Publications

Finance business partnering - are you stepping up to the challenge?

A global survey of 900 CFOs found that, although 61% considered business partnering a high priority, only 31% believe they are effective at actually doing it*. 

'Finance Business Partnering – Are you stepping up to the challenge?' explores why business partnering is not working and what needs to be in place to ensure success. 

The role of finance is undergoing a radical period of change – moving from a traditional gatekeeper role involving control, compliance and closing the books to a more forward-looking business support role focused on data interrogation, analysis and interpretation. In conjunction with this there is a need for finance to deliver services from a continuously improving function that incurs lower cost.

"There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Not all accountants will make great business partners, but all business partners need to have robust accounting skills. Organisations often ask if these people really exist: individuals who combine accounting knowledge with strategic vision, hard analytical insight with people skills. The answer is that they are out there − but maybe not in your finance organisation at the moment.”

Simon Tennant, Member of PA’s Management Group

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*source: Accountancy Age - 4 May 2006