Phillip Price, CEO at Reader's Digest is participating in a panel session on the 'C-Suite Perspective on the Future of Finance' at The 11th Annual European Shared Services & Outsourcing Week . In this interview he reflects on some on some of the issues which will be covered in that session....
SSON: What is the trend towards business partnering and how will this start affecting the CFO?
Phillip Price: This trend towards business partnering has been ongoing for many years now and different companiesare at different stages in the evolution of this model. To be successful the CFO has to regard himself as a business person with a finance background rather than a finance person with an interest in the business. It also emphasises the importance of the role of the controller in ensuring that reporting is timely and accurate and that an appropriate control framework is in place and operating effectively. Also, the roles of the other members of the corporate team, such as tax and treasury have become further enhanced.
SSON: How are you optimising the overall business performance?
PP: Total connectivity with the business is essential and a clear understanding of the performance drivers, which have a focus on leading indicators rather than lagging ones. The links between aspirations in the planning, budgeting processes and detailed action plans have to be clearly established and progress monitored against them with corrective action taken in a pre-emptive way rather than in a reactive way.
SSON: Can you describe the new multi-facet role of the finance director?
PP: This is one of the key challenges for the modern day CFO, who has to be good at leading a talented team with the in-depth skillset required in the specified areas, dependant on the size and complexity of the business. The CFO cannot be an expert in all areas and needs a quality team to ensure that there are no gaps, while having sufficient appreciation of the issues to ensure that they are being appropriately addressed.
SSON: Are greater visibility and transparency being provided for key decision-making processes?
PP: Connectivity with the business and involvement at the start of the decision making process are essential. Finance needs to provide the template for decision making to ensure that they are taken with an appropriate level of analysis. Those working in finance at all levels need to move beyond a view of a single 12 month period and create more focus on the future through rolling forecasts. This enables the longer term impact of current decisions to be properly evaluated.
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