Finance Business Partnering

Finance Business Partnering: From Number Cruncher to Strategic Business Partner
FINANCE BUSINESS
PARTNERING:
FR O M NUMBER CRUN CH ER T O
S T R ATE GIC B US I N ESS PART N E R
1
3 Introduction
Chapter 1:
4
The basics of finance business partnering
Chapter 2:
10
Getting started: Building partnerships
Chapter 3:
17
Breaking down barriers
24
Chapter 4:
Traits and capabilities
31
Chapter 5:
Developing an action plan
41 Conclusion
2
Introduction
As you read through the pages of this playbook, you’ll discover fascinating insights from real-
life finance business partners who have tapped into the essence of what it means to become
irreplaceable to an organization.
Remember that finance business partnering is more than just a job title. It’s a unique combination of
personality traits, skills, and capabilities that collide to form world-class business leaders and strategy
advisors.
To become a finance business partner (FBP), you must create value by supporting the business
through data-driven insights and decision support – and we’re going to show you how.
You’ll learn what it takes to transition into a finance business partnering role from start to finish,
including how to break down organizational barriers and how to develop the necessary skills
to succeed.
“What is the difference between colleagues and business partners?
“Colleagues may share common goals, but business partners share the
success.”
Herman Lee, Head of Finance Technology at J O Hambro Capital Management
3
Chapter 1:
The basics of finance
business partnering
4
What is finance business partnering? We asked finance professionals to define the true
meaning of finance business partnering, and here’s what
Finance business partnering is a term used to describe the role of
they had to say:
finance professionals working closely with other departments within
an organization to provide financial guidance and support.
The goal of finance business partnering is to help organizations make “It’s quite a simple yet broad concept
better financial decisions, increase efficiency, and improve overall and there is a lot of stuff out there that
financial performance. overcomplicates it. Finance business
By working closely with senior management, finance business partnering is finance professionals working
partners can help ensure that financial considerations are noted in all effectively with non-finance colleagues.
business decisions. “What does that mean?
If you want to become a finance business partner, your main goal “It means the non-finance individuals are the
should be to move away from the back office to become a key part of judges of whether you can help them and
the business. solve business problems for them.”
Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The

Finance Business Partner
“Every finance function has an organizational

imperative to provide financial literacy to all
other functions in helping them achieve their
own strategy and objectives in line with the
overall business plan.”
Brian O’Driscoll, CFO at TitanHQ
5
“A financial business partner bridges the gap “Finance business partnering means coming
between raw data and powerful insights, which alongside the business unit or organization
is the focus of a finance business partner.” that the finance team member supports.
This means understanding what goals and
Srushti Mahamuni, Operation Business
struggles the business unit or organization has,
Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
and then doing everything you can to support
that from a financial perspective.”
Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at

“For finance people, business partnering
GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service
is about breaking out of the accounting
stereotype and meshing ourselves into the
business (and business strategy) to become
an intrinsic part of how they succeed. If we “Finance business partnering is the ‘sexy’ side
don’t do that, we die on the vine and become to accounting. It plays a key role in driving
nothing more than accountants.” the business forward, looking at commercial
Stewart Houston, Exec. Director of Business drivers, and suggesting ways to grow the
Operations Finance at ICON plc. company and revenue.”
Kenton Bell, Principle Recruitment Consultant

at HireIQ Recruitment
6
Why is finance business partnering so Why is it important for finance professionals to move
into a partnership role?
important?
If you want to make a real-time impact and solidify your place within a
business, you’ve got to be more than just a ‘number cruncher.’ “It’s important because it allows the business
unit or organization that you’re supporting to
Moving into a business partnering role is a topic that stirs a lot of buzz
be able to focus on what they’re great at.
in the finance community. Yet, many people talking about finance
business partnerships don’t always get to the crux of it. There’s always “You become their eyes and ears for all things
repetition on what people should be doing, but very little on the why. finance. You can see things that they might
not otherwise consider, like finding ways to
So, why is finance business partnering so important besides being a
drive efficiency or measure how much an
natural place for finance folks to go if they want to do more than just
investment might return to the organization.”
accounting?
Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at
GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service
1. It aligns financial goals with the strategic goals of an

organization, helping to ensure that the business is in the
best possible position to conquer both. “Each function in an organization has a way of
2. It involves working closely with other departments looking at the world and a unique set of skills.
to understand their needs, identify opportunities for Finance should have a deep knowledge of the
improvement, and provide financial insights and support to organizational business plan and supporting
help the business make informed decisions. numbers that make this plan tick.
3. It helps drive the success of the business and ensures that “Finance can provide objective insight driven
it’s well-positioned for long-term growth. through data and often links multiple functions
overriding silos within the business.”
4. It can also help to improve communication and
collaboration within an organization since it promotes Brian O’Driscoll, CFO at TitanHQ
sharing of information between departments and improves
understanding of the organization’s financial position.
7
Benefits of finance business partnering
1. Improved decision-making
By providing financial insights and data-driven analysis, finance business partners can help other
departments make informed decisions that are aligned with the organization’s financial goals.
2. Enhanced strategic planning

They can develop and implement long-term strategies that align with the organization’s overall goals.
Not only that, but they can also help other departments understand financial concepts and terminology,
which can improve their understanding of the organization’s financial position and performance.
3. Increased efficiency
By working closely with multiple departments, finance business partners identify and address
inefficiencies, helping to streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve performance.
4. Greater accountability
They help to ensure that business units are held accountable “Finance professionals have the gift of not being
for their performance and that resources are being used in the day-to-day management of a business or
effectively. business unit.
“Yes, finance has its own day-to-day functions, but

5. Stronger relationships
it’s able to step back and evaluate performance in
Building strong relationships between the finance team and
a way that someone so close to the core function
other business units can foster a culture of collaboration and
of the organization can’t.
trust, leading to better communication and decision-making.
“Finance professionals drive real business value by
taking advantage of this perspective.”
Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at GrowthLab

Finance-as-a-Service
8
Why finance business partners are so Finance business partners have a vital role to play
because of two important reasons:
valuable to organizations
Christian Wattig, Managing Director at FP&A Prep, sums up the 1. Our goals are different.
meaning of finance business partnering perfectly and reveals why We don’t sit in silos like our cross-functional business partners. As a
organizations need to embrace finance business partners if they want result, our incentives aren’t as narrowly defined.
to succeed.
A sales leader wants to increase top-line revenue, which may come
Finance business partners take an active role in helping the company at the cost of profitability. And an R&D leader wants to keep launching
achieve its goals. We do that by being a strategic partner to the new features, even if fixing the existing features results in more
business to drive sustainable growth and profitability while managing customer loyalty.
risk.
Finance business partners can help achieve the right balance
Great finance business partners don’t just raise alarm bells when because they have broader goals.
leaders want to take unnecessary risks. We also recommend which
risks are worth taking, backed by data and thorough financial analysis. 2. We have a birds-eye view of the financials.
Specifically, finance business partners add value in four ways: The data we access is broader and often all-encompassing, while
our cross-functional business partners typically only consider what is
necessary for their role.
1. Raising accountability. As a result, we can connect the dots between different areas of the
2. Simplifying and questioning. business and use the information to spot changes in trends before
others do.
3. Creating visibility of business performance.
4. Influencing and empowering.
9
Chapter 2:
Getting started:
Building partnerships
10
How to get started with finance business

1. You need to tell us early enough about the
partnering
change. It can’t be a last-minute thing
If you’re eager to take the first step towards your
future as a finance business partner, Christian 2. You must give us an idea of the impact of that
Wattig, Managing Director at FP&A Prep, has investment. What will the result be for the
outlined how you can get started on the right foot business?
by adding as much value as possible from the start.
Demonstrate your value Because they’re telling us things ahead of time, we can create a
financial forecast and carry out the necessary tasks to meet their needs.
You need to start implementing something where other departments
immediately see the value. It needs to help them achieve their goals. And because they share the expected results of a change in the
budget, we can do a financial analysis around it.
So, one thing that worked for me was giving them more flexibility
around budgets. Traditionally, companies set a budget at the We can run a return on investment (ROI) model or a discounted cash
beginning of the year, and then people just must manage with that. flow model and get a better idea of what the actual impact is on
Getting a budget increase after the fact can be difficult for many expected business results.
companies.
And once that forecast and financial analysis process start to result
But instead, I would tell people, look, we are happy to give you more in concrete recommendations, our business partners trust our
flexibility. We just need two things from you: abilities more. And that, in turn, can lead to more collaboration and
opportunities for finance to add even more value.
11
Get to know your business partners Get to know them
Building relationships with key members of the business is so So, take them out for lunch/coffee/a beer and just tell them you
important, especially if you want to step into a partnership role and wanted to get to know them better as a person and talk to them
have more influence. By building relationships with your business about non-work things. Doing so will help to make them like you more,
partners, you can increase your credibility within the organization and they’ll feel more comfortable and then they’ll share things with you
have a greater impact on business decisions. they previously didn’t.
Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The Finance Business Partner, Get them talking about them, not you talking about you.
shared some solid tips to help you establish good working

relationships with your business partners by simply being human and
making it about them.
Ask your business partners these three questions:
Go up to your business partners and ask them questions along the

lines of:
1. What’s keeping you up at night?
2. What’s the biggest issue for you in your area?
3. How can I help?
Unfortunately, doing that won’t get all the answers you need. So, you
need to do some prep work to ensure they don’t see you as a threat
and feel comfortable around you.
12
3 pillars of finance business partnering

Stewart Houston, Executive Director of Business
Operations Finance at ICON plc, shared the
three main building blocks to effective finance
business partnering:
1st Pillar
The first pillar is basic and it’s almost at the transactional level, but not quite. You can have some
discussion about what’s going on at the transaction level, such as the outcome of the transaction, and
provide the necessary financial information.
2nd Pillar
The second step is to collaborate with the business unit on its specific issues. For example, they have a
problem where they don’t understand why they have erosion on margin in a particular product area. Well,
you can pull data and help them understand and construe it.
3rd Pillar
The third piece is the Holy Grail of business partnering for finance, and it’s where we’re problem-solving
and driving the agenda. That’s the hardest piece to come across because you’re sometimes going to
deal with problems in their area that they haven’t identified yet so you must be diplomatic with it. If you’re
not diplomatic, your shutters will come down and you won’t get anywhere.
13
How to tackle your first project as a finance

business partner (like a pro!)
Below, you’ll find six steps to help you tackle your first project on your way
to becoming a successful finance business partner, courtesy of Srushti
Mahamuni, Operation Business Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Step 1 – Set yourself a 90-day deadline for your project.

By the end of 90 days, you should either have your improvement recommendations agreed upon,
adopted, and actioned – or at least recommendations agreed upon and in progress. Keep the
momentum, don’t let things ‘slide’, and don’t let the project scope ‘creep’.
Step 2 - Choose a problem that really needs to be resolved or an opportunity that

can’t be ignored.
Make sure it has a significant quantifiable benefit – or resolves a recognized ongoing issue. The idea
of the project is to illustrate how ‘Finance’ (and you) can help your operational managers improve the
business’s performance. So, when complete, it must be something that can be ‘celebrated’ and talked
about across the business.
Step 3 – Make sure it’s something you can tackle alongside your ‘day job’.
You’ll already have a host of regular Finance duties to perform and timetables to achieve, so you’ll
need to create the capacity to take on the project. Likely, that will require a bit of prioritization, a bit of
delegation (if that’s possible), a bit of negotiation, and a commitment from you to work extra hours,
where and when needed.
14
Step 4 - Decide what data you’re going to need for the project – and where and how
to get it.
It’s also worth considering getting what Tom Peters calls a ‘CHRO’ (Chief Hurdle Removal Officer) on
board for when you hit a roadblock (the hurdles and roadblocks are often human).
Step 5 - Decide what knowledge and skills you’ll need to ‘brush up’ on for this project.
Often, it’s the ‘soft’ skills that need to be honed. They are the skills that those operating in more
traditional accounting roles where logic, standards, and ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ apply, don’t get the same
opportunity to exercise.
Brilliant analysis and important insight won’t improve performance if you can’t ‘sell’ the idea. Just
because it looks like a ‘no-brainer’ to you, doesn’t mean it will ‘fly’.
Step 6 - Choose someone experienced, whom you trust, to be your ‘sounding board’.
It’s very easy to get wrapped up in a project and go off down a ‘blind alley’ or put forward an idea that
on paper or spreadsheet looks good, but is impractical or not ‘sellable’.
15
Collaboration tips
“You need the partnership to be as harmonious
When working with other functions in the business, remember that as possible. So, don’t just throw a conclusive
they don’t always see the big picture that you’re trying to work piece of evidence in front of someone and
towards. Everyone’s focused on their areas of the business. expect them to work to conform to it.”
So, how can you intertwine effectively with various areas of the Stewart Houston, Exec. Director of Business
business – without the whole thing falling apart? Operations Finance at ICON plc
•
Tips to improve how you work with other people
(outside the finance team):
• Take a step back and try not to tell them how to do their job.
Instead, talk to them about the implication of how they’re
currently working with other teams and how they could
perhaps work better.
• Don’t fast forward to a conclusion without bringing other

people in. Take others on the journey with you.
• Once you recognize something that may be problematic

and have data evidence to back it up, bring that data to the
people you’re trying to partner with. And bring them in as
early as possible.
• Whatever you set up, make sure it’s sustainable and

maintainable.
16
Chapter 3:
Breaking down barriers
17
How to overcome 3 common barriers No time
Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The Finance Time never changes, so that’s solved by prioritizing what’s important
Business Partner, revealed the top three barriers that for the organization (not for finance) and accepting you will never get
finance professionals face when they want to move your to-do list done – and that’s ok.
into a more strategic role within the business:

No seat at the table
In the workshops we run, we ask this exact question
This is due to non-finance people having a lack of trust in you. If they
and the top three responses without question are:
don’t trust you, they’ll actively work around you. And if they don’t like
you, they’ll avoid you and only call you in at the end.
1. No time. To fix this, finance individuals should focus on having people like
them more, building strong relationships and connections, and not
2. No seat at the table (non-finance don’t trust me).
positioning themselves as an authority or threat to other people.
3. Systems and processes.
Systems and processes
Systems and process is a situational thing that is different for every
team and organization and is moving around all the time.
But if your systems, processes, and staff are not capable of doing the
things they need to, it’ll drag you down into that world where you are
doing no business partnering and you’re just doing rework.
18
5 challenges and solutions

Transitioning to the role of finance business partner isn’t always easy and you’ll likely be
met with a fair share of challenges along the way.
Thankfully, there are solutions to help you overcome these common challenges so that
you can become the most effective business partner you can be:
Challenge Solution
Resistance to change Build relationships
Some of your colleagues and managers may be resistant to change Building strong relationships with business unit leaders and employees
and not want to work closely with the finance team. This can make it can help you overcome resistance to change and gain a better
difficult for you to effectively support the business. understanding of the business.
Lack of understanding Communicate effectively
A business that doesn’t fully understand the value that finance business Clear and effective communication is key to building trust and
partnering can provide can make it difficult for you to fulfill your overcoming misunderstandings. You should try your best to clearly
potential. Plus, it makes it even more challenging to communicate the communicate the value that you can bring to the business.
benefits of your involvement.
Limited resources Prioritize resources
Finance business partnering often requires a significant investment of It’s important to prioritize your efforts and focus on the areas where you
time and resources. This can be challenging for organizations that have can have the greatest impact. This can help to ensure that available
limited resources or are facing budget constraints. resources are used effectively.
19
Challenge Solution
Lack of data Leverage data
In some cases, you may not have access to the data you need to You should work to access and analyze the data you need to make
make informed decisions. This can make it difficult to provide valuable informed decisions. This may require building relationships with other
insights to the business. teams or departments within the organization.
Limited influence Build credibility
You may not have the same level of influence as other members of You can build credibility by demonstrating your expertise and your
the senior leadership team, which can make it harder for you to drive ability to add value to the business. This can help to increase your
change within the organization. influence within the organization.
20
What are some common challenges that finance

“There’s a natural skepticism whenever a
professionals face when stepping into the role of a
finance associate gets close to a business
finance business partner?
unit. The natural thoughts of “they want to find
ways to cut my budget” or “they’re trying to set
“Other functions can sometimes feel that unrealistic targets” come up.
Finance is adopting a big-brother mentality. In “I think the best way to overcome this is to truly
all workplace interactions, assuming positive develop a relationship with the business unit
intent is always a great place to start. that the finance associate is supporting. They
“From the Finance standpoint, it’s important need to feel like you truly are in their corner.
to remember that whilst Finance can derive “If you can show them how your goals are
insights, they’re not the experts in any function aligned with their goals, then it creates a level
other than their own. Trust is a two-way street. of trust. Once you have trust, you gain the
“We can provide objective insights as we see ability to have influence.”
them, but we must trust in our colleagues Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at
and let them take the insights and assess for GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service
relevance and value.”
Brian O’Driscoll, CFO at TitanHQ
21
How to get a seat at the table

“The main barriers to finance business
partnering include being occupied with back- Christian Wattig, Managing Director at FP&A Prep, highlighted the
office finance operations, lack of insightful importance of building trust if you want to get a seat at the table
management information, and lack of where key business decisions are made:
credibility to the business partners. As finance business partners, we aim to become strategic partners
“To be a credible business partner, a finance driving sustainable growth and profitability while managing risk.
professional must be trusted and be able But to get there, we need our cross-functional business partners to be
to provide sound advice and supports with willing to give us a seat at the table where decisions are made.
trusted data and insightful management
And that requires trust. Sometimes, there isn’t enough trust because
information. Understanding the business is the
departments are concerned that sharing information about how they
key to delivering relevant data with authority to
are planning to spend their funds may result in finance determining
support the business.”
the return on investment isn’t good enough. They are concerned that
Herman Lee, Head of Finance Technology at J their projects may then get stopped and budgets cut.
O Hambro Capital Management
So, finance business partners need to demonstrate that they can do
more than that. They need to show that they can help their business
partners achieve their goals, instead of only focusing on profitability.
22
What organizational changes need to happen to help

embrace this type of business partnership?
“Separate roles for Finance individuals that “No one function will be a standout success in
are not focused on month ends, budgets, and a business. It takes a concerted orchestra of
forecasts. Those three tasks alone, although functions intertwined supporting and depending
important in any organization, position a on each other to make a business thrive.
finance business partner to be someone
“Adhering to your company values is a great
who focuses on month ends, budgets, and
place to start. In TitanHQ, two of our values
forecasts because they simply don’t have any
are Openness and To Listen. With these in
time to do anything else.
mind, it makes it a little easier to approach
“And that isn’t finance business partnering. conversations that can sometimes be trying.
“A finance business partner should have a “The other pitfall is the lack of relevant, timely,
roving remit of a role to drop into wherever accurate data. Data needs to be available
they deem necessary to solve business to all and defined in collaboration to ensure
problems and help people. uniformity across all areas of the business.”
“If they are stuck doing month ends for 5 days Brian O’Driscoll, CFO at TitanHQ
a month, then a forecast for 3 then for 3-4
months of the year a budget, they are not
able to have the capacity to work on those
problems as and when they arise. And hence
others will find ways to work around you as you
are never there for them when they want or
need you.”

23
Chapter 4:
Traits and Capabilities
24
Key traits of a finance business partner

Srushti Mahamuni, Operation Business Analyst at Bank of
America Merrill Lynch, shared nine key skills and traits of an
effective finance business partner:
1. Sound business knowledge and business acumen 6. Trustworthy

They demonstrate they really understand the business. They must be credible, reliable, consistent, and honest. Trust takes
a long time to build, but only seconds to lose.
2. Good analytical skills
7. Commitment
They don’t just stop at the ‘what’, they go on to understand and
explain the ‘why’ and ‘so what’. Finance business partnering can be a very satisfying role – but it’s
not one to be taken on lightly.
3. Courage to speak up
8. Capacity
They have the courage to challenge managers constructively, and
to ‘hold up a mirror’ to the business. Finance business partners shouldn’t have lots of routine finance
tasks in their job spec. Business issues have little respect for
4. Good influencing, relationship-building, and accounting timetables. ‘Freeing-up’ time needs to be carefully
communication skills managed in smaller businesses, where the ‘partnering’ is
They can get their message across and get discussions going. undertaken alongside other regular Finance tasks.
5. Persistence 9. Demand for what they can add
They have the resolve not to give up if their message doesn’t There’s a Steve Jobs quote that reads... “A lot of times, people don’t
‘get through’ on the first attempt – but also the wit to know when know what they want until you show it to them.” Sometimes demand
to ‘let it drop’. has got to be created by small, simple examples of the value
working with a Finance Business Partner can add.
25
What essential skills does a finance business

“Communication, understanding the business,
partner need?
and strong relationships.
“Communication skills are number 1 by a

“A finance business partner needs to combine
long way.
broad technical and deep people skills. They
need the financial know-how, but they also “They solves all the issues required to be a
need to be able to translate it into a language great FBP, such as storytelling, presenting,
anyone can understand. problem-solving, critical thinking, influencing,
persuasion, negotiating, and building
“And it’s about more than simple
relationships with people.
communication skills. The best financial
analysis is worthless if people don’t take action. “Great communicators operate on a
completely different level to those that are not
“So, to be effective as a finance business
great communicators.
partner, they need to be effective at
influencing people over whom they don’t have “Next is great relationships and connections
hierarchical authority.” with people, whereby people answer their
questions, give them the information they
Christian Wattig, Managing Director at FP&A
ask for, and sometimes even give them the
Prep
information they didn’t ask for.
“And finally, they understand the business

deeply. And not theoretically from textbooks.
They have been in the business and deeply
understand what John in Segment B goes
through on a day-to-day basis and they can
translate that into the numbers they see.”

26
“Someone who understands the importance of all aspects of the business. If someone is too rigid
and only thinks through the lens of numbers, then they won’t gain the trust of the business units they
support.
“A great finance business partner knows how to build a relationship and trust with the business unit
they support. This means learning about their goals and even learning about them personally.
“Having an open mind to new ideas and opinions is critical to be a successful finance business partner.”
Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service
“A key trait of a successful finance business partner is being outcome-oriented. This is when you’re able
to remove the personal component from the situation. You resist the urge to point fingers and you don’t
say things like ‘you’ve done something wrong,’ or ‘you have a problem.’
“Instead, you say things like ‘we have a problem’ and ‘this is how we’re going to solve the problem.’
“Focus on the outcome.
“When someone asks me, ‘what do I need to do to become a successful business partner in finance?’ –
I list the following points:
• Create a link between finance and operations.

• Excellent interpersonal skill set.
• Provide insights via reporting tools and benchmarking KPIs (not just data).
• Simplify complexity.
• Develop a growth-focused mindset and become outcome-oriented.
• Part of the decision-making process.
“If you can tick all these boxes, you’ll be on your way to becoming a finance business partner who’s a
key part of the decision-making process.”
Tim Schöler, CFO of Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK
27
Core principles of financial leadership

Stewart Houston, Executive Director of Business Operations Finance at
ICON plc, shared three core principles of financial leadership:
1. Guiding without micromanaging 3. Integrity

I hate to micromanage, but you must recognize that sometimes Integrity, acting consistently and equitably, is essential. I always try
you have to step in if something’s not working. to maintain that, and I think I succeeded.
However, I prefer people to work their own path without too much For example, if you set an expectation that you’re going to have a
interference because if you keep stepping in, they become a certain set of data by the end of Thursday and Thursday comes
‘pseudo you’, which is not what we want. We want everyone to be and goes and you still haven’t got it, it drives people crazy because,
individuals and have their own input. invariably, it’s important stuff and they’ve got plans downstream
for it.
2. Supporting your team’s success
If you give people a reason as to why it won’t be done on Thursday,
Another one of my core principles is having anyone who joins my then they can plan accordingly. I’m increasingly amazed by the
team succeed in some respect. number of people who don’t do that because it’s so simple.
If they leave the team, I want them to be in a better position
4. Allow people to have some level of failure
than they came in, in terms of knowledge and skills. If that hasn’t
happened, then I’ve done something wrong. I like to see people I’m not talking about people repeating the same mistakes, but
growing in themselves and within themselves. about a mistake people will learn from. Allow people to explore and
be creative. It’s not always going to work, and it might fail, but it’s
not the failure itself is how you deal with the failure.
Once something’s gone wrong, I don’t spend time castigating

everyone, but I think about how can we make this better.
28
How to develop key finance business This type, of course, gives you the opportunity to apply new skills in
partnering skills with Christian Wattig breakout room discussions, guided brainstorming sessions, and even
role plays. You meet and connect with other finance professionals,
It’s one thing to know what skills you need to
and it’s more engaging and fun than watching hours of videos.
become a successful finance business partner,
but that knowledge won’t get you anywhere if That’s why I decided to create just such a course, called
you don’t know how to develop those “FP&A Bootcamp”.
all-important skills. Learn more at FPAprep.com/course.
The good news is that the incredible Christian Wattig, Managing
Director at FP&A Prep, has shared his advice on developing the
necessary skills to help you move into a partnership role:
On-the-job support from an experienced mentor is the best way to

learn higher-level finance business partnering skills.
You should learn from someone who has done business partnering
successfully for a long time, ideally more than ten years.
Someone who led teams of finance business partners and worked

closely with senior leaders in other departments.
If you don’t have access to such a mentor in your company, the

next best thing is to find someone online who is willing to share what
they learned.
But remember that skills like financial storytelling can’t be learned

by passively watching videos. You need to be able to apply what
you learn right away in a safe environment. So live, bootcamp-style
courses that are delivered via Zoom are the way to go.
29
Bonus tips to help you develop key finance “It’s less about the numbers and more about
business partnering skills the story the numbers tell.
“I think the main skill set of a successful finance

“Spend as much time away from your desk as business partner, specifically in the not-for-
you do behind it. profit sector where VFM is as important as profit
maximization is for the private sector, include:
“You simply won’t understand the business
well enough looking at your ERP system, Being a trusted, integrated partner, with a
spreadsheets, or running power BI dashboards. comprehensive understanding of the business
unit in which you service (e.g., understanding
“FBP is a face-to-face exercise that can NOT be
latest macro trends) to provide foresight to
done from your desk.
management.
“If you are away from your desk working
Having the ability to communicate, and
with people in other functions, you will
present performance measures and key data
greatly improve your communication skills,
effectively to a wide range of ‘non-financial’
your knowledge of the business, and your
managers and senior management/board.
relationships with the people in it. Funnily
enough, those three things are the core skills Maintain a specialist understanding of
and traits of a successful finance business technical accounting treatment to provide
partner.” guidance and support for technical queries.
Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The Be able to analyze, challenge and influence
Finance Business Partner budget holders at a detailed level whilst
maintaining a holistic view (both internal and
external) of the organizational ecosystem to
drive organizational performance.
Having a constant ‘3E’s’ lens (Efficiency,

Economy, Effectiveness) during all activity.”
Will Freeman, Finance Business Partner at

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF)
30
Chapter 5:
Developing an
action plan
31
The 4 stages of how finance business 1. Data focus

partners can drive business value At the bottom of the pyramid, you focus on data. At this stage, you are
Christian Wattig, Managing Director at FP&A Prep, just getting started with reporting. Your focus is ensuring you share
was kind enough to share his framework on the accurate and timely data.
four stages of finance development:
2. Story focus
Finance needs to do more than manage budgets
Once you master that, the next stage is to understand what the
and maintain standard reporting.
insights and the stories behind the data are. There are more metrics
You can think of it as a pyramid with four stages of finance than any executive could reasonably process at a given time, so you
development. need to separate raw data from insights.
3. Strategy focus
Finance business partners need to understand how the business ticks.
4 Proactive value creation
The goal is to take the focus out of the siloed finance function and
challenge ourselves to understand how those insights link with
broader strategies.
3 Strategy focus
To do that, we need to understand what the marketing, sales, and
product strategies are. Then we can start connecting strategy with
2 Story focus action plans, we can determine metrics to track those plans, and
finally determine if the strategies work.
At this stage, we are also starting to evaluate investment decisions.

1 Data focus That’s when leaders come to finance and say, “Hey, we’re planning to
make this investment. What do you think? Is this a positive return on
investment? Should we go ahead with it?”
Framework by Christian Wattig
32
4. Proactive value-creation How can someone step into a finance business

The final stage at the top of the pyramid is proactive value creation.
partnering role?
Now finance business partners start to make concrete

recommendations about risks and opportunities to help improve
“It’s possible to land a finance business
return on investment and drive the company forward. All the other
partnering role, even if you haven’t done it
stages I mentioned must be mastered so you can do this.
before.
You need to have accurate data to identify the stories that matter now.
“To better position yourself, go over your prior
And you need to understand the goals and objectives of the other responsibilities and think about where you
parts of the company to evaluate what works and what doesn’t. worked with other teams.
Then, you have everything you need to start connecting the dots. You “Then look at how you helped them achieve
can start to spot changes in trends early and use that to do scenario their goals and make sure that’s highlighted in
planning. This, in turn, allows you to make concrete recommendations your resume.”
about what to do differently to capitalize on new opportunities and
mitigate risks.
Prep
33
How to keep your advice relevant to the changing needs

“I would suggest not seeing it as a role per se,
of the business
but more a thing you do within a role.
Organizations are relying on finance more heavily to help them make
“Just because you have the title doesn’t mean
strategic and profitable business decisions. This means that you’ve
you are one. And just because you don’t have
always got to be on top of your game and ensure your advice is
the title doesn’t mean you are NOT one.
relevant to the changing needs of the business.
“Anyone can do FBP. The tax manager, the AR
The problem is making sure you understand what those changing
clerk, the payroll supervisor, the FP&A Manager.
needs are. You may well have to force your way in. Whatever the case,
Remember, it’s finance people working
you should know the general running of the business and any new
effectively with non-finance people.
waves going on in the industry.
“Start working on some things that are
You should avoid setting up a suite of reports. There’ll be a need for
important to your non-finance colleagues
reporting, and you’ll likely be the person providing that reporting – but
and you will be doing FBP. And, following on
don’t just produce project report X forevermore.
from that, the formal request to have you as
their official “finance business partner” will
look after itself.” “You don’t want to get to that point because
it’s just a waste of everyone’s time and
resources.
“It also probably means the report either
wasn’t useful in the first instance or the time
has moved on and this report hasn’t moved
with it.”
Stewart Houston, Executive Director of

Business Operations Finance at ICON plc
Don’t let these things stagnate. During meetings with the business
units, learning what’s going on in the model and the industry
landscape will keep your reporting fresh.
34
How to know when you’re doing it right

“The bigger the initiative, the longer it tends
Want to know how to measure the effectiveness of a finance partner? to last. So, get involved in longer initiatives
Start by asking yourself these three questions: because it will guarantee that you’ll have
Am I working with the business? regular touchpoints with the business unit.
Through the various interactions with them,
Do I have regular touchpoints with business partners in business
other things will come into play as well.
units? Or are they going back to my three pillars and either coming to
me for one or two and then disappearing again? “Consistent and active involvement with them
is essential, and if you’re not getting there,
Is there an ongoing flow of building on the knowledge together,
reassess your approach. Don’t take no for an
making improvements together, and maintaining what we’ve agreed
answer if you know saying no is not the right
previously?
answer.”
Take time to consider whether there’s an existing building block for
Stewart Houston, Executive Director of
the relationship because if there isn’t, something is missing from the
Business Operations Finance at ICON plc
partnership. You’re just being a service function providing information
for them as and when they need it. But if that’s it, it won’t work.
Once you’ve figured out the involvement, make sure to include

measurable goals with what you’ve agreed and across the timeline.
35
How to measure your business impact Now, let’s take a closer look at each of them:
Many Finance professionals strive to become better business partners

supporting the business through insights and decision support. But
Business results
how do you measure whether you are succeeding as a finance
business partner? Finance professionals striving to be true business partners
should be measured according to the same metrics as the
Christian Frantz Hansen, Head of Finance Learning business being supported. That is, as a business partner, you’re
and Development at Business Partnering Institute, a success if your internal business stakeholders are succeeding.
shared three ways to measure your impact as a
In the most ambitious form, a finance professional who’s
finance business partner:
committed to acting as a true finance business partner
must create a value-add equal to or larger than the cost
1. Business results: Your ability to help the business
associated with his/her employment. That is, if you’re not
reach its objectives and financial results.
improving the net profit by an amount greater than the sum
of your salary plus overhead, the company has no reason to
2. Value interventions: The effect of your value-adding
keep you on the payroll.
interactions with the business.
However, as a finance professional, you are rarely able to
3. Customer satisfaction: The value of your services influence revenue directly, nor are you able to reduce costs
as perceived by the business stakeholders, significantly without the involvement of others. Thus, to succeed
i.e., your internal customers. as a finance business partner, you must assert influence to
create an indirect impact on the business results through others.
36
Value interventions Customer satisfaction

Measuring your impact on the overarching results of the As concluded earlier, finance business partnering entails
business is an impossible task for most – who knows exactly creating an impact through others. That is, finance business
what their effect is on the bottom line? However, measuring the partnering is about exuding influence on others, thereby
impact of your interventions on the business is more tangible. making them act in different ways than they would have done
otherwise. To achieve influence through others, you must see
That is when you – as a finance professional – deliver services
your internal stakeholders as a customer base.
to an internal business stakeholder, the value created by
these efforts can often be documented in terms of various Only by keeping the customers satisfied will you be able to
performance measures such as productivity improvements, risk succeed with impact creation. Consequently, to measure your
reductions, lead times, or even monetary effects. impact as a finance business partner, you should keep track of
customer satisfaction through frequent dialogues, performance
Finance business partners should see their engagements with the
reviews, or even a qualitative measure like a Finance NPS (Net
business as value interventions and keep track of their results.
Promotor Score). If your internal customers are satisfied, you are
Consequently, your impact as a finance business partner comes doing something right.
down to your ability to create ‘value interventions’ – value-adding
interactions with your business stakeholders. By monitoring the
progress and results of your value interventions, you will be able
to showcase your ability to create business impact.
37
4 tips to bring you from number cruncher to 2. Gain a professional qualification (such as CIMA, ACA,
or ACCA).
strategic business partner
It’s hard work but gaining a professional qualification gives you a
Christopher Spencer, Finance Business Partner at very tangible ‘leg up’ that no one can take away from you. It gives
Staffordshire University, breaks down his top four you credibility in a very ‘black and white’ way, as well as a solid
tips for finance professionals who want to become technical grounding.
a strategic business partner:
3. Be confident.
1. Make sure you understand the organization you When you are giving advice to senior managers in your organization,
work for. it can be easy to suffer from imposter syndrome but remember you
The difference between a finance business partner and a ‘number are there for your finance expertise. The odds are that in any meeting
cruncher’ is that FBPs are there to ‘partner’ with other individuals outside of the finance department, you will know significantly more
or departments in the organization, giving guidance support, and about finance than anyone else in the room.
strategic advice. You wouldn’t imagine you know more about HR than an HR
To do this well, you need to understand the environment you are in, professional, even if you are more senior than them – this is the
and the context of the advice you are giving. It’s well worth reading up same situation, so speak with confidence, and don’t be afraid to use
on what your organization does and spending some time on the ‘shop your authority.
floor’ to get a real feel for it.

4. Speak plainly in non-technical language.
I work for a university. A university has very different challenges to
As an FBP, you will often be supporting people who are not finance
(for example) a manufacturing organization. I didn’t go to university
trained. Remember, they will not usually be familiar with words like
myself (having qualified on the job with CIMA), so didn’t have the
‘accrual’ or ‘pre-payment’, so try to put things into layman’s terms
organizational knowledge I needed.
and help them to understand. You have to be patient, but this is
I got around this by networking, subscribing to sector newsletters, another way to add real value. You are there to support as much as
and volunteering to do some other work in the organization – such as you are there to challenge.
exam invigilation and helping at open days. Just putting in a little time
on this made a huge difference to the value I can add.
38
What advice would you give to someone who wants

1. Leverage your contacts better
to take on more of a finance business partnering role
within their organization? 2. Take every opportunity to work alongside
other business areas
“Don’t ask for it, just go ahead and do it. Once 3. Be clear about how your role helps the
you have shown your leadership that you can business
add value as a finance business partner, it’s 4. Meet up with anybody who benefits from
easier to convince them to make it a bigger part what you do
of your role.
5. Be interested in what non-Finance areas do
“Here is a quick tip to get you started: Ask
6. Listen for what’s important and try to help
someone in another department what they
with it
would like to know about their business to make
better decisions. Then take a look at the data 7. Be the one to link everything to business
you have access to and see if you can come up strategy
with a way to give them those metrics. 8. Don’t just crunch the numbers, understand
“Then, you immediately deliver value to the them
other person and they are more likely to spend 9. Talk value
the time to teach you how their side of the
Srushti Mahamuni, Operation Business
business works.”
Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Prep
39
“Get a job outside of finance. Even if it is a

secondment to a project role, do something
where you have to call on skills you have yet
to develop.
“Focus on your non-technical skills more.

Remember everyone has the technical skills,
we all have the same letters after our names
and know the same stuff.
“It’s your non-technical skills and being

able to apply them that separates you from
everyone else. Nobody gives you an FBP role
because you can recite IFRS16, do an amazing
spreadsheet model that probably has an
error in it, or can develop some great Power BI
dashboards.
“It is also hard to know who to listen to in this

space. There are a lot of opinions out there on
it and the best FBPs in the world are most likely
not making the noise on it. They are just doing
it and getting on with it. Most great FBPs are
great because their business partners say they
are, not because they say they are themselves,
so it’s hard to find the good ones to tap into.
“If in doubt, ask someone you trust or look up

to in this space who they would recommend
talking to.”

40
Chapter 6:
Conclusion
41
Wrapping up
Congratulations, you’ve made it through to the end of our guide on how
to transition from a number cruncher to a finance business partner.
It takes a lot of dedication and determination, but when you commit,

you can completely transform your career and maximize your impact
on the business.
We hope this playbook has made it a little easier for you to take
the right steps to becoming a successful finance business
partner, but if you have any feedback or questions we’d
love to hear them.
To keep up to date with our upcoming content, and get

involved in the conversation, join our growing collective
of community of finance professionals on
Finance Alliance’s Slack community.
42
Contributors
Richard King
CEO and Founder of Finance Alliance
Rich is the Founder of Finance Alliance and is at the helm of our voyage to
elevate finance roles worldwide. He’s responsible for what happens next
with the community. So, if you’d like to have your say, don’t hesitate to get in
touch – Rich is always open to invaluable feedback and ideas.
Sabrinthia Donnelly
Senior Copywriter at Finance Alliance
Sabrinthia is our Senior Copywriter here at Finance Alliance and host of the
Two Cents: Finance Talk podcast.
Jon Sayer
Graphic Designer
Jon is our graphic designer and looks at all our design requirements.
He’s responsible for the layout and visual elements in this report and is
always happy to hear your thoughts!
43
A special thank you to each of our guest writers and contributors:
Christian Wattig
Managing Director at FP&A Prep.
You can join Christian’s live online course, FP&A Bootcamp,
where you’ll learn best practices on Financial Storytelling,
Business Partnering, Budget Management, Planning
& Forecasting, and Financial Modeling.
Learn more about the course here:
www.fpaprep.com/course.
44
A special thank you to each of our guest writers and contributors:
Andrew Jepson
Partner (APAC) at The Finance Business Partner.
Srushti Mahamuni
Operations Business Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Stephen Newland
Director of FP&A at GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service.
Brian O’Driscoll
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Titan HQ.
Christian Frantz Hansen

Director (Head of Product) at Business Partnering Institute.
Christopher Spencer
Finance Business Partner at Staffordshire University.
Herman Lee
Head of Finance Technology at J O Hambro Capital Management.
Kenton Bell
Principal Recruitment Consultant at HireIQ Finance Recruitment.
Stewart Houston
Executive Director of Business Operations Finance at ICON plc.
45
46

Finance Business Partnering

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Finance Business Partnering

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Finance Business Partnering: From Number Cruncher to Strategic Business Partner

“What is the difference between colleagues and business partners?

Herman Lee, Head of Finance Technology at J O Hambro Capital Management

Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The

“Every finance function has an organizational

Brian O’Driscoll, CFO at TitanHQ

Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at

Kenton Bell, Principle Recruitment Consultant

1. It aligns financial goals with the strategic goals of an

Benefits of finance business partnering

2. Enhanced strategic planning

effectively. business unit.

“Yes, finance has its own day-to-day functions, but

Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at GrowthLab

4. Influencing and empowering.

How to get started with finance business

Get to know your business partners Get to know them

have a greater impact on business decisions. they previously didn’t.

shared some solid tips to help you establish good working

Ask your business partners these three questions:

Go up to your business partners and ask them questions along the

1. What’s keeping you up at night?

2. What’s the biggest issue for you in your area?

3. How can I help?

3 pillars of finance business partnering

How to tackle your first project as a finance

Step 1 – Set yourself a 90-day deadline for your project.

Step 2 - Choose a problem that really needs to be resolved or an opportunity that

• Don’t fast forward to a conclusion without bringing other

• Once you recognize something that may be problematic

• Whatever you set up, make sure it’s sustainable and

How to overcome 3 common barriers No time

into a more strategic role within the business:

5 challenges and solutions

Resistance to change Build relationships

Lack of understanding Communicate effectively

Limited resources Prioritize resources

Lack of data Leverage data

Limited influence Build credibility

What are some common challenges that finance

Brian O’Driscoll, CFO at TitanHQ

How to get a seat at the table

What organizational changes need to happen to help

Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The

Key traits of a finance business partner

1. Sound business knowledge and business acumen 6. Trustworthy

5. Persistence 9. Demand for what they can add

What essential skills does a finance business

“Communication skills are number 1 by a

“And finally, they understand the business

Andrew Jepson, Partner (APAC) at The

Stephen Newland, Director of FP&A at GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service

“Focus on the outcome.

• Create a link between finance and operations.

Tim Schöler, CFO of Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK

Core principles of financial leadership

1. Guiding without micromanaging 3. Integrity

Once something’s gone wrong, I don’t spend time castigating

On-the-job support from an experienced mentor is the best way to

Someone who led teams of finance business partners and worked

If you don’t have access to such a mentor in your company, the

But remember that skills like financial storytelling can’t be learned