Decision Support: The CFO Check-Up (Final Part)

by CFO Innovation Staff, 28 September 2009

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topics:
Finance and Banking

tags:
compliance decision support internal audit risk management

In “Managing in a Downturn: The CFO Survival Guide,” PricewaterhouseCoopers combs through the income statement and balance sheet and makes recommendations for each line item. It also examines areas outside the financial statements that the CFO is increasingly being asked to be part of, such as managing risk and decision support.

The following suggested courses of action focus on managing risk, compliance, internal audit, planning, reporting and decision support. Click here for Part 1 (Cost-Cutting) and Part 2 (Growth) of this guide.

Managing risks, compliance and internal audit

Short-term opportunities (less than three months)

• Identify new risks e.g. fraud, on third party partners etc

• Review risk management spend and internal audit plan

• Review controls over cash and working capital management systems and process

• Ensure compliance with financial regulation and proper controls for financial practices.

Medium-term opportunities (three to 12 months)

• Reassurance that internal audit and risk management are operating effectively

• Conduct a current state assessment of Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) capabilities and identify gaps

• Reduce costs and improve performance of key processes

• Revisit major contracts to determine real value for money.

Long-term opportunities (more than 12 months)

• Training and support of in-house internal audit staff

• Access to relevant benchmarks for processes and controls

• Seek comfort that the right processes, controls, technology and people are in place

• Improve governance around information reporting and implement the right controls around data.

The PwC Finance Benchmark

Short-term opportunities (less than three months)

• Determine the performance of your finance function against a relevant peer group from PwC’s extensive database

• Review hedging arrangements in light of the rapidly changing interest rate environment

• Measure performance against 1) efficiency, 2) controls & compliance, and 3) business insight

• Seek external challenge to inform discussions about top quartile performance and emerging trends

• Determine internal divisional performance.

Medium-term opportunities (three to 12 months)

• Provide a baseline to measure progress against

• Provide reassurance over current or future strategy

• Determine specific areas or metrics that can be assessed on an ongoing basis and identify areas for improvement

• Determine / change role of finance based on informed conclusions.

Long-term opportunities (more than 12 months)

• Compare yourself to a continually updated peer group to track performance and trends

• Implement an optimal organisational design and technology

• Ensure a balance between cost efficiency, controls and insight

• Review progress against baseline and agreed objectives.

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