Getting the Finance team engaged Does your business see your finance department as a blocker? Does your business have the attitude of "if finance don't know, they can't say no" Learn how to Turn your traditional finance team into people - people Help your business understand what your department is here to do How to work with projects at their conception so that the Finance department can be used as a tool to assist an idea rather than a block to end it

1. The Finance Team Engaged
Tim Hines

2. 23/06/2016 Finance Team Engaged Tim Hines2
© 2016 Joy Global Inc. All rights reserved
Disclaimer
From the words written by Mary Schmich and immortalised in song by Baz Luhrmann:
“If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists,
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than
my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.”

3. 23/06/2016 Finance Team Engaged Tim Hines3
© 2016 Joy Global Inc. All rights reserved
I am an accountant

4. 23/06/2016 Finance Team Engaged Tim Hines4
© 2016 Joy Global Inc. All rights reserved
But not just an accountant…
ACA
small
firm
KPMG
Cayman
Kellogg
Heinz
Joy
Global
Barefoot
runner
Kayaker
Father of
2 boys

5. 23/06/2016 Finance Team Engaged Tim Hines5
© 2016 Joy Global Inc. All rights reserved
And now..
Pneumatic conveyors Material handling Mechanical handling Flomat bagfilla

6. • Does your business see your finance department as a
blocker? Does your business have the attitude of "if
finance don't know, they can't say no"
• Learn how to Turn your traditional finance team into
people - people
• Help your business understand what your department
is here to do
• How to work with projects at their conception so that
the Finance department can be used as a tool to
assist an idea rather than a block to end it
Blurb

7. Back office
Never seen
Sometimes told stuff
Backward looking
Reporting shop
Involved
Invited to some
meeting
Asked for input
Participate in
leadership
Targeted information
Engaged
First person on the
invite
Providing insight
Shaping strategy
Driving innovation
The stages of finance engagement

8. The Finance Mushrooms

9. The Finance Privilege
Joined up strategy and
decision making

10. Does it work in your
business?
Are you part of the decisions or an afterthought?
Are you leading the business or following it?

11. Why doesn’t it work?

12. Something
Another
thing
Then
there's
Don't
forget
I'm
annoyed
Important
bit
no one
gets this
Still going last year
Red
numbers
Metrics
other
metrics
Bad
numbers
Months? 677 (207) 238 (597) (290) 631 (380) (2) (574) 596 418 596 541
Years? (191) 106 (475) (93) 176 (100) 538 100 (229) (131) 219 (10) 237
Boxes? (458) 189 (236) 240 (59) 776 (651) 417 (327) (317) 190 224 (173)
Pizza? (245) (314) 525 (197) (265) (379) 525 82 (609) (334) (230) 62 (181)
Total (217) (226) 52 (647) (439) 928 32 597 (1,739) (185) 598 873 424
Months? 177 (357) (200) (79) (798) (13) (91) 65 (354) 316 (122) 561 474
Years? (174) (554) 35 (604) (596) 107 (120) 35 398 47 316 337 (190)
Boxes? (803) (111) (248) 347 74 13 66 371 241 857 (325) (169) 196
Pizza? 791 (902) 652 113 (317) 252 203 23 (3) (34) 649 509 403
Total (9) (1,925) 239 (224) (1,637) 359 58 494 282 1,186 518 1,238 883
Months? (435) (36) (144) 161 (113) (326) 467 (467) (241) (775) 440 (400) (193)
Years? 206 (420) 373 74 (406) (526) (577) (409) (457) 126 410 (434) 659
Boxes? 295 322 603 221 (571) (784) (375) (290) 287 510 117 (615) (194)
Pizza? (556) (69) 657 (526) 113 478 (489) 87 484 84 (342) (108) (106)
Total (491) (203) 1,490 (69) (977) (1,157) (974) (1,078) 74 (55) 624 (1,558) 166
Months? 294 439 455 (10) 63 (4) 527 (831) (567) (567) 430 152 (515)
Years? 9 (561) 502 (563) (354) (114) 75 (17) 213 (543) 523 (180) 48
Boxes? (73) 655 329 41 (34) 100 292 (349) 454 772 (488) 35 (582)
Pizza? 610 229 (75) 177 598 (353) 160 (271) (764) (38) 237 (150) (100)
Total 841 761 1,211 (355) 272 (371) 1,054 (1,468) (663) (376) 702 (144) (1,150)
Numbers, numbers, numbers
Tell them
what
matters &
why

13. Does it work in your
business?
Do your reports help your customers to quickly
understand what they need to know and what they
need to do?

14. • Do we want the same thing?
• Then why would I say no to a good idea,
– that’s well thought out,
– with the risks covered,
– that will make more money for our company than the other
things we could use our money on?
• Do your customers know why you are saying no?
• Our customers often don’t understand how much we are
doing to help make yes the right answer
Finance just say NO

15. • Timely information
• Focussed on what needs to change
• Helps deliver targeted performance
Backward looking

16. Does it work in your
business?
Does the information you provide help to shape future
actions or is it used to beat people up for past issues?

17. • The factory finance team - NEVER went into the factory
Never seen…
• No visible
entrance
• Supplies for 3
week month
end close
• CCTV to detect
approaching
colleagues

18. Does it work in your
business?
Are your team visible and looking to get involved or
hidden away and happy to be out of it?

19. Finance team are not good with people
Hire the right people!
• Definition of an extroverted accountant?
• One who looks at your shoes while he is talking to you.

20. Does it work in your
business?
Are you hiring people who want to engage with the
business and improve it, or those who want to sit in the
bunker and churn out reports?

21. The rules are what keep us alive!
Governance
• Establishment of policies, and continuous
monitoring of their proper implementation,
by the members of the governing body of
an organization. It includes the
mechanisms required to balance the
powers of the members (with the
associated accountability), and their
primary duty of enhancing the prosperity
and viability of the organization.
Always following the rules
We’ve always
done it that
way.

22. Does it work in your
business?
Do you hide behind the rules or help your business to
find a way through them?

23. Stereotyping and prejudice!
• Finance has
changed
• We are no
longer the quiet
ones in the
locked office
with ledgers
• People choose
finance as a
career so they
can help shape
a business

24. What can we do?

25. • Be engaged to engage
• Reward and recognition
• Get involved in key meetings and demonstrate insight
• Support from the top
• Build relationships not walls!
Create the right environment

26. • Working with finance upfront avoids delays later
– We are less likely to say no to something we helped arrange
– We are less likely to withhold payments that we knew to expect!
– We are more likely to put away money for something that we know
is coming
• We find out about everything (sooner or later) so be honest
• We are linked to everything so might be able to shape a
better result
• We want the same thing – a profitable company
• Bonuses get paid from profits – we know where they come
from
The relationships – what do we offer?

27. If you only remember three
things I said…
Engage to be engaging
Insight and direction not a sea of numbers
Everything impacts finance – get involved and included

28. Thank you for listening
Questions?