right time.
“I know everyone wants to be very proactive in how we support the business, but I actually look at it more being able to react really quickly to changing demands or changing areas that the business wants to focus on – whether that is acquisitions, or new markets, or new countries,” McManus said. “It seems really obvious, but when you get it right, helping the really crucial people in the company manage the business as best as possible, that's when you really let those people drive real value. And finance can play a huge part in that.”
Successfully becoming a value creation partner hinges on an ability to digitise the function and its processes. Monex CFO Magdalena Gonzalez pointed to the importance of digital transformation if finance is to deliver greater value to its stakeholders.
“We don't want to be number crunchers anymore, or have our value in the organisation defined by our spreadsheet capabilities. We really want to add value to the strategy and I think we can add this value and create a strong relationship with senior management if we can add deeper insights. To do that, finance must be digital. When I started, sometimes we did reconciliations on paper, whereas now we must evolve if we’re going to deliver on the vision the business needs from us,” she said.
Data and skills central to unlocking value
Robynne Sisco, Co-President, Workday, doubled down on the role of data in cementing finance’s position as a value partner to the broader business. She homed in on the need for new skills if finance is to provide more strategic guidance.
“For us to become a value creation partner, we really have to deliver the insights to make sure that the business is making the best possible decisions. We need to leverage data to do that. Data's the life blood, and we don't necessarily have the skills we need to capitalise on what our charter is these days. And so we really have to look at our talent, and develop new skills in finance that have not necessarily, traditionally, been taught. Things like analytical skills and influencing skills,” she said.
When you get it right, helping the really crucial people in the company manage the business as best as possible, that's when you really let those people drive real value. And finance can play a huge part in that.
Value creation comes in many forms. With 14,000 employees spread across 400 locations, Veolia’s Finance Transformation Director, Peter Keery, led the integration of seven disparate billing systems into a single Workday tool. He highlighted the importance of bringing together financial data with other supporting data from separate systems in order to become a true value creation partner.
“It's really an agility thing because you want to be able to quickly get that data and see if the decisions you're making are taking you the right way. You can integrate that with your planning and the short-term and long-term planning, and looking where to place those investments, and making sure the business is following the right path.”
Beyond the numbers: finance as storytellers
Delivering value goes beyond simply having the data. Finance is tasked with creating the narrative and storytelling the business needs if data is to truly be impactful. Monex’s Gonzalez reiterated the importance of using the data finance has at its disposal and bringing that to life for its stakeholders.
“Sometimes we have the data there and don’t use it fully. For example, 60% of the total cost in the organisation is related to staff costs. I remember in the past talking to the board about staff costs, without having the full picture of what was going on. For example, how many people we have, their salaries, pay increase data, or how much it costs to offer benefits to the employees. Whereas now, with finance and HR data together, we are able to create that full picture and engage the business fully. We have a clear vision of what we want to achieve and how.”
True value creation lies in collaboration
CFOs and their teams will only be effective if they can accelerate beyond business partnership to deliver the additional value stakeholders need. Having the right data and skills, twinned with an ability to tell stories is a powerful tool, but only if finance can effectively collaborate with its business partners.
For Kainos’ McManus, effective collaboration means breaking down silos, technological and cultural, including those within the finance function itself.
“We have about 3,000 people today. The best way to describe this for Kainos is that there is really a grey area between what finance and FP&A are in Kainos, out of a team of about 20 to 30 people. It sounds a little bit counterintuitive, but we work so closely together because everything's in the one system. I'm very much of the opinion that all our teams should know what FP&A does, and FP&A should know exactly what finance does. Because you really want to be designing the processes that produce the information with the reporting in mind, and if they're not integrated, it's just not going to work,” he said.
At Monex, cross collaboration with other business areas is not just about creating value, but also providing employees with a path to move into other departments in the future should they wish to explore other career paths. Gonzalez discussed the importance of creating a culture of collaboration to support this approach.
It's really an agility thing because you want to be able to quickly get that data and see if the decisions you're making are taking you the right way.
“In my career, I started in accounting and moved into FP&A, and my teams see a similar opportunity. They can move between departments, and this increases the level of collaboration between functions. I think having the right culture is so important here. People should want to develop relationships, and having the tools and also the culture to support this really adds value to the way we work. It’s a win-win situation for Monex.”
The final word went to Sisco, who gave insights into how cross collaboration is driving value for the organisation and how, in conjunction with the right technology, it can eradicate uncertainty and indecision for finance leaders.
“We sit with our business partners looking at Workday in our production system, and have conversations about what the data means. What are the decisions that we can take using this important data? I remember the times where we would just spend time debating who had the right headcount number. Was it HR or finance? And so getting rid of the debate over the data, and being able to actually spend time analysing it and making better decisions is so important,” she said.
“To do this, we need to upskill our talent to make this journey. We have to help them get from where they are today up to where we need them to be: more analytical, more collaborative, more focused on being business partners driving value for the organisation.”
With finance and HR data together, we are able to create that full picture and engage the business fully. We have a clear vision of what we want to achieve and how.
