British businesses have come under fire in the media for their lack of productivity improvement. Are there things you can do to increase your finance department’s efficiency? Here are 9 ideas:
#1 Depict The Ideal In Your Mind’s Eye
Each member of your financial team will make better decisions if they have a clear image of what they are supposed to be accomplishing in their daily work. As a financial leader, the more you can do to accomplish:
A better grasp of what finance is used for and what it isn’t will lead to a more productive work environment for your team members.
#2 Focus On What Matters
A lot of individuals can only focus on three or four things at a time, and probably only one if they’re attempting to alter their lives. There is never enough time in the day. The leader’s job is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Too much time is wasted on the wrong things in far too many firms. The top three priorities should be discussed with your finance staff and other key stakeholders. Spend more time working on these and less time on other activities.
#3 Invest In Good Individuals.
I know this is clear, but it’s also blatantly so. Invest in good employees! Once you’ve employed someone, don’t stop investing in them! A lack of resources for employee education and training is one of the primary causes of the United Kingdom’s low productivity. If you want a high level of performance, you need constant development support!
#4 Make The Most Of A Core Team’s Flexible Resources.
You don’t need to pay for everyone all the time. To bring in specialist skills as and when needed, you need high-quality and flexible resources at every level of the business. An interim finance director, payroll processing outsourced, or working with a part-time bookkeeper are all options. For the majority of workers, the future of employment will be more flexible and part-time.
#5 Make Month-End Reports More Timely
Every company should be able to close its month-end books in fewer than five days. This does not change the fact that management in many organisations must still wait more than two weeks to learn about the preceding month’s performance. Both their decision-making and the effectiveness of the finance staff are negatively affected because of this delay. Every hour saved at month’s end allows the finance department to focus on other tasks. Speed up if you haven’t already.
#6 Scrap Annual Budgeting
The practice of annual budgeting is becoming more and more derided. Over time, this leads to unwise decisions being made at the wrong time and wastes a lot of resources. Because of the financial benefits, several businesses have eliminated the process.
#7 Enhance The Accuracy Of Forecasts
This doesn’t mean that well-performing organisations don’t spend time planning for the future while scrapping annual budgeting. They, on the other hand, strive to improve their skills on a more frequent basis. Managers need to have regular rolling projections that look 12 to 15 months into the future so that they can respond quickly to changes in both the external and internal business environment.
#8 Create Effective Management Information
Good decisions are the result of good management knowledge. The following are three of the most prevalent issues with management information:
A lot of it is squandered because there is too much of it.
Even though the demands of the business have evolved, what is currently in place looks terrible and is static.
The monthly board pack is a good place to start if you want to get better. Keep it short, interesting, and active. Executives should be able to see trends in performance through the use of visuals that are easy to understand. Even better, consumers can use web inquiries to get more information if they need it. Changing priorities in management necessitates reviewing and updating the content regularly (say, quarterly).
#9 Deploy Relevant It Tools Well
You need to wake up now! Amid this digital revolution, we still have a long way to go! The financial function relies heavily on information technology. Numerous technologies and software packages can be used to record, analyse, and forecast data.
Use what you know how to do:
Time spent pondering the purpose of your new tool and making it better over time.
MS Excel will be an essential tool no matter what systems you use. Make certain that everyone on your team excels at it.
Conclusion
Finally, it’s important to monitor the progress of the finance department. Data on the volume of transactions executed, the turnaround time for monthly reporting and mistake rates should all be included.
However, software metrics, such as how satisfied customers are, should be included as well. Measuring the effectiveness of the finance department’s work will reveal whether or not that goal has been met.
Using Bellevue Partners, financial departments can increase their efficiency. To learn more about how we may assist you, please contact us or take a look at our website.
