Ideal Customer Profiles

Focus on Office of Finance

• Chief Financial Officer

• Chief Accounting Officer / Group Consolidation

• Head of FP&A / Financial Planning and Analysis

Persona Type A
Chief Accounting Officer / Group Consolidation

Finance in the world following Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco means that Chief Accounting Officer has become critical for the trust in the financial information communicated to stakeholders. Financial leaders must act on the fact that organizational credibility depends on the accuracy of financial statements. Although major audit firms have tightened standards, significant accounting decision points remain for the Chief Accounting Officer, including recognition of loss on investments, pension accounting, accounting for acquisitions and divestitures, and accounting for derivative transactions.

• Strong accounting background and understanding of complex Accounting Standards (IFRS, US GAAP, SWISS GAAP FER, etc)

• Focus on accuracy and automation of financial closing process

• Expert in financial consolidation and statutory reporting

• Provides key financial reports for external reporting (Group financial reporting, bank reporting, Investor reporting, financial disclosures according to accounting standards)

• Mainly backwards looking (historic data)

Key challenges of Chief Accounting Officer / Group Consolidation

• Increased regulatory requirements and changing accounting standards

• Requirement to close faster and report quicker to stakeholders

• Consistently disclose financial data accurately

• Pressure for efficiency (do more with less or the same amount of people)

• Ability to react quickly to changing structures

• Provide more granularity and transparency on financial data reported

• Have full control over financial process

• Automate financial processes and reconcile large data sets

• Harmonization of financial data which is constantly changing due to corporate M&A activity

• Closing of the books and reporting consumes much of their time

Persona Type B
Financial Planning and Analysis Manager / FP&A Professional

The importance of FP&A's role in financial planning cannot be overemphasized. A solid financial plan, authored by the CEO and CFO (supported by FP&A department), provides the backbone for any organization, linking the organization's strategic mission and vision to measurable financial goals. A well-developed financial plan helps the organization determine the critical relationship between strategy and financial capability and achieve operating results that ensure financial equilibrium.

• Strong analytical background and business acumen

• Focus on business analysis and business partnering

• Ability to analyse complex business problems and come up with solutions and recommendations on how to improve business

• Strong communication skills – both oral and also in visual communication

• Strong capability to leverage modern technology for financial modelling

• Corporate Finance background with strong focus on P&L, Balance Sheet and Cashflow

• Forward looking focus

Key challenges of FP&A Manager / FP&A Professional

• Not armed with the right information to analyse and confront business with the risks ahead

• Increased pressure for them to contribute significantly to the company’s overall strategy

• Lack of business insights within the organisation

• Tasks such as closing of the books, collecting data and reporting consumes much of their time

• The company still struggles with data information gathering

• Budgeting and forecasting are still too inefficient and require too much effort and time

• Lack of consistency in structures, system, and process hinders effective decision-making process

Persona Type C
Chief Financial Officer / CFO

The CFO is responsible for all finance related topics such as Planning, Allocation of Capital, Capital structure and debt management, accounting, credit management, tax management and acts as the defender of financial integrity. This requires a vast set of skillsets that are described below.

• The ability to anticipate financial management issues and address them in an essential character trait in creating wealth for the company

• Written and oral communication skills are an essential quality for a CFO, as they must be able to effectively communicate the financial health of the company to all stakeholders

• The ability to make decisions on behalf of the company with confidence and assertiveness are good character trails for a successful CFO

• A CFO should have foresight and be in tune with his market, enabling him to create and implement business plans for the company and aligning them with the “bigger picture” of the company’s future

• CFO signs off on financial statements and internal control systems, confirming their accuracy. It is essential that CFOs know the Accounting Principles (IFRS, US GAAP) and regulations that are relevant to their business

• A deep understanding of business is a must because a good CFO is more than just a “numbers guy”. He should immerse himself in the operations of the company, have a macro view of the numbers, drivers and pains relating to any part of the organisation (Sales, Marketing, R&D, Vendors…)

• A strong will which ensures that one is always doing the right thing by upholding the ethical and professional standards and is honest in all transactions with the company and the stakeholders

• The willingness to try new things and take calculated risks to grow the business and improve the financial position of the company

• The ability to set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and traceable is a good trait which helps a successful CFO manage the expectations of the company’s stakeholders - employees, investors, board of directors, research analysts – as well as direct the financial operations of a company