Transforming Finance into a Strategic Business Partner with RSM's CFO Advisory Services

The role of Finance is undergoing a significant transformation. 

No longer viewed purely as an operational function but is increasingly recognised as a strategic business partner responsible for analysing financial data and identifying trends to support management in driving business growth and shaping the future direction of the business.

By leveraging data driven insights and innovative technologies, CFOs can effectively navigate their roles to position their business operations for success.

To succeed, CFOs and Finance teams must adopt automation and technology to transform the Finance function to be data driven to enable resources to focus more on value add activities to deliver faster and more strategic value to the business. 

Our CFO Advisory Services team can assist you to modernise your Finance Function. A Finance Function Assessment poses essential questions to gather the insights necessary for creating a roadmap of priorities focused on data, processes and team skills and capabilities for transformation. 

Consider the following questions:

• Is your Finance team maximising the use of available technology and systems?
• Does your Finance team rely on manual, time-consuming and repetitive processes to compensate for gaps or weaknesses in finance systems?
• Does your current finance system meet the evolving needs of your stakeholders and customers?
• Is excessive time spent on transaction processing, leaving little time for analysis and providing management with insights to drive operational performance and support strategic objectives?
• Is your Finance team delivering value to stakeholders?

Modernising the Finance function can involve:

• Standardising and streamlining accounting and operating processes;
• Identifying automation opportunities to reduce manual and repetitive tasks;
• Ensuring digital capabilities and data are available to all teams, with digital benefits widely shared 
• Redefining the roles, skills and capabilities needed in Finance and upskilling resources in digital finance;
• Strengthening data and analytic capabilities to improve data quality and report development;
• Enabling real time reporting capabilities to provide management with more accurate and timely information for decision-making;  and
• Establishing a more robust, risk-based financial control environment to mitigate risks.

Technologies such as cloud-based ERPs, robotic process automation, AI, and data analytics empower Finance teams to automate high-volume business processes and integrate digital capabilities into financial workflows. Consequently, Finance teams benefit from a single source of truth, enhanced data quality, and more timely access to insights, to support management with strategic decision-making. Digital transformation also fosters the development of the skills and capabilities of Finance teams to become more digitally savvy, offering a pathway to retain key talent.

How RSM can help

RSM provides clients with a complete, end-to-end overview of their financial systems and processes. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to learn more about the topics discussed in this article, please contact Maria Williams, a partner in RSM’s CFO Advisory Services team.