Transforming the Finance Function: Adding Company Wide Value in a Technology-Based Environment(MB Executive)

"By the year 2005, the finance function as we know it will have changed almost beyond recognition. Transaction processing will be simplified, standardised, routine streamlined and automated. That’s 60% of finance’s current responsibilities about to disappear." Gregory Hackett, Co-Founder of the US-based Hackett Group The days of the traditional number-crunching finance department are numbered. Increasingly, world class companies are demanding that their finance function add positive value instead of draining revenue. Transaction processing and control account for 84% of their total activities. The function is not only spending little time on value-creating activities such as decision support and future planning, but it is also consuming a significant proportion of company’s revenues.To rise to the challenge, finance departments must completely transform their activities. But how? Essential reading for all Finance Directors,this bestselling briefing – now fully revised in a new edition – provides you with a complete toolkit to shift the role of the finance function from corporate scorekeeper to value generator. You will gain a thorough understanding of the extensive range of new techniques needed to fulfil this role and ensure that your finance department is central to your company’s future success. New to this edition: new analysis of IT, shared service centres and outsourcing, balanced scorecard, shareholder value, beyond budgeting, best value new case studies Contents: Introduction PART 1 THE TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY FINANCE FUNCTION Finance in the twenty-first-century organization The process of transforming the finance function PART 2 THE TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN FINANCE FUNCTION Shared service centres Outsourcing Information management delivering business intelligence PART 3 VALUE-BASED MANAGEMENT Delivering shareholder value/best value Valuing intangible assets/intellectual capital PART 4 BEYOND TRADITIONAL BUDGETING Scenario planning, forecasting and resource allocation The balanced scorecard Benchmarking PART 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Table of Contents:
List of figures Foreword Introduction Acknowledgements PART 1  THE TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY FINANCE FUNCTION 1   Finance in the twenty-first-century organization Development of technology-driven finance from manual to 'lights out' The challenges of the changing business environment Changing roles of the twenty-first-century finance professionals The finance function as facilitator of change, adding company-wide value Case studies - Leading twenty-first-century organizations 2   The process of transforming the finance function Introduction Establishing the transformation project Analyze the present finance function activities/processes Develop the vision for the future of the finance function Create the change strategy Aligh staff skills and competencies Implement the transformation Monitor the success and results of implementation Case studies - Worldwide excellence in finance PART 2  THE TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN FINANCE FUNCTION 3   Shared service centres Introduction Which processes are best suited to an SSC? Checklist of technical considerations in establishing an SSC Phases in the implementation of an SSC Benefits of the SSC approach Case study - SSCs at Ciba Speciality Chemicals 4   Outsourcing Introduction IT outsourcing - risks, problems and lessons learnt Outsourcing the finance function Application service providers Outsourcing partnerships Case study - Outsourced shared services at the BBC 5   Information management delivering business intelligence Introduction Defining the business requirements Technological developments Formulating a company-wide information strategy Knowledge management Decision support and business intelligence tools Case study - Data warehousing at Nationwide PART 3  VALUE-BASED MANAGEMENT 6   Delivering shareholder value/best value Introduction Rappaport's theory Shareholder value calculation models EVA exercise EVA example SVA options matrix Best Value Embedded value-based management Characteristics of VBM organizations Inter-business unit charging and service level agreements Case study - Creating corporate value at Wienerberger Case study - Value-based management at British Aerospace 7   Valuing intangible assets/intellectual capital Introduction Customer (relational) capital Organizational (structural) capital Human capital Corporate reputation Enterprise risk managememt (ERM) Ethical, environmental and social reporting Case studies - Managing intangibles PART 4  BEYOND TRADITIONAL BUDGETING 8   Scenario planning, forecasting and resource allocation Resource allocation Empowered organizational culture Beyond traditional budgeting Scenario planning Forecasting Case studies - Beyond traditional budgeting 9   The balanced scorecard Introduction Measures that drive performance The strategy-focused organization Weighting the balanced scorecard The ten commandments of implementation Links to quality frameworks Case studies - e-BSC Case study - Manchester Housing's information strategy 10   Benchmarking Introduction Types of benchmarking Data-gathering methods Phases of the benchmarking process The Benchmarking Code of Conduct Benefits of benchmarking Case study - Tower Hamlets benchmarking project PART 5   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY References Index