Finance Direction - Forthcoming reports

Reports in this series will look at the changing role of the finance function.

Some of the initial questions to be addressed will include:

• What, in overall terms, is it that makes some organisations more successful than others? What is the role of a finance function and its leadership in a successful organisation?
• How does the influence of the finance director and a finance function vary from country to country? What are some of the factors that impact this variation? Why might one model work better in some countries and some industry sectors than others?
• What role can the finance function play in balancing the competing demands of compliance requirements with the need to create value?
• What are the forces that will affect the evolution of finance functions over the next 10 years?

Reports in this series will look at budgeting and risk management.

Some of the initial questions to be addressed will include:

• In a fast changing business environment how, in terms of time and resources, is the effectiveness of the budgeting and planning processes judged?
• Is there an appropriate balance between the use of budgets as a tool for controlling the business and as a method of management and employee performance incentivisation
• How does management deal with the challenges of basing targets on objective measures?
• How might boards ensure that business risks are properly identified and optimally managed and reported within the organisation?

Reports in this series will look at the production and use of non-financial performance information.

Some of the initial questions to be addressed will include:

• What are some of an organisation's non-financial systems that may need to be reviewed by finance professionals to ensure the quality and robustness of the processes needed to produce information used for decision making?
• What are the issues surrounding the publication of the performance indicators that are used to run the business?
• How might a board ensure that performance indicators do not cause dysfunctional behaviour?
• How does management balance the need to focus on outcomes as well as the integrity of the underlying processes?