# Finance operations efficiency – 7 ways to slick up your department
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-10-26
Category: BUSINESS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business
Meta Title: 7 Best Big Wins to Transform Your Finance Department
Meta Description: Discover the top strategies to make your finance department more efficient and effective, from questioning processes to streamlining tasks and trusting your
URL: https://financedigest.com/finance-operations-efficiency-7-ways-to-slick-up-your-departmenthtml

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_![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/sebastian-marchon-1736837521246-compressed.jpg)_

_By **Sebastian Marchon,** CEO at Rydoo_

Finance Operations seem to face never-ending pressures, with an ongoing need for teams to be more efficient and do more with the same (or less). So how can you supercharge your finance department and make some time in your day to do those value-add tasks that you really enjoy doing?

We’ve [put together](https://www.financedigest.com/10-ways-to-put-together-a-killer-investment-pitch.html "10 WAYS TO PUT TOGETHER A KILLER INVESTMENT PITCH") a list of the 7 best ‘big wins’ that can really transform your finance department and help you make the jump to the next level.

**#1 – Ask yourself “why?”**

This has to be the very first thing you [need to do if you want a truly slick finance](https://www.financedigest.com/7-finance-career-options-to-consider-and-what-you-need-to-know-about-each.html "7 Finance Career Options to Consider and What You Need to Know About Each") operation. Instead of asking yourself how you can do something quicker or easier, ask yourself “Why are we doing this?”

It’s no surprise that in many organisations there are lots of tasks that are being done just because they always have been. For example, producing reports with no real use by the recipient, or spending hours filing paperwork when you realise it could be paperless.

If there’s no good reason for a task to be done then don’t do it.

**#2 – Delete, delete, delete**

This is one of [Elon Musk’s](https://www.financedigest.com/elon-musk-and-others-urge-ai-pause-citing-risks-to-society.html "Elon Musk and others urge AI pause, citing ‘risks to society’") favourite sayings and it seems to have stood him in good stead. His view is that if you haven’t reached the point where you think you’ve deleted too many processes then you still have some work to do. Now, whilst deleting processes until the wheels fall off is not recommended, there is a lot of sense in this lean-approach.

In finance, departments tend to seek comfort in doing the familiar old routines to [manage the daily finance](https://www.financedigest.com/how-parents-can-help-students-manage-their-finances.html "How Parents Can Help Students Manage their Finances") operations. However, many times these old routines don’t add value, [improve control](https://www.financedigest.com/german-regulator-calls-on-allianz-to-improve-controls-source.html "German regulator calls on Allianz to improve controls – source") or produce insight. Therefore they need to go.

**#3 – Trust your people**

If you are having trouble asking “Why?” about all of your processes then the question has to be “Why are you trying to do it yourself?”.

Your people have a wealth of knowledge about their jobs and the [company they work for so asking them to help with your systems](https://www.financedigest.com/setsquared-companys-maths-system-adds-up-to-pitch-perfect-palace-success.html "SETsquared company’s maths system adds up to pitch-perfect palace success") and processes is a good place to start. Make it a [finance team](https://www.financedigest.com/what-skills-and-areas-of-knowledge-should-finance-teams-develop-during-2023.html "What Skills and Areas of Knowledge Should Finance Teams Develop During 2023? ") special project and get everyone involved. Get them asking why they do things and see if any overall themes emerge.

Very often you’ll find that there are whole [chains of tasks that different people](https://www.financedigest.com/31972social-engineering-in-the-financial-services-people-are-the-weakest-link-in-the-security-chain.html "Social engineering in the Financial Services : People Are The  Weakest Link in the Security Chain") do that can be deleted, but they haven’t been because nobody ever asked the question “Why?”.

Tell your [people what you are trying to achieve and then trust them to think](https://www.financedigest.com/over-a-third-of-uk-people-think-thomas-whitmore-from-independence-day-will-be-joined-by-donald-trump-in-disneys-hall-of-presidents.html "Over a third of UK people think Thomas Whitmore from Independence Day will be joined by Donald Trump in Disney’s Hall of Presidents") about their own areas of responsibility.

**#4 – Get your COA right**

The General Ledger is the heart of the [finance system and the Chart of Accounts](https://www.financedigest.com/utilising-digital-tools-to-close-the-finance-and-accounting-skills-gap.html "Utilising digital tools to close the finance and accounting skills gap") (COA) is the heart of the general ledger.  Companies jump through huge amounts of hoops just to cope with a poorly designed and organised COA.This often [happens when companies](https://www.financedigest.com/what-happens-if-a-company-doesnt-have-any-records-of-its-rd-activities.html "What happens if a company doesn’t have any records of its R&D activities?") acquire subsidiaries that have totally different COAs. There then appears a cottage [industry of accountants all frantically trying to make the different postings](https://www.financedigest.com/how-the-epa-plans-to-boost-confidence-in-the-uk-payments-industry-post-brexit.html "How the EPA plans to boost confidence in the UK payments industry post Brexit") match up.

Get your COAs right and you’ll find that you don’t [need that cottage industry](https://www.financedigest.com/the-financial-services-industry-needs-to-get-serious-about-cyber-security-in-the-covid-19-era.html "The financial services industry needs to get serious about cyber security in the Covid-19 era") anymore. A well-organised COA also helps with reporting and you can often find that simple [reports fall out of the system rather than having to resort to macros and reporting](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-retailers-report-record-food-inflation-but-see-falls-ahead.html "UK retailers report record food inflation but see falls ahead") software.

However, it’s [important not to launch suddenly into changing things](https://www.financedigest.com/the-importance-of-helping-customers-do-things-for-themselves.html "The importance of helping customers do things for themselves") as this could do more harm than good. Take some time to consider your approach and only make the change when you know what subsystems will be affected.

**#5 – Stress your system**

One of the most interesting aspects about finance department systems is that the departments [very rarely](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/memo-to-the-cfo-get-in-front-of-digital-finance-or-get-left-back) use all of their capabilities. This stems from companies paying for the new systems that only then [pay for consultants to work on getting a minimum viable product](https://www.financedigest.com/best-paying-jobs-in-oil-and-gas-production.html "Best Paying Jobs in Oil And Gas Production") up and running.

This [means that in many companies there are lots](https://www.financedigest.com/why-fundraising-no-longer-means-kissing-a-lot-of-frogs.html "Why fundraising no longer means kissing a lot of frogs") of other tasks that their systems could do but they just haven’t been switched on or implemented. Have a good look at your systems and see if there are other functions that could be used.

**#6 – Use apps to take the strain**

Apps are everywhere nowadays, you can find an app to do almost everything. If your main finance system can’t do something, take a look around for an app that can fill the void. Often it is better to use a best-in-class [app rather than trying to force your finance](https://www.financedigest.com/make-way-for-the-rise-of-the-finance-super-apps-consolidation-of-financial-digitisation-tools-platforms.html "Make way for the rise of the Finance Super Apps – Consolidation of Financial Digitisation Tools & Platforms") system to do something that it wasn’t designed for.

**#7 – Automate your reporting**

One of the biggest drains on people’s time is generating reports. Very often we see people spending hours just producing, checking and formatting reports when they could be adding insight. Once you have a well-structured COA and you’ve deleted reporting that nobody uses, look at [ways of automating](https://www.financedigest.com/10-ways-automation-has-changed-the-role-of-the-cfo.html "10 ways automation has changed the role of the CFO") report production.

This will free up your [staff to add value and insight for managers](https://www.financedigest.com/edf-staff-shareholders-file-complaint-over-management.html "EDF staff, shareholders file complaint over management") to use.

**Summary – It’s all about a process**

When you first look at making your [finance department](https://www.financedigest.com/data-analytics-scenario-planning-and-the-finance-department.html "Data analytics, scenario planning, and the finance department") more efficient it can seem a bit daunting. However – there’s a method. The above [tips have been presented in a particular order as following this process](https://www.financedigest.com/1-easy-tip-to-make-a-key-e-commerce-process-more-efficient.html "1 easy tip to make a key e-commerce process more efficient") makes the whole project easier. For example, if you delete [processes because they are not needed then you don’t](https://www.financedigest.com/companies-that-dont-upgrade-their-financial-processes-this-year-will-get-left-behind.html "Companies that don’t upgrade their financial processes this year will get left behind") need an app to do them. Or if you organise your COA properly then your [reporting should be a smooth process](https://www.financedigest.com/board-report-highlights-complex-decision-making-process-across-banking-and-finance-sector.html "Board Report Highlights Complex Decision-Making Process Across Banking and Finance sector"). However, valuable [time can be wasted automating](https://www.financedigest.com/make-time-to-reshape-the-finance-function-with-automation-and-machine-learning.html "Make time to reshape the finance function with automation and machine learning") a process, if you realise later that the user doesn’t need it and therefore it needs deleting.

Divide your transformation process up into [manageable bite-sized pieces and do a little at a time](https://www.financedigest.com/uncertain-times-for-uk-landlords-how-to-avoid-insolvency-for-your-property-management-business-in-2020.html "Uncertain Times for UK Landlords: How to Avoid Insolvency for Your Property Management Business in 2020"). That way, the whole [project won’t seem as  scary and you’ll feel better about the smaller tasks that need](https://www.financedigest.com/why-do-projects-need-an-ieo.html "Why do projects need an IEO?") to be completed.

Combining these crucial steps with innovative and automated tools will help you to replace your traditionally manual processes – such as [expense management](https://www.financedigest.com/5-practical-ways-to-manage-your-business-expenses.html "5 Practical Ways To Manage Your Business Expenses") and reporting – with speed and ease. If you’re already thinking about ways to make your finance department more efficient, make [sure you understand the needs](https://www.financedigest.com/need-additional-funding-but-not-sure-how-to-go-about-it.html "Need additional funding but not sure how to go about it?") of your team and  collaborate with the right technology partners. Then, watch your processes simplify themselves.


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