The future of your SME's finance function
Every business needs a solid finance function, but what does it look like and what is the best fit for your business– both now and for the future?
It’s ok, and necessary, to design your finance department around the current business complexities and needs, or you wouldn’t be able to deliver your business requirements now. But what happens when those needs change, and will you notice it when they do?
How to build a finance department
A finance department should be built with flexibility and adaptability ingrained into its foundations. Roles within these teams, while defined for clarity, should not be constrained by titles or responsibilities. Every individual in a finance team adds unique value to the business at that point in time, but as things change so does that value. Their skillset and remit often increase and, therefore, so does what they can offer the business.
Within an SME this often brings unfamiliarity, unknown requirements, and change, but it doesn’t need to. Seek the right support and technology, and your finance team will thrive.
The future finance team – structure not looks
So, what does your finance team of the future look like? We don’t think that’s the right question to answer, it’s about how you structure the team to be agile and have a strategic outlook on the business.
A finance team doesn’t solely need fixed skilled and permanent personnel, as that can easily prevent you from doing the things you need to be agile, like automation. But, you absolutely need stability. So employing an accountant in residence once you get to a certain size is a must, but the rest can move as the business does.
Just like subscribing to SaaS software when you need it or use specialist legal advice when required, finance teams can be structured in the same way. They don’t all have to be full time or expensive, skillsets are available as and when you need it.
Using a specialist for business planning or strategy projects brings experience into the mix, but they don’t need to be employed permanently to deliver this project. Having a systems transformation delivered by someone who has delivered in hundreds of other similar sized, and same sector companies, means you don’t get burnt.
Future-forward business culture
The idea is that any department within an SME should be agile, and it’s the culture that determines that. The modern-day finance team should deliver data and performance as fast as the business moves against its competition. The tools and the personnel need to be right for the business at every stage of its growth – if the business has changed it’s likely your finance needs will have too.