Latest on finance transformation
Read our latest features and articles on finance transformation topics, including change management, business partnering and finance function effectiveness.
Finance team toolkit part 6: applying systems and technology
- Article
- 01 Jun 2023
In our ongoing series on good finance transformation, Neil Cutting explains how systems and technology fit within every element of the project.
Cash remains king as businesses gear up for growth
- Article
- 17 Apr 2023
Why finance functions tightened their cash management and forecasting during the pandemic – and how those good habits have remained.
The finance team toolkit part 5: processes
- Article
- 30 Mar 2023
Organisations often confuse processes with procedures, which can obscure clarity around roles and hinder efficiency. Here’s how processes should apply within your finance function.
Using technology to optimise audit talent
- Article
- 27 Feb 2023
New technologies are having a profound impact on audit and finance functions. Cloud, AI, blockchain and data and analytics are transforming the skills and focus of audit professionals.
Finance team toolkit part 4: the right people
- Article
- 17 Feb 2023
If the current war for talent shows us anything, it’s that systems and processes are nothing without talented people. Here finance transformation executive, Neil Cutting focuses on the ‘people pillar’ of organisational transformation.
ICAEW: Cuts to public sector finance teams are “false economies”
- Article
- 22 Nov 2022
ICAEW describes investment in strong finance functions as “critical” to spending public money effectively amidst tight spending settlements for public bodies
How small actions can lead to big results
- Article
- 15 Nov 2022
The principles of ‘everyday actions’ can transform business performance and help teams through financial challenges. Mitali Kelly ACA explains how.
International Stress Awareness Week: managing stress at work
- Article
- 10 Nov 2022
Experts in management, leadership and business transformation share the best practice for accountants when it comes to handling stress management.
Topics in depth
Business partnering
Practical advice for those considering business partnering. Read our latest features and articles on business partnering.
Change management
Our selection of books, articles and guides can help you implement change, get your team on board and create a culture of innovation.
Reports
Exclusive
Special Report 69 - Effective collaboration
- Report
- 2020
Collaboration has been a trendy buzz word in business lexicon for some time now, but, as the pandemic has done with many other ‘nice-to-have’ skills, it has now become absolutely necessary to master. With your colleagues, business partners, suppliers and all other stakeholders more than likely working from home, and maybe even across different locations and time zones, effective collaboration is essential.
Exclusive
Special Report 68 - Commercial insight
- Report
- 2020
This special report explores how to be more commercial to add value and generate profit for your firm.
Exclusive
Special Report 66 - Managing change
- Report
- 2019
Change is inevitable, it is all around us. Brexit, political upheaval, increasing regulation and a growing protectionist agenda make it incredibly difficult to run your business. BAM are here to help, with our special report on managing change, we can help successfully guide you through inevitable change with our practical tips and hands on approach.
Special Report 66: Managing change
- Report
- 2019
Change is inevitable, it is all around us. Brexit, political upheaval, increasing regulation and a growing protectionist agenda make it incredibly difficult to run your business. BAM are here to help, with our special report on managing change, we can help successfully guide you through inevitable change with our practical tips and hands on approach.
The finance function: A framework for analysis
- Thought leadership report
- 2017
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
- 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 business partnering guide
- Thought leadership report
- 2014
Practical advice for those considering business partnering initiatives and those looking to improve their approach.
Approach to budgeting and forecasting
- Helpsheets and support
- 2014
Most organisations spend significant time and resources on budgeting and forecasting activities.
Webinars
Managing talent in a hybrid world
- Podcast
- 25 May 2023
In this Insights In Focus episode, we discuss best practice in hiring, training and safeguarding talent under hybrid working.
The role of finance in achieving net zero
- Video
- 08 Dec 2022
Kevin Berryman, CFO of professional technical services company Jacobs discusses his passion for sustainability, and the role of the finance function in addressing climate change.
Future proof your organisation - an internal audit approach to operational resilience
- Webinar
- 09 Mar 2021
This webinar explores how to develop an audit approach to deliver effective assurance as organisations progress their resilience journeys.
Maintaining agility post coronavirus
- Video
- 22 Jul 2020
22 July 2020: Many businesses want to maintain their newly found agility as we emerge from the pandemic. How can they achieve this?
Manage change effectively
- Webinar
- 01 May 2019
This webinar explores how a reaction to change can impact an individual’s wellbeing and the difference having a positive mindset can make. It provides an opportunity to discuss how to accept or adjust to change and how to be open to the opportunities that change can bring.
Future proof your finance function
- Webinar
- 21 Mar 2017
How will engagement with technology and process automation affect the finance function in future?
Exclusive
Effective business partnering
- Webinar
- 20 Nov 2013
A webinar for business partners on the finance function and how to contribute more to your company.
The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.
Exclusive
Interpretation and application of UK GAAP for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2015
- eBook
- 2015
- Stephen Collings
- John Wiley and Sons
A detailed guide to applying new UK GAAP.
Exclusive
Financial Times guide to management : how to be a manager who makes a difference and gets results.
- eBook
- 2014
- Anne Francke
- FT Press
A guide to becoming an effective manager, full of practical tips and advice on to the everyday challenges of: Managing yourself; Developing communication skills and emotional intelligence; Managing others; Setting strategic direction; Managing change; Managing money, resources and technology.
Exclusive
Changing your group structures
- eBook
- 2014
- Gareth Miles, Paul Mudie, Nilufer von Bismarck
- ICSA Publishing
Looks at the challenges involved in corporate restructuring, recapitalisation and large-scale change management.
Exclusive
Successful organizational transformation: the five critical elements
- eBook
- 2011
- Stephen Hacker, Marla Hacker, Marvin Washington
- Business Expert Press
How to implement organisational change.
Exclusive
Effective people management
- eBook
- 2011
- Pat Wellington
- Kogan Page
A short guide to team management and leadership.
Exclusive
Building organizational capacity for change: the leader's new mandate
- eBook
- 2011
- William Q. Judge
- Business Expert Press
Book seeking to assist leaders in building organisational capacity for change.
Terms of use
You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.
Business press
The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive
The power of storytelling in the finance function
- Article
- 01 Jun 2023
- Daniel Butcher
- Strategic Finance
The CFOs of RGP and Paychex provide tips for finance professionals to improve their communication skills through storytelling. Start with analysis and interpretation to get an accurate view of the data, then weave an insightful financial narrative adapted to your audience. A storytelling sklll set can be used many ways - within presentations, meetings, reports or just everyday interactions.
Exclusive
Exploring the future of controllership
- Article
- 01 May 2023
- Kate Gates, Katie Glynn, Beth Kaplan
- Strategic Finance
Find the right path to transformation to realize the full value from the evolving role of the controllership function. The article reports on insights from an IMA and Deloitte report, 'Stepping into the Future of Controllership', which involved a global survey and interviews with experienced finance and accounting leaders.
Exclusive
Changing environment
- Article
- 01 May 2023
- Antoinette Alexander
- Accounting Today
Many accounting firms are reflecting on the wins and challenges they've faced in a remote work environment and are recalibrating their operating model to effectively manage a remote, or in many cases hybrid, workforce. The article takes a look at why it is important to provide staff with remote opportunities and then dives into the best practices that firms are employing to drive success.
Exclusive
The silent risk - Never take 'K(no)w' for an answer! Embracing emergent conversations for change and innovation in business meetings
- Article
- 01 Apr 2023
- Robert Lengel
- Personal Excellence
Dr. Robert H. Lengel discusses a way to host strategic conversations bringing stakeholders together in pursuit of changing organizational culture. He describes a method he has developed called 'conversation walls', which involves collating anonymous phrases used by staff in both their public and private conversations. This aims to reveal pent-up negativity and emotions which are not given space for expression in traditional business meetings.
Exclusive
The value of connectors
- Article
- 01 Dec 2022
- Romana L. Autrey, Tim Bauer, Kevin E.Jackson, Elena Klevsky, Margaret Shackell
- Strategic Finance
Team members who act as 'connectors' can help reduce employee turnover, according to a new research study. The authors take a look at the traits and skills of connectors and the implications for teamwork in the finance function.
Exclusive
Why automating finance is just an integration game
- Article
- 08 Nov 2022
- Marc Ambasna-Jones
- Computer Weekly
Marc Ambasna-Jones looks at how the software that powers finance departments can help businesses navigate the worsening economic climate. The article discusses 'hyperautomation', an approach involving rapidly automating as many processes as possible using technology such as robotic process automation (RPA), low-code application platforms (LCAP), artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual assistants.
External resources
Being the best: Inside the intelligent finance function
- KPMG International
For its 2013 survey, KPMG surveyed approximately 440 CFOs and other senior finance executives on how finance functions are adapting to emerging business challenges.
Change management and agility
- CIPD
A collection of resources on change management from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development which includes practical advice, research reports and podcasts.
Could you succeed as a finance business partner?
- Robert Half
A Robert Half article looking at different definitions of what being a finance business partner entails, and the value the relationship can provide within an organisation.
Finance business partnering: Less than the sum of the parts
- Deloitte
Deloitte 2014 report investigating the challenges and opportunities faced by CFOs in relation to decision support and business partnering, using input from 75 senior UK finance executives.
Finance matters: Finance function of the future
- PwC
PWC paper from 2013 considering how to prepare finance teams for the future. The paper examines existing trends in the sector and looks forward to 2030.
Key competencies for finance business partnering
- Financial Management
Article providing advice for aspiring finance business partners, covering key competencies and skills to learn. Raju Venkataraman, former CFO and Head of Strategy and Business Development for Disney in Southeast Asia, shares his experience of finance business partnering with sales.
Managing change
- Atom Content Management
A guide to managing change for businesses, covering driving change, prioritising change, preparing for change, selling the change, implementing change and creating a culture of change.
The Deloitte Finance Benchmark: Getting back to growth
- Deloitte
Deloitte's Finance Benchmark survey, conducted with 216 organisations in 2015. The survey identifies important opportunities for the finance function and highlights examples of current good practice.
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