5 Signs Your Finance Team Rocks

Not sure how your finance team stacks up to the competition? This list will tell you if you are on the right track. It all starts with leadership. The finance function is your ship, and you need a solid team to navigate the high seas of profitability. It is not just about picking the right team, it is also your processes and whether or not you nurture your talent. If you do the following you’re already on the path to success, here is the list:

1. You are a Leader

You provide the right direction by having a vision — a clear objective in mind that every member of your team can work toward. When the vision has complexities, you know how to break them down into understandable elements and keep things simple.

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You trust your workers and only step in if you have to. Even when it’s tempting to micromanage, you realize that you’re team won’t grow if they are constantly being interrupted.

You know what needs changing and what doesn’t. You cannot get everything right all the time. By focusing your effort only on what needs to be changed, you ensure a smooth transition when you have to.

Read the full article: In the Lead or In the Way?

2. You Lead Workers, not Employees

Have you heard phrases like “non-employment work arrangements,” “freelance talent platforms” and “labor market intermediaries”? They reflect an emerging trend in which work and workers exist “beyond employment.”

These are not simply ways to outsource work and cut costs. They change how you and other leaders get work done. Today’s organizations, largely built on regular full-time employees, evolve because these are the most effective ways to bring in workers and work together to achieve their missions.

Read the full article: Lead Workers, Not Just Employees

3. You Do Things Differently (Outside the Box)

What does a great finance function do differently? It spends 17% less time collecting data and 25% more time analyzing it. It churns out forecasts and budgets in less time than it takes average finance departments to do so. The best finance functions also cost 40% less than the average (measuring cost as a percentage of revenue).

And while the better finance functions aren’t necessarily paying more to recruit people for short-term requirements, they are looking ahead to determine what sort of skills they will need in the future and working out plans to develop those skills within the business.

Read the full article: What the Best Finance Functions Look Like

4. You are Setting Standards

You set the standard for excellence. Top-quartile finance functions operate at a lower cost — as a percentage of revenue, 40% lower than their median peers — and at greater efficiency, delivering budgets 15 days faster than average companies, for example.

But they also make more effective use of their resources. “Rather than simply cutting spending, they adjust how they target resources,” PwC says. “Enhanced efficiency means they can dedicate more [staffers] to business partnering roles and spend a greater percentage of their time on business insight.”

Read the full article: How to Create a World-Class Finance Function

5. You Build on Your Talent

Companies like Granite Communications (GC) have been using a reward system for team members who learn skills involved in programs like Excel, Power Pivot, and SQL. If you want to further improve your finance team by challenging them first, then rewarding them after, you can learn how from GC’s example. Investing in your organization’s talent should be your go-to practice when building for the future.

Read the full article: How to Rev Up Your Finance Team’s Skills