New research from KPMG International, Being the best: Thriving not just surviving [PDF 2.15Mb], defines the key characteristics of finance functions at leading organizations and also demonstrates the critical role people play in delivering success.
Based on a global survey of more than 500 senior finance executives, including 98 respondents in Canada, Being the best: Thriving not just surviving revisits themes from previous research, (Being the best: [PDF 1.45Mb] Insights from leading finance funtions 2006), in the context of recent changes in the global economies.
A few years on, we find that adapting the finance function is now more urgent than ever, by providing the right information at the right time to help business leaders navigate through turbulent times.
The results are a call to action for finance leaders and professionals. While continuing to fulfill their traditional accounting and compliance responsibilities with maximum efficiency, finance functions should also:
- Partner with their business leaders to address issues arising from changes in the economy
- Look forward and focus on providing accurate and insightful enterprise-wide information
- Simplify business complexity and make the structural changes necessary to better align business processes
- Ensure that any changes are implemented in a way that sustains business performance rather than merely reducing short-term costs.
At the end of the day, navigating through these turbulent times is about positioning the business to thrive—not just survive.