Part 8 of 8: The Hidden Advantage Finance Has in Strategy (And Why They Rarely Use It)

Before automating finance processes, map and understand workflows to avoid scaling inefficiencies and ensure meaningful results.

Activity-based costing reveals hidden costs below gross profit, helping finance teams understand true profitability and improve decision-making.

Discover how integrated business planning helps finance teams balance demand and supply, improve decisions, and protect margins.

Consolidation software simplifies multi-entity reporting by integrating data, automating processes, and creating a single source of truth.

Explore how activity-based costing improves financial insights, reveals true profitability, and helps businesses make smarter decisions.

In this episode of the FP&Ai Podcast, Roger Knocker is joined by Anthony Wilson and Donovan Moses to explore the third vital component of the Finance Operating System: Accelerating Analysis. Now that we have addressed removing friction and automating workflows, we focus on how to transform that efficiency into high-speed, actionable intelligence for the boardroom. The discussion centres on the "Last Mile" of finance, moving from just producing reports to delivering real-time strategic insights. We unpack how a robust systems architecture allows finance teams to pivot instantly from historical reporting to forward-looking scenario planning. By shifting the workload away from data collection, leaders can spend more time on the "Why" behind the numbers. The key takeaway: Acceleration in finance isn't about working faster; it's about building a system that delivers insights at the speed of business. [0:00 - 1:30] Introduction to Standardized Workflows: The team defines the importance of standardized workflows in finance, emphasizing the need for repeatable, tracked, and timely processes that ensure the right tasks are performed by the right people. [1:30 - 4:21] Benefits of Workflow Automation: The discussion covers how workflows improve management visibility, accountability, and the ability to monitor progress, using a procurement process as a practical example to illustrate routing and authority limits. [4:21 - 7:28] Workflows Outside of the ERP: The guests explain how teams can leverage tools like HubSpot, Google Docs, Zapier, and Smartsheet to automate non-ERP processes, such as commercial inquiries and low-risk, recurring journal entries. [7:28 - 9:10] Implementing Daily Checks: The team highlights the necessity of implementing daily quality checks for automated workflows to detect and resolve failures, ensuring that critical data remains accurate. [9:10 - 12:09] Using Forms for Validation: A key tip is shared regarding the use of data entry forms to enforce structure, validation, and quality at the source, preventing errors in shared spreadsheets. [12:09 - 14:15] Documenting for Success: The conversation concludes by stressing the importance of documenting processes before automating them, focusing on routine, low-risk tasks to maintain human oversight where necessary while building a more robust finance system.

In this episode of the FP&Ai Podcast, Roger Knocker is joined by Anthony Wilson and Donovan Moses to explore the next evolution of the Finance Operating System: the shift from manual intervention to high-level automation and systemisation. Building on our previous discussions, we unpack why simply "working harder" is no longer a viable strategy for modern finance teams. The conversation centres on how to build resilient systems that run independently of individual effort, allowing finance professionals to move away from mundane data entry and toward high-impact strategic analysis. We discuss the practical steps to audit your current workflows, identify automation opportunities, and implement a "system-first" culture that eliminates human error and drives enterprise value. The key takeaway: To scale a business, you must first automate the friction out of your finance function. [0:00 - 1:22] Introduction and Reconciliation Quality: The team introduces the importance of reconciliation as a core finance process to ensure accurate, timely month-end closures. [1:22 - 3:51] Why Reconciliations are Necessary: They explain that reconciliations are vital for verifying the factual accuracy of invoices, pricing, and quantities, and for resolving timing discrepancies caused by cutoff dates. [3:51 - 6:53] Managing Third-Party Documentation: The speakers discuss managing rules for third-party documentation, including setting thresholds for approvals and using ERP systems to maintain process integrity during month-end. [6:53 - 8:33] Impact on Planning and Forecasting: Anthony Wilson highlights how accurate reconciliation is critical for reliable cash flow forecasting, noting that errors can lead to poor strategic decision-making. [8:33 - 11:50] Moving Beyond the "Finance Burden": Donovan Moses illustrates how teams are often "burdened" by disparate systems and manual work, proposing a transition to a digitized environment that acts as a bridge to a single version of the truth. [11:50 - 15:57] System Maturity and Standardization: The panel discusses building maturity one step at a time, suggesting that even if a team is still using Excel, they should implement standardized templates and rigorous monitoring to maintain audit trails and efficiency. [15:57 - 17:14] Summary: They conclude by emphasizing that strong master data governance and enforced reconciliation discipline are two essential pillars for building a sustainable and high-quality finance function.

This podcast episode features host Roger Knocker in conversation with Yaseen Enos, a Chartered Accountant, focusing on the strategic implementation and role of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) within modern finance departments. [0:33-2:21] Project-Based Workflows: Yaseen Enos explains that his daily professional life is primarily project-driven. Rather than focusing on maintenance, he aims to automate processes and systems, prioritizing high-value, innovative problem-solving that aligns with broader business goals identified by the CFO and senior leadership. [2:21-4:50] Practical Automation: The pair discusses a real-world example involving the automation of transaction data posting into the general ledger. By removing manual intervention, the goal is to improve accuracy and ensure that financial records remain perfectly synced with source systems. [6:47-11:20] Understanding Business Needs: Enos emphasizes the importance of spending time upfront to identify the 'true' underlying problem rather than simply executing a requested solution. He notes that users often suggest a specific tool as a solution, but deeper analysis is required to ensure the project actually addresses the correct business challenge. [12:01-13:16] The Mandate to Push Back: Enos highlights that he is empowered by an executive mandate to push back on projects that do not provide significant value or fail to meet the actual business needs, allowing him to better manage his team's workload. [14:06-16:41] The Case for EPM Tools: The discussion shifts to why companies eventually move away from spreadsheets like Excel and PowerBI. Enos suggests using a 'financial maturity model' to assess when a business has outgrown manual reporting; if a company struggles to deliver timely, accurate forecasts despite adding more staff, it is time to transition to an EPM solution. [19:16-21:38] Efficiency and Future-Proofing: They conclude that while Excel is a powerful tool, it becomes a bottleneck as business complexity and data volume grow. Implementing an EPM system is framed as an essential step for businesses looking to move beyond simple reporting toward agile, data-driven decision-making.

Activity-based costing reveals true cost to serve, helping finance teams uncover hidden losses, improve pricing, and drive better decisions.