Forbes Money 19 Ways Financial Leaders Can Foster Cross-Departmental Collaboration Expert Panel® Forbes Councils Member Forbes Finance Council COUNCIL POST Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based) Aug 21, 2023, 01:38pm EDT | Share to
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Twitter Share to Linkedin getty As organizations strive to remain competitive and adaptable, the ability to conceive, evaluate and execute new initiatives becomes paramount. However, the process of developing and assessing business cases for these endeavors involves more than just number crunching and financial projections. Interdepartmental cooperation has emerged as a linchpin in crafting robust business cases that account for the multifaceted aspects of a new initiative's potential. Below, 19 Forbes Finance Council members discuss the pivotal role cross-departmental collaboration takes in the development and assessment of business cases. By forging strong connections across the organizational spectrum, financial leaders can unlock a treasure trove of insights, refine their business case methodologies and set their initiatives on a trajectory toward success. 1. Choose Project Leads That Communicate Well Communication is key. Keep in touch and make sure that finance isn't only checking in with others when things go wrong. Maintaining a positive (or at least cordial) relationship will make collaboration and presentations easier for all teams. Always consider communication ability when deciding on project leads as it can make or break the relationship between two teams. - Nick Chandi , ForwardAI 2. Create Mentorship Relationships Implement a "reverse mentorship" program. In this program, financial leaders can partner with employees from different departments, particularly those who possess expertise or experience in areas outside of finance. By engaging in a mentorship relationship, the financial leader can gain valuable insights and perspectives from their mentees, while also providing guidance and support. - Jose Rodriguez , Got Credit? 3. Encourage Early Involvement Early involvement and radical transparency will streamline developing and assessing new initiatives. Being involved in the early stages of development ensures that you understand the objectives, requirements and expected outcomes. This is an opportunity to provide financial feasibility in the foundational steps, while communicating transparently fosters a collaborative communication environment. - Xan Myburgh , Backd Business Funding MORE FOR YOU Crypto Now Braced For A $15.5 Trillion September Wall Street
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Los Angeles Braces For Flooding Today’s ‘Connections’ Answers And Hints For Monday, August 21 4. Create Pilot Programs With Steering Committees The how for this is to create formal initiatives like pilot programs. It’s also essential to have steering committees that include a spectrum of users, influencers and more. - Guadalupe Rodriguez , Talipot Holding Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify? 5. Develop Frameworks And Guidance Financial leaders can develop frameworks and guidance to make sure that business cases can be produced and evaluated in a consistent way. With this process, they will also be able to educate other departments on the most important KPIs from a finance perspective. - Daniele Viappiani , GC1 Ventures 6. Provide Financial Expertise And Perform Scenario Analysis Financial leaders can collaborate with other departments by engaging in cross-functional communication, providing financial expertise, aligning goals, performing scenario analysis, developing a business case framework, participating in decision-making and conducting post-implementation evaluations. - Bilal Surahyo , Simpli Home 7. Create Regular Interdepartmental Meetings Cross-departmental collaboration can be achieved through regular interdepartmental meetings. These allow for diverse inputs, a holistic understanding of initiatives and a shared ownership of the outcomes. - Matt Johnner , BankLabs 8. Understand The Business Model And Build Relationships Build relationships with other departments that make you a trusted partner that is always providing solutions to problems. You cannot do this without understanding the business model and sharpening your ability to demonstrate how their decisions and actions create or deplete value (cash and profit). - Oluwatoyin Aralepo , Mastercard Foundation 9. Form Collaborations Using Data Sharing And Financial Analysis Financial leaders can collaborate with other departments to develop and assess business cases for new initiatives through effective communication, cross-functional teamwork and shared decision-making. This is most effectively done via early involvement, financial analysis, data sharing and alignment with organizational goals. - Cynthia Dalagelis , Amalgamated Bank 10. Integrate Finance Into Planning Sessions Financial leaders can foster cross-functional collaboration by integrating finance into strategic planning sessions and providing financial expertise in assessing profitability, risk and return on investment for new initiatives. They can also assist in developing realistic budgets and forecasts. - Pedro Langa , SPACE PERSPECTIVE 11. Invest Time To Ensure Alignment Invest a significant amount of time into understanding all aspects of the business to ensure alignment of objectives and priorities. Establishing recurring meetings with key stakeholders and maintaining strong relationships through regular touchpoints can provide relevant data and business intelligence to financial stakeholders, which is crucial for identifying and executing new initiatives. - Omar Choucair , Trintech 12. Develop Spreadsheets To Aid In Evaluating Complex Concepts Finance leaders should develop spreadsheet templates that assist department leads in evaluating how bottom-up revenue generation and fixed and variable expenses should be considered. By working hand-in-hand with business unit leaders to create the business case, more complex concepts like weighted-average-cost-of-capital and hurdle rates can be factored into the analysis. - Sean Brown , YCharts 13. Encourage Understanding Of Other Departments' Goals Most departments distrust finance teams since they view them as the group that blocks their initiatives. A way to gain trust is to actively try to understand the other departments' goals and adopt the attitude of doing what you can to help them succeed. The genuineness will come through and you’ll be able to help them by adding the focus of profit and cashflow to their initiatives. - Aaron Spool , Eventus Advisory Group, LLC 14. Create An Environment Of Trust And Collaboration Establish open lines of communication. Financial leaders should proactively communicate and build relationships with leaders and stakeholders from other departments. This helps create an environment of trust and collaboration. Additionally, keep relevant stakeholders involved early on. By doing so, you can incorporate their perspectives, identify potential roadblocks and ensure buy-in. - Sean Frank , Cloud Equity Group 15. Take An Impartial Look At Financial Data Most business initiatives come with a degree of risk. Often that risk is multi-faceted. A finance partner can mitigate the financial component of the risk by taking a dispassionate look at the numbers. While finance people may not be experts in the technical aspects of the initiative, they can still play a vital role by analyzing the finance data. - Todd Sixt , Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC 16. Leverage Teamwork For Creative Solutions Financial leaders can work with other departments through cross-department teamwork, which takes advantage of the different skills of each department. With this method, teams work together to come up with new ideas and creative solutions to improve productivity, profitability or employee satisfaction. They make decisions easier, use the best resources and help a business succeed as a whole. - Neil Anders , Trusted Rate, Inc. 17. Provide A Detailed Pro Forma Providing a detailed pro forma that is transparent with detailed revenue and cost metrics over an identified monthly time period is critical to holding accountability with all stakeholders. It is critical to communicate that the results of the pro forma go into the forecast. This ensures that sales provide accurate revenue metrics and CTO and operations staff remains clear on what they can deliver. - Nick McGuire , DataLink Software 18. Provide An ROI Template For Increased Understanding Give them a template and be a partner! Collaborating to understand and analyze and prioritize the ROI on various initiatives are, of course, crucial, but giving a standard "business case" or "ROI" template or calculator will allow the departments to focus on important details and strategy rather than just a financial exercise. This will help streamline the process and keep teams working within their strengths. - Zack Cook , Keyfactor 19. Promote Transparency And Engage SMEs Financial leaders can collaborate and assess business cases for new initiatives by promoting transparency and accountability, conducting market research and feasibility studies, engaging subject matter experts, leveraging industry benchmarks and best practices and utilizing comprehensive evaluation frameworks to weigh potential risks and rewards. - Michael Foguth , Foguth Financial Group Check out my website . Expert Panel® Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions