![]() ![]() Often, the problem is financial and non-financial staff are talking different languages so neither side is totally clear about what the other is saying. They should be working together, “spotting opportunities not seen by the line areas as well as responding to what they propose, articulating not only risks but innovative responses to those risks, in fact embracing risk and experimentation, genuinely being prepared to fail, having first planned to manage the consequences of such failure.” Equally, financial propositions need to take account of people, and amorphous concepts like motivation and aspiration,” Foster commented, adding that both need to do more besides. ![]() “HR strategies need these financial foundations. Joined-up business cases are one way of breaking down the barriers, helping executives understand returns on investment in the workforce, changes in productivity or the “true cost” of recruitment, turnover and employee engagement. HR can learn from Finance - how to provide actionable data that informs decision making.” “Accountants and finance experts need to be integral to strategy development, and strategists and policy wonks need to love numbers and data.” Executives live and breathe budgets, expenditure, income and revenue - by necessity if nothing else. “Corporate finance areas are doing something right. So rather than make the tough decisions we needed to, based on sound data, we would argue pointlessly about the validity of the data. “I can’t tell you how many executive meetings I’ve attended, for example, where the data from HR and the data from finance was different. There is too little communication in “the relationship between the numbers people and the ‘people’ people,” said Foster, “even though they will often sit side by side.” “Too often, there isn’t a genuine partnership between the numbers people and the strategists – and an insufficient blending of the two – accountants and finance experts need to be integral to strategy development, and strategists and policy wonks need to love numbers and data.” “I can certainly think of times in my public service career when we developed strategy or policy without a strong understanding of the financial impacts, or without detailed financial analysis. “It left me wondering how well we are doing this in the public sector,” said Foster. She observed that not only do assumptions and estimates play an “enormous role” but they are usually made by financial staff, which means the “critical market information” possessed by operational executives is left out of decision-making. During the eight-week course, Foster said she was struck by the way accountants go on with their work despite not having all the real numbers in front of them. She confessed to the room full of accountants, most of whom work in the public sector, that financials were not her forte if the intensive Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School had required students take a straight accounting exam, she would have failed it.īut the human resources leader took away an important lesson from Harvard’s “CEO boot camp” nonetheless: financial management must be integrated closely with strategy, execution and art of managing personnel. “Too often, there isn’t a genuine partnership between the numbers people and the strategists.” Speaking at the recent CPA Congress, deputy Australian Public Service commissioner Stephanie Foster acknowledged the obvious - financial management is critical to any large organisation - but said finance teams should be more integrated with other areas and vice-versa. That’s also why I have a passion for helping my clients optimize their taxes and increase their business profitability.The Australian Public Service is full of number-crunchers with skills in finance and accounting but to make the most of them, executives need to unite the different professional tribes, according to a senior Commonwealth human resources leader. ![]() ![]() And as soon as we can get through tax season (and covid), we are hoping to do it again. That’s why a just few years ago, we spent a year in living in Central America to experience another way of life as a family. Our oldest recently became a teen (yikes), so the reality of time is really hitting us. We have somehow amassed 4 beautiful & crazy kids. I’m grew up in Las Vegas, traveled around the country for a few years for school and work (see above), and recently settled in Utah with my family. I also love volleyball, basketball, and I used to be an avid skateboarder (the good old days!). So here is a quick blurb that might help you get to know me better. I love getting to know my clients, but being 100% virtual can make that slightly more difficult (but not impossible!). ![]()
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