Finance Business Partnering – The most promising career path in Finance

Finance business partners are accountants who work closely with a particular business unit creating a real and active partnership with both operations and management. Their role is to provide ‘real time’ support and analysis, to be a trusted adviser and to add value that will assist in decision making. Critical to their success is an ability to communicate their message, to understand their audience and deliver the information in a clear and user friendly manner. It is this mix of analytical, commercial and communication skills which are at the heart of successful finance business partnering.

Understanding the business – The Foundation of business partnering.

Understanding the business includes understanding strategy, the competitive environment, commercial drivers, processes, systems, culture, who has influence and how to get things done. 

A Finance Business Partnering is the Personality not a job description

Successful FBP are seen as leaders that can influence the decisions a business makes beyond the numbers. Traditionally Finance development programs have focused on honing technical proficiency and not on commercial, leadership and influencing behavior. The combination of the top competencies identified suggests that FBP should be business leaders and strategy advisors. This is a move towards a more commercial skill set than has traditionally existed in Finance.

The priority competencies required in a Finance business partner.

• Analytical capabilities
• Challenge, negotiation and influence
• Commercial acumen/decision making
• Strategic thinking
• Relationship management.

Finance Business Partner Skills

1. Attitude

• Passion in Business
• Courage to take a stand on ethics
• Focus on Business Partnering

2. Business Knowledge

• Strategy Knowledge
• Operational awareness
• Technical knowledge (accounting, financial, regulatory)

3. Communication Skills

• Telling numbers through stories
• Written communication
• Influence/relationship

4. Relationship Management

• Empathy
• Politically smart
• Culturally sensitive

How to Transition to Finance Business Partner?

• Get involved in business issues and develop relations with people outside Finance.
• Volunteer for cross functional projects and team.
• Initiate the implementation of business tools like Balanced Scorecard, Activity Based Costing, Value chain analysis etc.
• Get involved in implementation and operation of ERP system.
• Demonstrate a professional personality and personal brand.
• Learn business strategy and develop leadership skills on a fast track.
• Look for a mentor or a coach to speed up your journey

Talking with Internal and External stakeholders

Use formal and informal opportunities to talk with stakeholders.

Prepare for discussions – gather background knowledge and formulate good questions.

1. How do you see the organization’s strategy?
2. What are your most important objectives?
3. What are our main challenges?
4. What are the main revenue and cost drivers?
5. Who are our main competitors and what are they up to?
6. What do you need from finance?

Set out to listen well.

Meet at your colleague’s place of work to learn by observing the business in action.

Cover a broad range of stakeholders.

What kind of training do Finance Business Partners need?

Organizations need to invest in training for FBPs to be effective. Creating an ‘Academy’, augmented by personalized programs for individuals, is a robust solution, and can accommodate both soft and technical skills development.

Conclusion

CFO’s and finance leaders must take action now to ensure that they and their teams are able to effectively step into the role of Strategic Finance Business Partner, and become a catalyst for change. While the journey to effective Finance Business Partner is one of continuous improvement and learning, there are some practical actions which can set the right course of this journey.

• Be very clear on where Finance can add value to the business.
• Remove the barriers to adding value, and demonstrate the results – step-by-step, area-by-area.
• Sustain the improvement – by addressing the fundamental enablers of financial capability.