CFOs have long struggled to break down the barrier between finance and the rest of the business. Deservedly or not, there is a lingering perception of finance as a department that is unapproachable.
This is a serious problem. A lack of collaboration between finance and the wider organisation is not just bad for morale, it’s bad for business. Over three-quarters (76%) of UK firms believe that breaking down silos leads to more financial success and better decision-making, according to a poll by Pleo, a spend management firm.
Komi Group, a Manchester-based digital media company, has decided to tackle this challenge by shaking up the traditional structure of its finance team. When an accountant or financial analyst joins the firm they are integrated into another department in the business. The idea is that each team has their own dedicated finance person. And the finance team gets a rare level of exposure to the wider business.
This strategy has helped to create a more inclusive and transparent approach to finance, says Tom Moran, the chief financial officer who spearheaded the initiative.
“Rather than sitting on their own in a corner, my finance team is fully invested in what is happening across the business. They are able to play a more supportive role, which has, in turn, boosted employee confidence.”
Breaking with tradition
When Moran first joined the firm in 2022, he remembers asking people what a finance person does. “It was pretty obvious that most people never had direct contact with them,” he says. “It was very much an ‘us versus them’ situation where finance had all the information on one side and the more creative departments had their own information.”
My finance team is fully invested in what is happening across the business
This is not unusual, but it is a wasted opportunity, Moran stresses. These silos hold businesses back from achieving their full potential. “Finance doesn’t get involved until the last minute, by which point it’s too late for them to make any impact. Finance reports get sent out, but nobody ever reads because they’re not relevant. The bigger and more corporate the company, the worse it is.”
At Komi, Moran had the opportunity to build the finance team from scratch – so he set out to do things differently. Two years later, there are now five finance people across the business. Every few weeks they switch departments, giving them full access to each and every aspect of Komi’s operations – from the publishing division through to the talent team.
A lean mean finance machine
There are several positive consequences of this new structure. According to Moran, it has fostered trust and transparency between finance and Komi’s other departments. It has also proven to be a more effective way of working. “Finance knows exactly what everyone needs and vice versa.”
They no longer waste time arguing with other departments over numbers or datasets, Moran says. Month-end close takes most businesses weeks to complete. It takes Komi’s finance team two days.
“Departments are able to mix logical financial information with commercial insights, which fosters the kind of collaborative decision-making that pushes business forward,” Moran says. “The thinking behind this whole strategy was to make things as convenient and efficient as possible to get maximum impact.”
It fosters the kind of collaborative decision-making that pushes business forward
There are benefits from a talent retention perspective too. “The finance team loves it because they get to experience different sides of the business,” Moran says. It also allows them to operate with greater autonomy. “They are effectively in charge of running their own mini business. That’s a very exciting proposition to a young accountant.”
An added bonus, Moran says, is seeing the finance team grow in confidence, attend team socials and feel part of the overall success story of the business.
Despite the advantages, this integrated approach is not suited to every business. Komi’s finance function was practically non-existent before Moran joined. “There was just one part-time person,” he says. This meant Komi could integrate the new structure slowly as the finance team grew. “The earlier you integrate, the easier it is for people to buy into it,” he admits.
However, by breaking down traditional silos, businesses can get more from their finance function. It also shows staff that the job of an accountant can entail more than numbers and spreadsheets. At a time when young people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the finance profession, due to the perceived dullness and monotony of the work, this structure is one more firms may want to start adopting.
CFOs have long struggled to break down the barrier between finance and the rest of the business. Deservedly or not, there is a lingering perception of finance as a department that is unapproachable.
This is a serious problem. A lack of collaboration between finance and the wider organisation is not just bad for morale, it’s bad for business. Over three-quarters (76%) of UK firms believe that breaking down silos leads to more financial success and better decision-making, according to a poll by Pleo, a spend management firm.
Komi Group, a Manchester-based digital media company, has decided to tackle this challenge by shaking up the traditional structure of its finance team. When an accountant or financial analyst joins the firm they are integrated into another department in the business. The idea is that each team has their own dedicated finance person. And the finance team gets a rare level of exposure to the wider business.
