If you've been involved in a corporate finance or accounting group, chances are you've heard your company's senior leadership discuss the challenges of transforming the finance organization into a value-added business partner.  When executives say that, they typically are thinking about moving the finance group away from the "bean counter" mentality and towards a group that can provide fresh and meaningful insight into the inner workings of their business.

While this transformation is a worthy goal, it is far easier said than done.  Fortunately, there are leaders and finance organizations who have gone down this path.  One example is Nancy Cooper with CA Technologies.  The Treasury and Risk website has a profile on Ms. Cooper and how she helped turn the fortunes of CA Technologies around through a transformation of the finance group.  It's a great story and worth your time to read.  Here are the main points I gathered from the story along with my commentary.  A link to the article is provided at the end of this post.

1. Start with the end in mind.  Every great transformation story starts with a vision of the future.  In this case, Ms. Cooper's goal was to turn accountants into analysts, and fundamentally change the culture of the finance organization from one focused on transaction processing to one that provides actionable insight for the company's managers.  She focused on changing the capabilities and the identity of her finance organization.

1. Create a leadership culture.  No great leader accomplishes meaningful transformation on their own.  They understand that their ability to drive transformational change occurs through other people.  Ms. Cooper focused on getting the right leaders in place to set the stage for transformation.

1. Define your mission.  Any transformation plan should have a clear goal to reach.  A strong focus on a particular mission greatly increases the chance of success.  In Ms. Cooper's case, she defined the ability of creating and providing strategic information to her organization as the goal of transformation.
2. Incorporate organizational development.  As part of the transformation journey, Ms. Cooper had to identify existing Finance skills, determine what the required skills were for the future state vision, and implement a training and development program to bridge the gap.  Every organization undergoing transformation must incorporate organizational development goals to fulfill the vision and reduce risk during the transition process.
3. Enhance the governance structure.  Creating new processes and organizational structures is a necessary but insufficient model for transformation.  The transformation process must be guided and maintained by an appropriate governance structure.  In the case of CA Technologies, Ms. Cooper assembled a governance council comprised of V.P.'s, Senior Directors and Directors to enable oversight and control of the transformation process.
4. Build capacity in the finance organization.  As part of the transformation, Ms. Cooper developed depth in the organization, primarily due to the leadership development program implemented as part of the transformation effort.  The organization today is less dependent on any one person, including Ms. Cooper.
5. Develop an agile organization.  Through the transformation effort, CA Technologies and Ms. Cooper have increased the agility of their finance organization.  Greater leadership at all levels, better defined performance goals, and personnel that have clear expectations and the skills to accomplish their goals enable the company to better respond to the challenges and opportunities that will inevitably be encountered.

What other lessons would you add?  Please use the comment section below to contribute your ideas.

Read the full article at Turning Accountants into Analysts.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy reading the Global Finance 360 article: The CFO as Transformational Leader.