Successful Methods of Upgrading Your Finance Team

A well-defined and structured finance function is essential to the survival and success of a business. Creating this function is not something that can be left to chance. Top CFOs understand this, and they use successful methods to upgrade the finance team and ensure it operates in a way that supports the business to achieve its goals.

The methods listed in this article help experienced CFOs to upgrade financial processes or personnel. This upgrade ensures the finance function is fit for purpose.

Assess current financial talent

Assessing the abilities and reliability of current finance team members allows CFOs to determine a baseline from which to upgrade if necessary. They get insights into the value current team members provide and how this value can best be utilized.

In addition, assessing the team and its members in this way shows a CFO where there are skills gaps. These gaps can be filled by training current members of the team or by bringing in qualified individuals.

Promote collaboration

Collaboration and coordination are vital components of any finance team upgrade. If teams are not working in a manner that supports individual requirements and team goals, they are not operating at an optimum level.

To upgrade the way a finance team works, a CFO ensures that handoffs are designed to provide the required information in the most efficient manner and that unhelpful silos are removed to enable a more collaborative and seamless process.

Evaluate available technology

Reports suggest that around 80% of finance functions can be automated, giving individuals more time to concentrate on qualitative work that provides accurate financial analysis and insights. This means that CFOs can significantly upgrade their finance team by embracing the opportunities technology presents.

However, insightful CFOs know not to take technology too far. They understand that using various apps and software solutions can create technology silos if the different solutions are not compatible with each other.

Examine team culture

Culture is central to all aspects of team performance, including productivity and retention. So, examining the current culture and seeking to make necessary changes is an effective way for a CFO to upgrade the finance function.

For example, do the finance team members work together and support each other? If they do not operate in this way, the best way for a CFO to promote a more collaborative culture is to lead by example by recognizing the work of individuals and showing their appreciation.

Use governance to determine the current position of the finance team

Governance is about checks and balances in the finance function. Successful CFOs use the findings from governance procedures to show where there are issues and gaps in compliance. This helps them to plan where upgrades are required. In this area, top CFOs also recognize how essential it is to adapt governance to account for finance function upgrades and changes to businesses’ operations or processes.

Following these examples of the actions of the most experienced CFOs allows you to upgrade your finance team successfully.