Cross-Functional Collaboration in Finance

In fintechs accountable to boards for £multi-million outcomes, where CEOs are driving transformation across the business, a common misconception is that transformation sits within the IT function alone. When this view takes hold, delivery becomes constrained. Technology teams are expected to carry outcomes that are actually dependent on operating model change, process redesign, and business adoption across multiple functions. In a previous role, I led a delivery function spanning Programme Managers, Project Managers, Business Analysts and PMO across a transformation where ownership had been implicitly placed within IT, despite the programme’s outcomes requiring coordinated change across commercial, operations, and customer-facing teams. This created gaps in accountability, with technical delivery progressing but limited alignment on how business processes would evolve or how teams would operate differently post-implementation. I addressed this by repositioning the programme as a cross-functional business initiative, establishing governance that included stakeholders beyond IT, and aligning programme leadership to engage directly with business owners responsible for adopting and embedding change. By structuring delivery in this way, the teams were able to move beyond a technology-centric view and coordinate activity across functions, ensuring that process changes, training, and operational readiness were integrated into the overall plan rather than treated as downstream considerations. At this level, transformation succeeds when delivery leadership ensures accountability is shared across the organisation, not confined to a single function. For others operating in this space, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do connect with me too.

Collaborative Excellence: The Key to Optimal Outcomes in Bank Treasury In the multifaceted world of bank treasury management, the importance of collaboration across different teams cannot be overstated. The treasury function, central to managing a bank's liquidity, funding, and financial risk, requires a seamless integration of insights and expertise from various departments to achieve the best outcomes. Working in silos can limit perspective and innovation, whereas a collaborative approach fosters a holistic understanding of the bank's operations and strategic objectives. The synergy between the treasury team and other departments, such as risk management, finance, operations, and even the business units, is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it ensures a comprehensive risk assessment framework. Risk management provides critical insights into credit, market, and operational risks, enabling the treasury to make informed decisions on asset allocation, investment strategies, and hedging. Furthermore, collaboration with the finance department is essential for aligning the treasury's activities with the bank's financial strategy and objectives. This partnership ensures that funding strategies support the bank's growth ambitions while maintaining a strong balance sheet and optimising returns on assets. Operational teams play a significant role in implementing the treasury's strategies efficiently. Their expertise in process management and technology can lead to improvements in transaction processing, reporting, and compliance, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of treasury operations. Engaging with business units allows the treasury to better understand the product and customer segments of the bank. This insight is invaluable for tailoring liquidity management and funding strategies to support business growth, ensuring that the bank remains competitive and responsive to market demands. Moreover, a collaborative culture encourages the sharing of knowledge and best practices, fostering innovation and continuous improvement. It can lead to the development of new financial products, more effective risk management techniques, and innovative funding solutions that can significantly enhance the bank's market position and financial performance. In conclusion, the complexity of today's banking environment demands a collaborative approach to treasury management. By fostering strong partnerships across different teams, banks can leverage a wealth of expertise and perspectives, leading to more informed decision-making, enhanced risk management, and optimal financial outcomes. The value of collaboration extends beyond individual projects or initiatives; it is a strategic imperative that drives long-term success and resilience in the banking sector.

Too often, payroll, HR and finance operate in silos. That’s a missed opportunity. Payroll might be seen as a back-office function, but its impact stretches far beyond. It ties directly to financial compliance, happy employees, workforce strategy, and enterprise risk. So what does effective collaboration between payroll, HR and finance look like? ✅ Cross-functional visibility: Payroll teams should share real-time data with HR and finance to track costs, entitlements, and liabilities. ✅ Integrated compliance reviews: Joint audits across functions help ensure that employee classifications, awards, and payments are legally sound and financially reconciled. ✅ Forward-looking planning: CFOs can support HR and payroll in budgeting for wage movements, LSL, superannuation, and compliance investments. 🔍 What we’re seeing across organisations: In some cases, payroll reports to HR. In others, it reports to finance. What matters most is shared accountability. When these functions operate in isolation, compliance risks multiply. The key takeaway? Payroll doesn’t belong to any one department, but it must be a shared priority between HR and finance to safeguard employees and the organisation. How are your HR, payroll, and finance teams working together?

We had $2.3 million tied up in receivables and were debating whether to borrow. In a business review meeting, we were debating whether we could afford to hire three people in Q2. Our VP of Sales mentioned we were waiting on about $800K in receivables. “Normal for our industry,” he said. I pulled up the AR aging report. It wasn’t $800K. It was $2.3 million sitting unpaid. Some of it over 90 days old and we were about to take on expensive debt to fund operations while our own customers were using us as their free line of credit. Everyone had a reason why it wasn't their problem and assumed it was someone else’s responsibility. • Sales said it wasn't their job once the deal closed. • Customer success said they didn't want to damage relationships by asking about payment. • Finance said they sent reminders but nobody responded. • Operations said they didn't even see the aging report. For 6 weeks, we held a 30 minute weekly cross functional meeting where sales, customer success, finance, and operations met and went through every invoice over 45 days old together. And that's all it needed to bring our days sales outstanding from 75+ to 41 days. Easily able to fund those 3 headcount requests. No debt required. Working capital is not just a finance metric. It is a cross-functional behavior. #WorkingCapital #DSO #Cashflow #Financeleadership

If you’re running a PE-backed company, you already know— The pressure to perform is real. Every quarter, you’re juggling growth targets, board expectations, and the constant push to “do more with less.” And somewhere in the mix, Finance and Operations drifting apart. - Finance is buried in reporting. - Operations is fighting fires. And neither side has the full picture of what’s really driving profitability. That’s where alignment comes in. I help PE-backed companies bridge the gap between Finance and Operations, so strategy and execution actually work together. Here’s a quick look at a basic framework I use to bridge the gap between Finance and Operations: 1 > Cross-functional design: Align Finance, Ops, and Sales around the same metrics and decisions. • Map out where each team’s goals overlap and where they conflict. • Redesign key meetings so decisions are made cross-functionally. 2 > Accountability clarity: Everyone knows their financial role — not just the CFO. • Define clear financial ownership by department (who owns margin, spend, and efficiency). • Link those ownership areas directly to team scorecards or KPIs. 3 > Performance dashboards: Give leaders real-time visibility to make confident, data-backed calls. • Build simple dashboards showing financial + ops KPIs side by side. • Review them weekly to spot trends early (not after quarter-end). Why it matters → At the end of the day, investors want clean financials and a business that knows how to turn insight into performance. Investors don’t just want clean financials. They want finance leaders who think like operators,and operators who understand the numbers. When Finance and Ops are on the same page, profitability is the outcome. #Finance #Investor #Alignment #Ops

The most valuable work in finance happens when you get your head out of the spreadsheet. Your job isn't just to report the numbers; it's to help your cross-functional partners understand the story behind them so they can reach their goals. This is how you go from being a support function to a strategic partner who drives real growth. But how do you make that leap effectively? After 12+ years in finance business partnering at companies like Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Squarespace, I’ve found that success consistently comes down to four pillars: 🔹 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 of performance 🔹 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 assumptions 🔹 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 for results 🔹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 decisions In my new YouTube video, I walk you through this framework. You'll learn how to add more value, build stronger relationships, and become an advisor that leaders trust. Watch the full guide here: https://lnkd.in/ekkEBU_x

Too often, finance teams stay in their lane. Especially when every process is manual and you’re buried in spreadsheets. It can feel impossible to zoom out. But one of the best ways to grow, at any level, is to get curious. Curious about how sales structures deals. What features actually drive renewals. Why a specific discount got approved. Why customer X is churning. You may not own pricing or product analytics, but those decisions will show up in your numbers. And the more you understand the drivers behind them, the better partner you’ll be. 👉 Finance leaders: this is where you come in. If you want your team to think strategically, you need to give them the time and tools to do it. That means less manual work, cleaner data, and a system that provides the full picture, not just their corner of it. Because the future of finance is embedded, strategic, and cross-functional. How are you making that possible?