Walking The Talk

Walking the Talk
Aligning Investments in the Finance Workforce with
Executive Priorities to Achieve High Performance

Introduction
The finance organization used to be The study shows that while finance both in size and scope. These quot;finance
home to the quot;numbers guys,quot; the people leaders are aware of the importance leadersquot; reported obtaining higher
simply responsible for monitoring of the workforce to the achievement levels of benefit from their
income and expenses and ensuring of high performance, their investment transformation programs, better
the company did not run afoul of in that workforce is strikingly small— returns on their workforce investments,
tax and reporting requirements. But less than 2 percent of their budgets and higher overall performance.
as any chief financial officer will in many cases. And when they do
acknowledge, those days are long invest in the finance workforce, that In this paper, we explore the finance
gone—replaced by mandates to provide investment is not comprehensive workforce challenges reported by
guidance on everything from capital enough, focusing only on a few quot;hot participants in recent Accenture
investments, outsourcing, business spots.quot; In fact, our research discovered research, as well as the leading
combinations, large-scale technology that the workforce initiatives that are practices identified by those
implementations and even business in place in the finance function deal respondents with superior results.
strategy. Given this, it's not surprising only with discrete aspects of the We also discuss an integrated,
that executives participating in recent workforce—such as staff commitment concrete process and enabling tools
Accenture research named finance and performance feedback—while that finance executives can use to
one of the three most critical work- paying comparatively little attention address their workforce challenges
forces within their company. to leadership, recruitment and staff and realize enhanced productivity, a
training programs. This underdevelopment more value-centered culture, greater
Yet for all its increasing importance, of programs has a predictable result: efficiency, higher levels of employee
the finance organization has struggled Most executives do not believe engagement and high performance.
in many cases to live up to expectations— they have the organization, staff
largely because investment in the or skill level to meet their challenges.
finance workforce has seriously Furthermore, most think their work-
lagged spending on technology force initiatives are either inadequately
and process improvement. In fact, developed or insufficiently applied,
a new study by Accenture reveals that and only one-third are satisfied with
a lack of comprehensive and holistic those initiatives.
investment in the finance workforce
often prevents the function from But while prevalent, this condition is
effectively supporting the larger not always the case. Our research did
enterprise not only in day-to-day uncover a number of organizations
pursuit of high performance, but also that are supporting the finance work-
in major transformation initiatives. force with appropriate investment—

1 | Investments in the Finance Workforce Report

An increased need for high
performance in the finance
function
Figure 1: Primary focus of global companies
59%
Growth
Cost control
Even split

36%
33%

22%
16%
14%

Today 12 months from now

Source: Accenture 2006 High-Performance Workforce Study

As the global economy gains steam, Furthermore, when these growth- In addition, according to Accenture's
today's corporate leaders are mindful focused executives appraise their 2006 Investment in the Finance
of their responsibility to generate as organization's bench strength and Workforce Study, finance executives
much shareholder value as possible its ability to support their future believe that the workforce is the
from each fiscal updraft. Indeed, the goals, they are increasingly looking single-most important factor in
2006 Accenture High-Performance to the finance function for help. achieving high performance finance—
Workforce Study has confirmed When we asked executives participating ahead of efficient processes, appropriate
a clear shift in their focus toward in the Accenture High-Performance tools and technology, or an effective
growth and away from cost Workforce Study to rank the functions strategy (Figure 2). In the words of
containment. More specifically, most critical to achieving high one surveyed CFO, quot;We are emphasizing
the study revealed that 22 percent performance, finance was tied with putting in place the absolute best
of CFOs said their company's primary strategic planning as one of the top athletes that we can find.quot; Another
focus today is on cost control, 16 three—just behind customer service CFO added, quot;In terms of making
percent on growth, and 59 percent and sales. things happen, the workforce is
evenly split between cost and growth. everything: providing judgment and
In 12 months time, those figures shift an interface with business operations.
to 14 percent on cost, 33 percent Workforce is everything.quot;
on growth and a 36 percent split
between the two (Figure 1).

2

Figure 2: Most important factors for achieving high performance finance
Extremely important
Very important
Somewhat important
38%
43% A little important
52%
Not at all important
65%

45%
44%
44%
29%
1%
12% 3%
2%
1% 9%
1%
1% 1%
5% 1%
Highly skilled Efficient Appropriate Effective and
and well process design tools and well-executed
organized and execution technologies strategy
workforce

Source: 2006 Investment in the Finance Workforce Study

These findings are consistent with has become increasingly responsible quot;There is an expectation that we in
Accenture's ongoing research into the for the success of the company's finance someday will be business
characteristics of high-performance transformation programs, and is being leaders,quot; explained one CFO we
businesses which confirms the rising asked to advise top management surveyed. quot;So beyond the basic
importance of the finance function on growth-related issues such as technical skills, the educational
and its leaders to the achievement of mergers and acquisitions, product line background and so on you also need
growth and other performance goals. changes, organizational restructurings skills in change leadership and in
Indeed, when we talked to CFOs and and geographical expansions. performance management. We are
other leading finance executives ensuring that the people we're putting
about their jobs and the challenges And while CFOs and other finance in positions now in our finance and
they face, we heard a strikingly leaders have invested richly in new accounting organization are going
consistent tale. technologies and business processes to drive our long-term performance.
to support this changing role, Whereas 10 years ago, if you were
Once upon a time, the finance work- they have overlooked the need to a great finance mind, you were just
force was narrowly focused on the simultaneously upgrade and enhance going to keep moving up. It takes
management and containment of the workforce. Without new skills, more than that now—I'm not promoting
expenditures, the timely collection new training and in some cases new anybody to a VP position who isn't
of revenue, compliance with regulatory people, finance leaders can find also a proven organizational leader.quot;
statutes and the accurate reporting of themselves in charge of a function
financial results to shareholders and that cannot fulfill the demands of its
analysts. Over time, however, finance new, more strategic role.


A function that often falls
short of high performance

Figure 3: Development of recruitment programs for skilled staff

61%
43%
65%

27%

12%

No recruitment Inadequately Programs are
programs in place developed adequately
programs developed


Unfortunately, the increasingly specifically, most think their workforce In addition, when it comes to keeping
mission-critical finance function initiatives are inadequately developed pace with a dynamic competitive
is not seen as achieving high or insufficiently applied and only landscape, just half of finance
performance by a large majority one-third are satisfied with those executives think their departments
of executives in the Accenture High initiatives. The specific challenges adapt well to change and even fewer
Performance Workforce Study. these executives face include recruitment, believe their departments anticipate it
Specifically, using a scale of 1=low retention, leadership development and well. Finally, only half the respondents
to 5=high, only 19 percent of all adaptability to change—in sum, the believe in the coordination of their
respondents and 13 percent of CFOs entire employee lifecycle. leadership team—in other words, how
who named finance a top-three well the top leaders work together—
function said the function performs For example, more than 60 percent and even fewer give a high rating
at a high level. So while the finance of finance executives participating to the team's overall quality. quot;We
workforce is widely perceived as critical in the survey describe their staff recognize that we are not doing
to growth and a direct contributor recruitment strategies as inadequately what's needed to get deep ranks in
to overall high performance, its low developed (Figure 3), and finding the finance organization, and that
relative performance is a potential qualified finance staff is a challenge our line of succession is very thin,quot;
stumbling block. for more than half of respondents said one CFO. quot;We know we need to
(Figure 4). Indeed, only about one- dig in on these issues.quot;
Indeed, this perception is reinforced quarter of finance executives are
by the 2006 Investments in the satisfied with their recruitment and
Finance Workforce Study, which development programs (Figure 5).
found most finance leaders do not Furthermore, fully 62 percent are only
believe they have the organization, somewhat satisfied or are dissatisfied
staff or skill level to meet their with their staff retention programs
challenges, including growth. More (Figure 6).

4

Figure 4: Difficulty in attracting and growing talented staff
40%

30%

65%

13%
11%

6%

Not at all A little Somewhat Very much Extremely

Figure 5: Satisfaction with staff recruitment and Figure 6: Satisfaction with staff retention programs
development programs

Extremely/very much Extremely/very much
Somewhat Somewhat
25% 27%
Not at all/little Not at all/little
38%

42%
53%
38%

31%
24%
22%

Recruitment Development
strategy program



Most finance leaders do not
believe they have the organization,
staff or skill level to meet their
challenges, including growth.

6

A critical factor: lack
of alignment between
investments and priorities

Figure 7: Percentage of finance’s investment budget spent on
workforce enhancement
45%

33%

20%

1%

0-2% >2-5% >5-10% >10%


We believe that this low performance In fact, with respect to workforce A respondent who did invest richly
may be due in part to a dichotomy in investments as part of overall in the workforce during a major
the minds of CFOs. Most executives transformation programs, nearly transformation had this to say: quot;[With
participating in the 2006 Investments 40 percent of finance executives less investment in the workforce]
in the Finance Workforce Study agree in our survey said their companies we would be in a very marginalized
that the workforce is more important had made minor or no investment. position. Instead, we are enjoying
than technology and process for Of particularly low importance to a great degree of success and our
creating a strong finance organization. finance executives were investments people are optimistic. We often think
However, in contrast to this mandate, in employee morale and leadership of what would have happened if we
finance executives are allocating a development during transformations, had not invested in the workforce—I
relative pittance to the workforce with nearly 50 percent reporting believe that we would be in a big hole
compared with their investments in minor or no investments in those areas. and trying to dig ourselves out of it.quot;
technology and process improvements.
Indeed, fully one-third of surveyed These decisions are not without Furthermore, the initiatives that are in
executives spent 2 percent or less of consequences. Indeed, the result of place in support of these transformation
their investment budgets on enhancing failing to invest in the workforce as programs deal only with a few
the workforce (Figure 7). part of transformation programs is aspects of the workforce. Our finance
that while quality, access and speed survey revealed an all-too-common
Furthermore, in companywide of information is improved and phenomenon: serious gaps in the
transformations such as ERP operational efficiency increases, initiatives intended to make finance
implementations, outsourcing and improvements in workforce productivity workforces capable of achieving
post-merger integrations, finance and workforce service to the high performance.
executives continue to overlook the organization are not fully achieved.
workforce when making investments.


Figure 8: Leadership development program in place Figure 9: Staff development programs in place

Have had programs in place for over 2 years Yes, for all staff
11%
Recently initiated programs Yes, for >75% of staff
9%
Programs are being considered Yes, for about 50% of staff
42% No perceived need for programs Yes, for about 25% of staff
20%
No funds allocated for programs No staff development programs

18%
33%

38%
28%
1%
1%


For example, fully 40 percent of Leadership and staff development are workforce initiatives is widespread,
respondents do not have leadership only two areas where finance executives indicating finance executives' awareness
initiatives in place at all, which is are failing to provide adequate of a need for attention. And, about
especially surprising given every resources. Our survey also revealed 50 percent of respondents to our
organization's need for qualified that 66 percent of respondents have survey have plans to address some
leaders (Figure 8). And while these training initiatives in place for less aspect of the workforce.
organizations are failing to adequately than half of employees, and only just
develop leaders, they also are falling over one-third of companies have quot;We feel pretty good about where we
short in developing the best skills of initiatives to develop employees' are, but we also have a healthy level
quot;the rank and file.quot; In fact, 81 percent ability to respond to change. of discontent with the status quo,quot;
have staff development initiatives in noted the CFO of a major retailer.
place for half of their employees, and The good news is that finance quot;We know we need to get to the
nearly 61 percent have them for 25 executives are aware of the need next level of maturation, and to get
percent or less of their employees for change in their approach to on that path we are establishing
(Figure 9). workforce management. Our study several formal development programs
reveals that executive evaluation of within finance.quot;

8

What separates the best
from the rest?
Figure 10: Percent of finance organizations with strategies in six dimensions
of workforce development

Laggards
Leadership acquisition and development 36% 56%
Leaders
56% 94%
Organizational structure
Talent management 46% 78%
51% 97%
Workforce performance
47% 67%
Employee engagement
30% 61%
Change management


There's one inescapable conclusion An analysis of the survey responses workforce development. In comparison,
of our research: To shift from quot;talking of the finance leaders and all other the majority of leaders had strategies
the talkquot; to quot;walking the talk,quot; finance companies in the sample (the laggards) in place for all six (Figure 10).
executives must not only make their revealed two clear patterns: Leaders
approach to workforce investment spend a greater percentage of their In all, the leaders as a group have
much more comprehensive and budgets on workforce development strategies in place to address a much
complete, but they also should and they take a much more wider range of workforce challenges
consider improvements in workforce comprehensive approach toward than do laggards. The words of one
productivity and service to the that investment. For example, 31 leading CFO capture the comprehensive,
organization as essential as technology percent of leaders reported spending quot;can-doquot; attitude that separates them
enhancements-as is being done by a greater than 5 percent of their from laggards. quot;You've got to get the
small subset (30 percent) of companies investment budgets on workforce- whole organization in tune with the
participating in our survey. These oriented activities, versus only 19 fact that we really need to develop
companies—which we deemed the percent of laggards. our people, and this is what we
quot;finance leadersquot;—reported skills equal need to do to do that,quot; the CFO said.
to or better than those of competitors Leaders also reported much more quot;You've got to get everybody on board
in three or more key aspects of the broad-based strategies than laggards. and say we're going to measure it
finance function. Less than half of laggards indicated and it's got to become a part of
that they had strategies to address everything you do.quot;
four out of six basic dimensions of


The payoff of emphasizing
investments in the workforce
Figure 11: Benefits of a comprehensive approach to workforce performance
(illustrative)
Potential
Retain top performers
performance
over time
Exhibited
job
Current
80% proficiency
proficiency
performance
in %

Continuously
improve
performance
Cost
The Value: The gap between the two (shaded) areas highlights the reduction
in cost and increase in productivity achieved through the increase in
Attract
performance attained by comprehensive investments in workforce
top
talent Build core
finance
skills
Recruiting

30 days 60 days 90 days
Time
Orientation Performance Performance
and initial enhancement improvement
training

Source: Accenture

Accenture's own client experience Accenture's experience also has companies can focus not only on
supports the CFO's sentiments and revealed that comprehensive building a new organization, but also
shows that this comprehensive workforce initiatives are particularly on enhancing the roles and skills
approach to workforce performance important at key moments in an of the retained organization. For
can reduce costs while it increases organization's lifecycle. For example, organizations implementing new
productivity, leading to significant during a change in finance leadership Enterprise Performance Management
business benefits (Figure 11). Such an or strategy, a merger or acquisition, (EPM) toolsets, workforce initiatives
approach can enable an organization a systems consolidation or ERP can help ensure that the people
to attract employees with higher implementation, or a period of that will use the new tools have the
levels of proficiency, decrease the increased regulatory oversight, such required skills and business acumen.
time it takes employees to gain initiatives can help win employees And during a post merger integration,
additional skills and knowledge, over to the organization's new focus, workforce initiatives can help make
retain top performers and put in place goals and procedures. Furthermore, sure that skills from the old and new
performance management processes comprehensive workforce initiatives organizations complement each other
that lead to continuous improvement. help employees develop the skills they and align for maximum benefit.
As the figure shows, these benefits need to adapt to change, and help
can add substantial value by quickly ensure that change does not result in
and effectively ramping up the the loss of top talent. For example,
organization's overall performance. during a shared services program

10

For the leaders in our survey, a Furthermore, when it comes to
comprehensive approach to workforce proactively preparing for change,
performance has resulted in similar taking a more comprehensive
operational and competitive advantages. approach has clear benefits. More
specifically, 52 percent of leaders
In general, leaders felt much better rated their workforce's ability to
equipped to face the challenges that prepare and react to change either
affect their ability to operate at high a 4 or a 5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to
levels of performance, with much 5=highest). In comparison, only 31
lower percentages reporting extreme percent of laggards reported the same
levels of challenge with quot;number level of preparedness. At the lowest
or caliber of managers/leaders,quot; levels of preparedness, the comparison
quot;organizational structure/job was just as compelling, with 29
definition and alignment,quot; quot;skills percent of laggards describing their
and knowledge of workforce,quot; finance workforces as a 1 or 2 on the
quot;employee engagement, morale, same scale and only 6 percent of
and commitment,quot; and quot;workforce leaders reporting the same low levels
adaptability to changequot; (Figure 12). of readiness for change (Figure 14).
Perhaps this explains why nearly 60
percent of leaders reported having The comment of one leading CFO
finance leadership teams very capable sums up the attitude of the leaders.
of delivering high levels of performance, When asked whether or not his
and why only 34 percent of laggards staff responded well to change, this
could make the same claim. respondent said, quot;In my lifespan as
CFO we have changed operating
Leaders also experienced fewer models at least two or three times,
challenges attracting and developing changed CEOs and regimes three
skilled staff. Indeed, while nearly one times, installed SAP in 50 countries
in four laggards reported high levels and several hundred legal entities,
of difficulty attracting and growing and did an IPO without much of a
talented staff, only less than 1 of blip. So I would say the answer to
every 10 leaders reported the same that question is yes.quot;
levels of difficulty. In fact, 53 percent
of leaders experienced no difficulty or Finally, companies that invest
quot;a little,quot; while that level of ease was significantly in workforce initiatives
attained only by 36 percent of laggards during transformation programs
(Figure 13). This advantage can be achieve a greater percentage of
very meaningful, especially given the expected benefits than those that
challenges facing finance recruiters. don't. High-investment respondents
In the words of one CFO: quot;For high- reported better results in terms of
end talent there's always a war— their control environment; the service
everyone wants the best and the provided by finance to the rest of the
brightest and that's always a challenge. organization; operational efficiency;
As people start retiring, that's going and data quality, speed, and access
to be an even bigger challenge.quot; (Figure 15). In sum, nearly 90
In this context, it seems especially percent of respondents who invested
significant that more leaders than in workforce initiatives during
laggards described their turnover rates transformations reported that
as quot;much lower than industry average.quot; those programs helped achieve
the transformation's full benefits
(Figure 16).


Figure 12: Percentage of respondents reporting quot;extreme levels of challengequot;
in workforce areas
Laggards
10% 3%
Workforce adaptability to change
Leaders
14%
Employee engagement, morale and commitment

Skills and knowledge of workforce 8% 3%
Organizational structure/job definition and
6%
alignment
Number or caliber of managers/leaders 15% 6%

Figure 13: Difficulty attracting and growing talented staff

Laggards
Extremely 8% 3%
Leaders
Very much 16% 6%

Somewhat 40% 39%

A little 22% 42%

14% 11%
Not at all

Figure 14: Workforce proactive preparedness for change

Laggards
5 - Extremely high 6%
Leaders
4 - High 31% 46%

3 - Average 40% 43%

2 - Low 27% 6%

2%
1 - Very low

12

Figure 15: Percentage of respondents achieving greater than two-thirds of
expected benefits from transformation programs

53%
49%
47% 47%
47%
44% Lower average investment in
41% 41%
workforce during transformation
37%
Higher average investment in
workforce during transformation
29% 28%
23%

Improved Strengthened Improved Enhanced Better quality, Increased
control workforce service use of access and speed operational
environment technology of information efficiency

Figure 16: Extent to which workforce investment helped realize the full
benefit of transformation programs

41%
37%

10%
9%
3%

Extremely Very much Somewhat A little Not at all



A proven approach to making
the most of investments in
the finance workforce

While our research provides many and expertise spell the difference important issues, creates a climate
reasons why more comprehensive between initiatives that have that attracts and retains top talent,
investment in the finance workforce substantial, lasting business impact and helps the function build strong
is critical, how should a CFO go about on the organization and those and productive relationships with the
implementing such an approach? that generate merely incremental business. Accenture estimates that
Our deep experience in finance performance improvement. between 15 percent and 20 percent
transformations is helpful in augmenting of an organization's business
Diagnosing shortfalls
our research findings. In our years performance is determined by
of working with the world's leading The first step in transforming the the quality of its leadership. This
companies, we have observed that finance workforce involves diagnosing estimate is born out by our experience,
while those with superior finance any shortfalls in the current workforce in which we have seen greater than
functions follow approaches that performance. One tool that we have 20 percent productivity gains when
differ, each of those approaches found to be highly effective in such leaders have worked hard to develop
incorporate the following three basic an evaluation is the Accenture Human their own capabilities.
steps: diagnosing shortfalls in current Capital Development Framework.
2. Organization structure: A focus
workforce performance, establishing Developed by Accenture as part
a target state, and devising and of its High Performance Business on organization structure enables
implementing a comprehensive initiative, the framework measures finance workforces to better align
improvement plan. the performance of a company's with the company's strategic direction,
workforce along six key dimensions: understand how finance roles and
To be sure, these steps may seem leading practices can be best integrated
1. Leadership: Top-quality leadership
obvious and intuitive. However, what and incorporated into the function's
distinguishes leading companies from is critical to the performance of structure, and develop quot;customizationsquot;
all others are the tools and expertise finance organizations. It focuses of the basic organizational structure to
supporting these steps. Superior tools effort and attention on the most deliver the specific finance capabilities

14

required by the organization. A leading to lower productivity, low capabilities and how they differ from
detailed study of leading finance talent retention and high absenteeism1. existing capabilities, and how the
organizations has revealed that Gallup estimates that the lower function can best support the overall
optimal organization design productivity of actively disengaged goals of the organization. Also during
contributes to lower cost, increased workers costs the U.S. economy $328 this stage, a company establishes and
effectiveness, and improved focus billion. On the other hand, there is supports clear, objective performance
on higher value-added activities. little that can stop a motivated work- metrics that will allow it to analyze
force on a mission, equipped with all the return on any workforce investments.
3. Talent management: By employing the tools and knowledge it needs to
Establishing targets
good talent management practices, an complete that mission. By focusing
organization ensures that its workforce on employee engagement, finance Once data is collected, it is synthesized,
is always quot;fit for purpose.quot; Best of executives ensure that their workforces organized and analyzed to provide a
all, even when this is not the case, achieve that level of motivation, and clear, actionable picture of where
organizations with strong talent are not distracted by organizational gaps exist within each of the six
management know exactly where changes or career frustrations. dimensions just discussed. At this
the fit is off and can take action point, it should become clear where
6. Ability to change: The ability to
quickly. Our experience shows that the finance workforce falls short
conscientious talent management change is critical to addressing large, compared with industry benchmarks,
can be a source of real competitive potentially disruptive events such as key competitors and peer companies,
advantage. For example, the difference acquisitions, internal re-organizations and the needs and desires expressed
between a quot;rightquot; and a slightly or market re-positionings. Conversely, by stakeholders. Armed with such
quot;out of balancequot; talent pool can in the absence of a change-ready a comprehensive view of capability
mean as much as 15 percent to 20 culture, finance organizations are left gaps, the organization can prioritize
percent of the total labor cost for with slow and ineffective reactions to each opportunity for improvement in
the finance organization. the changing business environment, terms of its value to the enterprise.
leaving workforces in disarray and Once approved by all key stakeholders,
4. Workforce performance: By incapable of supporting continuous this priority list enables the organization
focusing on driving high levels of improvements and progress. Research to develop high-level recommendations
workforce performance through by Change Track reveals that only for workforce improvement.
on-demand, role-based information one in nine workgroups is able to
delivery to employees, organizations effectively manage change—meaning To aid the efforts in this step and
have achieved productivity increases millions of business dollars are wasted through its experience working with
of up to 20 percent. Furthermore, each year2. In contrast, the creation of many companies, Accenture has
skill gaps in the workforce have been a change-ready culture ensures that developed the Accenture Finance
found to be an important reason for the finance organization is capable Workforce Maturity Model (see Figure
project failure; by bridging these of implementing, owning, developing, 17). This tool allows a company to
gaps, organizations have been able and sustaining the process and make a point-by-point comparison of
to significantly reduce these failures. structural changes required for actual finance performance against
And by better leveraging high sustained high performance. industry benchmarks, as well as assess
performers while elevating the the function in comparison to the
performance of quot;averagequot; workers, Using the Accenture framework, a capabilities required to achieve
finance executives can achieve company begins diagnosis of shortfalls both the overall company strategy
dramatic productivity increases that in each of these areas with a and the finance function's specific goals.
benefit every level of the organization. comprehensive data collection
Devising and
process. This process includes surveys,
5. Employee engagement: A recent focus groups and in-depth interviews
implementing the plan
Gallup study showed that 20.6 million with a wide range of stakeholders to
The final step is generating and
employees or 15 percent of the U.S. gain insights on the current state of
implementing a detailed action plan
workforce are actively disengaged, the function, the function's desired
for improving each of the workforce

Source: Gallup Management Journal 2006
1

Source: ChangeTrack Research, Breaking the Cost Cutting Cycle, Insight CT-0205
2


Figure 17: Accenture's workforce maturity model (illustrative)

Human capital
Ad-hoc Basic Proactive Progressive Pioneering
capabilities

Leadership

Organization

Talent management
& HC efficiency

Workforce performance

Ability to change

Employee engagement

Actual capability
Target capability

Source: Accenture

dimensions under focus. This plan should For example, as part of its quot;Achieving on an initiative to transform the
classify improvement opportunities Finance and Controlling Excellencequot; entire finance function—an effort that
into quick wins and long-term goals, agenda, Siemens decided it needed included a new finance organization
and should be explicit about the to focus on workforce performance— structure, clear divisions of responsibility,
dependencies between each—with a major portion of which is learning. global shared services, a holistic
the ultimate goal being to develop The company created and deployed a finance training program, and supporting
superior capabilities in each of the sustainable accounting training program change management. The other
six workforce dimensions. supported by a Web-based-training company, Halliburton, has committed
technology, with the goals being to to building a world-class finance
It's important to note here that foster an understanding of intermediate organization by focusing on leader-
quot;comprehensive and holisticquot; and expert Siemens-specific account- ship development, talent management
investment in the workforce does ing knowledge; provide fast updates (with an emphasis on recruiting and
not necessarily mean addressing all for new accounting topics; enable making finance a more rewarding
six workforce dimensions simultaneously. usage of accounting and expert career at Halliburton), culture change
In some cases, a company may knowledge; evaluate individual and workforce performance, and
already have sufficient capabilities training needs; and enhance knowledge sharing.
in some areas and needs to focus on decentralized accounting quality.
the two or three in which it is lacking. The point is that there is no quot;right
In other cases, a company could Two other companies we looked at, wayquot; to develop critical finance
use more investment across all six however, are looking at the challenge workforce capabilities, nor does one
dimensions, but its business model more broadly and addressing several capability necessarily take precedence.
or strategy requires emphasis on one dimensions of the finance workforce. Rather, the type and scope of
or two that would have a substantial, One of these, a multibillion dollar improvement efforts should be
immediate payback. global high-tech company, embarked dictated explicitly by the needs
of the business.

16

The secret to a successful
finance function: people

In a profession characterized by Clearly, it is critical that workforce Guided by tools and techniques such
ratios, equations, and spreadsheets, enhancements assume the same as the Accenture Human Capital
the human element retains considerable level of priority among CFOs currently Development Framework and Finance
importance. Multiple Accenture enjoyed by technology and process Workforce Maturity Model, finance
research studies, coupled with our enhancements. While technology and leaders can make workforce investments
deep experience working with companies processes inevitably become obsolete that address a wider range of
that have achieved high performance as a function of time and progress, challenges and generate substantially
with the help of a superior finance the workforce is intelligent, dynamic, higher returns. With the right people
function, have revealed that the and able to be upgraded to a nearly in place and the right initiatives
human element is a linchpin for unlimited degree. Without a systematic supporting their growth and develop-
achieving economic value. This body approach, however, knowing how ment, these executives can make
of knowledge makes it irrefutable that much to invest and where to spend substantial progress toward creating
those companies that take a more it can be akin to finding the proverbial a finance driven value-centered
comprehensive, holistic approach to needle in a haystack. Furthermore, culture of the finance organization
developing their finance workforce today's finance function faces a host and, in the process, take major strides
achieve higher levels of performance of unprecedented demands on its toward the achievement of high
than those that do not. time, attention and expertise, increasing performance in the overall enterprise.
the pressure to perform at high levels.


About the
research
Three recently conducted Accenture 118 CFOs or their direct reports
research efforts are referenced in conducted over a two-month span.
this paper, each of which focused Respondents were distributed across
on important aspects of workforce the world's leading companies from
performance and managing human more than 12 industries. Survey findings
capital in today's dynamic environment. with finance executives at leading
global organizations were bolstered
The Accenture High-Performance by in depth interviews.
Workforce Study is conducted
approximately every 18 months Accenture's Finance and Performance
to measure workforce management Management Mastery and the High
trends among executives in large Performance Business report examines
corporations around the world. The the relationship between finance
2006 edition included a telephone mastery and high performance.
survey of more than 250 senior Throughout the report, which includes
executives (including CFOs) across a benchmark analysis in collaboration
seven broad industry segments in with the Hackett Group and more
the United States, United Kingdom, than 40 CFO interviews, Accenture
France, Germany, Spain and Australia. empirically demonstrates the unique
role that finance and performance
Accenture's 2006 Investment in the management capabilities play for
Finance Workforce survey was a global companies aspiring to become
multi-industry Web-based polling of high-performance businesses.

18

About Accenture
About the authors Chris Rutledge is an executive
partner in the Accenture Finance Accenture is a global management
Rodney Bergman is an executive
& Performance Management service consulting, technology services and
partner in the Accenture Human
line. Chris has responsibility for outsourcing company. Committed
Performance service line. He
managing our finance strategy to delivering innovation, Accenture
serves as the lead for the Human
practice. Since joining Accenture, collaborates with its clients to help
Performance practice in Canada and
Chris has focused on global finance them become high-performance
as the global lead for Accenture's
transformational efforts across businesses and governments. With
human performance offerings in
industries and functional areas. deep industry and business process
Finance Workforce Transformation
He has expertise in finance visioning expertise, broad global resources and
and Organization Design. Rodney
and strategy, finance and accounting a proven track record, Accenture can
specializes in design and development
shared services and outsourcing, and mobilize the right people, skills and
of human performance solutions and
enterprise performance management. technologies to help clients improve
strategies and has deep expertise in
their performance. With approximately
organization design and development.
Rosanne Williams is a partner in the 146,000 people in 49 countries, the
With over 17 years of experience, he
Accenture Finance & Performance company generated net revenues of
has led shared services projects for
Management service line. Ms. US$16.65 billion for the fiscal year
finance and HR functions as well as
Williams has over 15 years experience ended Aug. 31, 2006. Its home page
numerous transformation projects for
consulting in the finance and is www.accenture.com.
finance functions in the high tech,
performance management area
communications and media industries.
and is currently the Director of
Research and Innovation for the
service line.

For further information on
Copyright © 2007 Accenture
All rights reserved. this research or the Accenture
Finance & Performance
Accenture, its logo, and
Management service line, please
High Performance Delivered
visit www.accenture.com/fpm
are trademarks of Accenture.
or contact us at
fpm.service.line@accenture.com.

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