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Finance Direction

ICAEW’s Finance Direction programme aims to help accountants in business think through the challenges and develop approaches tailored to their own unique circumstances.
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What it's all about?

CFOs and finance departments across the globe are striving to contribute more to organisational performance. This is nothing new, but achieving success in no easy task and there are no one size fits all solutions. ICAEW’s Finance Direction programme aims to help accountants in business think through the challenges and develop approaches tailored to their own unique circumstances. We do this through a combination of research, events and providing forums for discussion. On this page you will find links to a number of resources to help you on your journey. If you want to contribute to the discussion please email business@icaew.com.

Main reports

Exclusive Business Performance Management - working with tensions BPM is about how organisations define, assess and improve the delivery of their business goals.
Finance business partnering guide
  • Thought leadership report
  • Sep 2014
  • ICAEW Business and Management Faculty
Practical advice for those considering business partnering initiatives and those looking to improve their approach.
The finance function: A framework for analysis
  • Thought leadership report
  • May 2017
  • ICAEW Business and Management Faculty
How does your finance function compare and how do you deal with the inherent tensions we highlight?
Finance in the broadest sense
  • Thought leadership report
  • Mar 2016
Building effective finance functions is a key concern of organisations and finance professionals. At a time when many claim we face unprecedented challenges, Stanley Harding's 1963 lecture on the finance function reminds us that there are many lessons we can learn from history. This report reproduces the lecture in full and complements it with expert commentary.
Finance's role in the organisation
  • Thought leadership report
  • Feb 2011
  • PDF (114kb)
  • Rick Payne
Finance’s role in the organisation considers the challenges of designing successful organisations. The document consists of two articles previously published in Finance and Management, the ICAEW’s Finance and Management Faculty Magazine. It forms part of our exploration of the role of the finance function, the first theme for the faculty’s thought leadership programme. The other two themes are managing the future and non-financial measures.

Latest reports

Acting in the public interest: accounting for the vulnerable
  • Speech or presentation
  • Dec 2019
  • Business and Management Faculty
View the 2019 PD Leake lecture given by Professor John Burns and Dr Stephen Jollands, Exeter University. Nicki Deeson, Amnesty International, gives a practitioner view.
The internet of things and accounting: lessons from China
  • Thought leadership report
  • Oct 2019
  • Rick Payne
By hugely increasing their access to data, the internet of things can help organisations make smarter decisions and better manage people and assets. But, more than this, it can make possible wholly new strategies and business models.
Exclusive Accountants and data scientists - collaborating for success
  • Article
  • Nov 2018
  • Rick Payne
How can finance departments and internal audit make the most of data science? This was the main question Centrica's internal audit team and ICAEW discussed at a workshop on 15 October 2018.
Finance Business Partnering Resource page for all things relating to finance business partnering.
Robotic Process Automation in Finance
  • Report
  • Sep 2017
  • Business Department
Outcomes from a meeting of finance professionals from large organisations, discussing the potential of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to benefit organisations.
Business performance management: When not to measure
  • Article
  • Mar 2017
  • Dr Chris Ford
When not to measure, provides some ideas on why measurement systems are not resulting in the behaviours your organisation desires.
Risk management: mindfulness and clumsy solutions
  • Report
  • Sep 2015
  • ICAEW Business and Management Faculty
Our report helps managers in all functions who are being asked to pay more attention to the challenges of uncertainty.
Exclusive Business Performance Management - working with tensions BPM is about how organisations define, assess and improve the delivery of their business goals.
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