The modern, successful finance function is at the heart of all good organisations. It is expected to play an active role in contributing to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives. Our previous research found that an evolutionary change was occurring in the finance function, driving a closer collaborative relationship between finance and the wider business. Finance functions require a portfolio of roles and finance professionals with a diverse range of competencies and skills to effectively fulfil the expected role and these responsibilities.

Changes taking the finance function towards the business partnering role do not necessarily encompass the elimination of more traditional roles, such as transactional processing work, nor does it require physical relocation of roles. Instead the research found that finance business partnering can be done via virtual collaboration and the key changes to the finance function are those that really create value via improving internal processes and focusing on products and services.