How do you align the rest of the C-suite and leadership with the finance transformation roadmap? How does this differ from marshaling other leaders within the business (e.g., HR, sales, marketing, etc…)?
Sort By:
Oldest
VP of Finance in Healthcare and Biotech7 months ago
In my view, it's crucial not to treat finance any differently. As the finance team, we are the stewards of the overall investments that we select for the business. It's important to govern our investment process with the same level of rigor that we would apply to any other department. Whether it's a new ERP system that's going to drive our financials, a new CRM system that is fundamental to our sales team, or a new global HR system, we want to ensure that we apply the same level of rigor and consistency across the organization. This is vital in ensuring everyone is aligned. A key partnership in this process is with our IT team and our CIO to ensure that the roadmap is laid out, adaptable as new information comes to light.Fractional CFO/FP&A Consultant7 months ago
It's essential that other business units understand the value from their perspective. This isn't just about finance; it's about how the transformation translates into their business units. Clear communication of the objectives in a way that they understand is crucial. It's more important to relate to them in their way and how they see things so that it's easy to get their buy-in.CFO7 months ago
Where I've seen this work well is when there's an upfront business case done, and as you're going through the road mapping and the reality hits of all the work that needs to be done by the organization, you can refer back to that initial case and communicate against those goals and the roadmap. This is helpful to remind everyone that we agreed to this journey and here's where we are right where we said we'd be.
Finance Manager7 months ago
I believe that clear communication on how the project aligns with the overall vision and strategic priorities of the company is key in ensuring leaders are aligned. It is important to articulate the value that the project or transformation is adding towards the overall vision of the company. This helps in persuading others of the positive impact of the project and how it will benefit the company. Having unique communication tools to clearly delineate the goal of the project, timelines, key risks, etc., in a concise way that other leaders can consume is also useful.CFO7 months ago
Cost-benefit analysis and ROI analysis are extremely important also. Sometimes it helps to bring some numbers to support your ideas and try to convince people.