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Finance Function Excellence

Finance functions have to take on a demanding new role and become strategic partners in order to help organizations stay ahead of the competition and fulfill their missions. BCG works with chief financial officers (CFOs) and their teams to reach finance function excellence.

Macroeconomic instability, radically new business models, and fast-changing consumer demand are just some of the forces reshaping the corporate landscape. The role of the finance function can no longer focus solely on forecasting and preparing financial reports and analyses. It must broaden its reach to extract valuable data insights that can inform business decisions and then collaborate with leaders throughout the organization to translate those insights into action.

To become a best-in-class finance function, helping companies become more agile and better equipped to thrive in a volatile environment, CFOs and their teams must:

  • Forge a strong link between the organization’s overarching strategy and the finance function’s performance mandate.
  • Activate the capabilities required for both traditional and new business models.
  • Evaluate every investment through a strategic lens.
  • Extract maximum business value from digital technologies and tools.
  • Maintain a clear line of sight into capital markets and communicate a compelling message about the organization’s value creation and strategic plans.
  • Build a strong performance culture, empowering people to proactively pursue the changes necessary to evolve and improve.

BCG’s Finance Function Consulting Services

The new imperatives for the finance function require a tricky balance. CFOs must drive transformation within the finance organization, developing new structures, mindsets, and ways of working. But they will continue to feel pressure to meet the short-term goals of producing quarterly reports, attending weekly budget meetings, and staying on top of shifts in regulations—all of which take time away from the task of achieving broader financial excellence.

The Center for CFO Excellence

BCG’s Center for CFO Excellence helps CFOs and their teams manage this balance and reach finance function excellence. Our comprehensive approach draws from both our experience working with finance organizations across a diverse array of industries and our in-depth discussions with finance leaders around the world.

We help CFOs transform their finance function operating models to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness, unleash the power of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, orchestrate companywide transformations to drive the corporate value agenda, and more.

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CFO Excellence Index

BCG uses many proprietary tools in partnerships with CFOs and their teams, including the CFO Excellence Index—a database of several hundred finance functions, representing a broad set of industries globally. It analyzes all the key CFO responsibilities, as well as digital maturity, from the perspectives of efficiency and effectiveness and indicates best practices across industries and companies. Below is an example of the CFO Excellence Index in practice:

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