Dineshrie Pillay Career & Employability Speaker www.neospectives.com
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Three reasons: Asia Automation Abundance
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In order to survive in this working world, you have to ask yourself 3 questions: 1. 2. 3.
Can the work that I am doing be outsourced? Can a computer do my work faster? Is what I am offering still relevant in an age of abundance?
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“Accountants could go the way of (the UK’s) coal miners! A mighty industry that once employed three quarters of a million and helped bring down a government. Today it employs fewer employees than SmithKline Beecham. I believe that accountants in industry could go the same way if they do not realise the fundamental changes they need to make.” Sir Hugh Collum Former CFO, SmithKline Beecham
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In an Accountancy Age article in January 2006, Professor Andrew Likierman of London Business School wrote that: ‘the changing management agenda, along with changes in technology and the drive towards outsourcing, is a threat as well as an opportunity’ for the F&A function. ‘Finance is a natural home for good performance measures.’ ‘The F&A function ‘ought to be playing a big role in strategy formulation as well as execution.’ To perform this role, finance has to become a partner to the business.”
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The Pressures of a CFO! Need for good decision making!
External Pressure: 1. Competition 2. Regulation 3. Shareholder demands
Internal Pressure: 1. Business Demands 2. Changing Customer 3. Mngt Info Needs
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This means that decision making, could become the link in the value chain whereby companies can still achieve superior performance.
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Accountants can improve the process of decision making by: Providing metrics and analysis to support decision making; Their ability to provide timely and accurate management information efficiently; Their ability to work closely with the business to combine financial expertise with business understanding to inform decision making.
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Strategic
Reporting, Audit, Tax, etc
Tactical Operational
Value, Growth, Advantage, etc
Management accounting
Regulatory and compliance
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_______________________________________________________________ 1.17%
Finance Cost as a Percent of Revenue
50% 0.59%
Peer group Labor Technology
Process simplification and standardization Drivers of Change Leverage of new technology Re-alignment of the organization, e.g. provided by Shared Services Source: The Hackett Group, 2006
World-class Outsourcing Other
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World class companies have: Fewer than half the number of F&A staff relative to turnover than the peer group and Labour costs are a higher proportion of their total F&A costs.
This reflects that: Not only are staff efficient but World class companies employ higher paid people and These people spend more time on value processes (planning and analysis) to better support the business.
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REALITY CHECK: IMPACT OF AUTOMATION _______________________________________________________________ The Technology Landscape The Desktop Computer
OLAP / EIS
2. Analytical Applications Value-based Management
Performance Measures
Financial Systems
ERP
3. Reporting ABC / ABM
Process Simulation
1. Transaction-based Systems
Process Modeling
MRP2
Work Flow Automation
Sales Systems
_______________________________________________________________ Business partnering Decision support 10% Control 30%
Reporting 20%
Role transformation
Process redesign Value added services
Transaction processing 40%
1%-3% of turnover
Integrated systems
Cost reduction
CFO, Architect of the Corporation’s Future, PriceWaterhouse, Wiley, p3
Decision support 50% Control 10% Reporting 20% Transaction processing 20%
Much less
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Shared Service Centres were originally set up for transactional services. With concentration of expertise – have capacity to provide higher value services.
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Finance transformation has improved efficiency. Achieving further efficiency gains presents challenges. Shared service centres have further potential. BPO offers more than lower costs; a step change can be achieved. The real benefit from improved efficiency is expected to come from the capacity released to provide finance / business partnering.
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Can you answer these questions on your company? • Which parts of the business are creating value? • What are the real drivers of your performance? • Which customers and products are profitable? • How are we performing relative to the competition? • Which customers are delivering the bulk of our profit? • What is driving cash generation ?
_______________________________________________________________ 1. What does success look like and what is the strategic context within which we are operating?
6. What actions are we taking to improve performance?
5. Are we heading in the right direction? How well are we performing?
Action Plans
Long-term goals
Strategic Direction
2. Are we focusing on the right things?
Results Agenda Strategy & Performance Monitoring
Risk Management 4. How does risk impact our work programs?
Strategi c Choices
3. Are we deploying resources effectively to meet our objectives?
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Excellent analytical skills: • Using not just financial analysis but also customer and market analysis, statistical and also sophisticated modelling techniques. Use of multi-disciplinary team approach •
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To inform key decision making as well as the ability to integrate inputs from diverse non-financial sources.
Strong commercial acumen: •
Characterised by strong product, process and market knowledge.
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The role of finance is changing from: • Merely reporting on historical financial performance
Preparing budgets • Reporting detailed variances • Analysing ledgers • Reconciling ledger accounts •
To a much more challenging role of:
Analysing organisational information in order to provide strategic decision support across the entire organisation.
Finance is transforming into a value adding role.
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“To create competitive advantage by supplying management with forward looking, timely, high quality and value-adding financial and controlling support, we will strive and prove to be an invaluable partner in shaping the strategy and persistently challenging operational excellence.� - A leading pharmaceutical firm
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Decision making is becoming the basis of competitive advantage and value creation. Accountants have key roles to play in the decision making and implementation through to impact. The F&A function must improve its efficiency in providing reliable financial and management information. Finance’s main challenge is to develop people who can collaborate with the business to support decision making.
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CIMA Website
http://www.cimaglobal.com/Innovation/Researchtopics/Finance Transformation
CGMA Website
http://www.cgma.org/Resources/Pages/ResourcesDefault.as px