Based on a roundtable held in Singapore in April 2011, this paper outlines discussions between finance professionals from leading companies and specialists from government, academia and finance recruitment. The aim was to explore the context of finance function change in facilitating and driving management support in the Asia region with a particular regard to independence and objectivity. This discussion was built on a roundtable held in London in January 2011 and the subsequent report, ‘Fact or fiction? The independent business partner’ as well as the research findings of the CIMA Centre of Excellence at the University of Bath School of Management. The centre was established to research the state of and changes to, the finance function and determine best practice in the development of finance professionals. It also conducts global research.