Strategic Business Partner

Vision

The Finance Role in Successful Organizations

Robert Kelleman

What a Strategic Business Partner Isn’t

… not a spy or an enforcer from corporate

… not another person to assign more work

… not a person that only shows up when there’s problems

… not a person that just makes reports

vs.

Finance “Good” to “Great”Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?

Are you just reporting the numberor

are you moving the needle?

Strategic Business Partner Progression

Reporting

Sales increased to …

Costs decreased to …

Analyzing

Sales increased because …

Costs decreased based on …

Impacting

Sales will increase if …

Costs will decrease when …

Successful finance people help their team by:

1. Knowing what’s going on

2. Getting things done

3. Delivering the numbers

Sounds Great …But Where Will We Find the Time?

Working Harder vs. Working Smarter

Current State Future State

AdministrativeTasks

AdministrativeTasks

Strategic Projects

Strategic Projects

Strategic Business Partner: People & Priorities

Current State

Administrative

Bureaucratic

Reactive

Historical

Narrow Focus

Traditional Thinking = this is the way it’s always been done

vs.

Strategic Thinking = this is the way it should be done

Future State

Leadership

Decision Making

Proactive

Futuristic

Big Picture

Finance as Strategic Business PartnerBe the Vision You Want to See

1. Be a leader – you’re the CFO of the team

2. Be actively involved in operations and all significant decisions

3. Be proactive - respond to opportunities and drive change

4. Be forward looking – impact future results

5. Be strategic – have a goal, action and results orientation

Financial Planning & Analysis

During a checkup why does a doctor examine all of these?

• Pulse

• Heartbeat

• Temperature

• Blood Pressure

• Cholesterol

• Etc.

Because for a doctor several measures = several perspectives.

Leaders make decisions based on a variety of perspectives.

What information are you providing to your customers?

Finance Planning & Analysis

The best financial information is:Accurate - for credibilityTimely - for relevance

Insightful - to help people

presented in a format that is:Clear - easily understood

Complete - all pertinent info includedConcise - brief and to the point

that leads to decisions that are:strategic, proactive, and fact-based

Strategic Business Partner Summary

Help Your Team Win!