SWTCH by Pigment
Three days of predictions, insights, and advice from leaders in finance, sales, HR, supply chain and more
Register now here
SWTCH by Pigment
Three days of predictions, insights, and advice from leaders in finance, sales, HR, supply chain and more
Register now here
By Paul Brand, Head of FP&A at ADP UK
Paul is a Fellow with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) with over 10 years’ experience working in global, multinational, publicly listed companies. While working for household names across industries including Energy and Human Capital Management, Paul has honed and developed his skill set across the full FP&A range; focusing on best in class delivery of budgeting, forecasting, reporting, controlling, strategy, business partnering and decision support.
Paul has a passion for building strong relationships at all levels around the business and with his team. He combines this with a fierce determination to promote a positive brand for finance that is outside the traditional stereotypes of accountants. His leadership vision is for FP&A to empower the organisation and its employees to achieve their business ambitions, whatever they may be.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brand-b519646/
It can be one of the greatest intangibles in the FP&A world – how do you succeed as a business partner?
Not as tangible as a budget or a monthly dashboard, nor as theoretical / concept-driven as strategic planning and decision support. Business partnering is often heavily determined by the needs and wants of the individual stakeholder, meaning their perception often carries enormous weight.
The business leaders we seek to partner often look to other business leaders for inspiration. One of the most famous leaders of recent times is attributed the following quote:
“Great things in business are not done by one person. They are done by a team of people”
- Steve Jobs
To succeed as a finance business partner, it’s important to be part of lots of teams. Here are four tips to help ensure you get on the teams and once there, add significant value to them.
Think of a successful, well-known company. Within seconds I’m sure you’ll also be thinking about what they do, and what you expect when you want to buy something from them.
Now think that you have to arrange a project meeting and you need a successful person (that you know) in your organisation to attend. Again, within seconds I’m sure you’ll also be thinking about what attributes they will bring to the meeting, and how they will add value to what the project needs to deliver.
Now think of yourself and, if relevant, your team. If other people were thinking of you, what would they think? Would they know what you stand for? Would they know what you will deliver?
If the answer is no, consider creating a value statement. Decide what the core values are that you (and your team) will aspire to while performing your role, and hold yourself accountable to them. It can also be a great team-building exercise if you do this with your team, and will help everyone build and then buy-in to the values that you then want to project to the rest of the organisation.
When was the last time you had a 1-2-1 with a stakeholder that wasn’t specifically related to a project or piece of work?
The answer, with any luck, is at least within the past week.
Knowing what’s going on in the organisation from multiple different perspectives is crucial to being a successful part of the team. Stakeholders in other departments are crucial sources of knowledge and insight that are often overlooked tools in the FP&A world. Luckily, they remain right at your fingertips. Here are some ideas on how to broaden your internal network:
How common is it to hear comments about the traditional role of finance being to “police” the organisation? Do business partners in your organisation talk this way?
Hopefully not, but it’s a common occurrence and one I have had to overcome at each organisation I’ve joined.
This perception often stems from finance being the people in the organisation that say “no”. No to Christmas party expenses. No to investing in that extra resource that will make things easier. No to giving that difficult supplier a bit more time to pay their bills.
The role of the finance business partner needs to evolve from this into something much more solution-oriented and business partner focussed:
Have you ever joined a business with lots of acronyms?
LOL. Of course. It’s natural to talk in acronyms once you’ve been in an organisation for a while. But when you have conversations with your business partners, make sure that you talk using their acronyms and not yours.
Business Partnering is not something that happens overnight. It takes time. But when done well you’ll find you are invited on to all the right teams and that your presence adds enormous value to the business. Make the time, plan your approach, and take people on the journey with you. The destination is worth it.
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