May 29, 2025
I have always loved the above image of Tower Bridge and was delighted to discover years ago that you can walk across the top. I used the image on my new Book cover because it represents so much to me. I love London, its a great City and Tower Bridge with its two huge 'Pillars' is instantly recognisable.
Are they called Pillars? I don't know but I learned about 'Pillar' Pages recently as I redesigned my Website to talk all about Finance Transformation. Yesterday as I was listening to a potential Client describe their challenges we strayed into Multi Functional Shared Services including Finance, Procurement, IT and HR.
Before I go any further can I digress for one moment to thank those who Nominated me for two Awards recently. Delighted to say I have been awarded the first and still in the hunt for the second with more to follow on that next week. I shall if required lend my Trophies to United so we can all start to heal from this Season.
Now back to todays musings.
Its always the HR I stop on. Not my area but I know some top class HR Transformation people we could collaborate with and that may be the best approach. But as I sat down yesterday to plan out my Articles, yes I do plan some of them, I was struck by the lack of collaboration between Finance and HR as a 'Profession'.
We are not natural 'bedfellows' - feel free to express your opinions on this and if you agree then how can we improve this?
I have a vast Network of Finance, IT and Procurement experts I can pick up the phone to or involve in my Projects and maybe its because as a Process they work well together. Finance and Procurement always dovetail, with each running neatly into the other in an End to End Process. Finance doesn't exist without IT:
"I daresay that if you analysed the Helpdesk Tickets of every IT function in the UK without a shadow of a doubt the Upper Quartile ticket raisers are Finance."
This is largely due to the fact we need a system to function, we operate to a Timetable, we use it everyday and yes just for a chuckle we do break things. We Ring the Helpdesk any chance we get because we know if we Ring we get our query solved first...
The degree of interaction with Procurement is to resolve every Purchase Order, GRN and Invoice and can also be daily. It is a close relationship though one which we all know can be sub optimal and 'hands up' Finance can be as much to blame for that.
Why Procurement just can't accept that they Report to Finance as the CFO trumps CPO every time, is beyond me. Oh c'mon its true admit it.
I know I cannot run a Finance Transformation program successfully without an interlocking hand in glove relationship with IT. They are the second Pillar to my first Pillar and always in that order. Why? Because if we have no Problem, we have no Project and that Problem is always expressed in terms of People, Process and the Coin of the Realm...printed Bank Notes.
Once the Problem Statement is defined it is to their Door I march next. Invariably the majority of Finance Shared Service Centres have an underperforming Payments function and that inevitably means I arrive at Procurement shortly after.
So, why I hear you all shout in unison, do I care about HR???
Because last week I had another chat, for an introvert I talk a lot. This time about the Future of Work and that strayed into how we could 'Reimagine Work', which is a fascinating topic and I got all excited and went straight to the Magic Whiteboard. Its Magic because it produces better articles then AI:
All of which is now nicely scribbled on my Whiteboard, along with a Scorecard...yes I am an Accountant, we tend to Measure things. But then I was bereft, which workplace guru do I discuss it with and at that point, as sunlight hit my head, that I realised I need to build that HR Pillar to get all the way across London Bridge.
Which left me with No. 5 'How can we Change?' and no one to bounce it off but Finance (Numbers people...), Procurement (Its a Good deal!) and IT (We don't care its human error!)
I found No. 2 the most interesting - why do we currently work the way we do?
Go on tell me and in this context it does not matter what function you are in, its your job, how do you want to change it.?
Cheers,
Michael.