That vital strategic element
I read a headline last week that said that FDs are in danger of losing their strategic role and need to demand better training and staffing. This was the summary of a survey carried out by Ernst & Young that confirmed what we all know – our role has expanded, one of the main drivers being increased and more complex regulation and compliance requirements and there is an increased need for us, and our staff, to collaborate and work more effectively with the other primary business functions in particular sales and marketing.
In too many businesses the FD has performed the traditional role of the “score keeper” and its in these businesses that we are undervalued – most of the businesses where my colleagues and I are involved get us involved because of a sincere desire to have a strategic partner sitting alongside the MD and the other functional heads; score keeping is not enough in a fast moving, competitive - and, at times, cut throat - SME environment.
As for training, that’s down to us to identify the broad range of additional skills that we might need to develop alongside our technical knowledge; and surely for us as individuals to invest our time acquiring and developing. Otherwise we can rightly be criticised and surely cannot complain if we lose that strategic role that we and our businesses aspire for us to have. As the E&Y report summed up, if the FD gets pushed into a compliance box, the role of strategic partner is more likely to be taken by other colleagues such as the CIO or COO.
