The Evolution of the Finance Operating Model

• Published in: Bank Accounting & Finance 2009-02, p.47
• Main Authors: Letarte, T J, Gittleson, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chief financial officers; Financial services; Interviews; Leadership; Organizational structure; Polls & surveys; Product development
• ISSN: 0894-3958

Finance is responsible for collecting, sorting, analyzing and reporting out all that data - turning this data into useful metrics and information. As so, it needs a strong operating model that allows it to do its job in this kind of environment. As finance plays an increasingly important role driving business strategy, investing in the finance function has never been more important. A survey of CFOs revealed that they are dealing with three major challenges: 1. There remains a disconnect between the type of information needed to meet regulatory requirements and the type of information management needs to run the business. 2. Many of the largest banks' business models rely on cross-business synergies, but functionally they are still organized by line of business or by geography. Information needed to execute the corporate strategy can easily become trapped within business or geographic silos. 3. The front office's growing need for more detailed, accurate and timely information is outpacing the back office's ability to generate the information. This gap between information needs and information capacities represents a persistent challenge.