ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Finance transformation
Kestrel Retail's board is told that its finance function is mainly seen by managers as a 'scorekeeper' that produces historical reports after the event. The CFO proposes that finance become a 'business partner' within the company. Which change in activity would most clearly show that this repositioning is taking place?
Embedding finance analysts in commercial teams to advise on pricing and investment using forward-looking information shows the shift to business partnering. It moves finance from historical scorekeeping to supporting decisions, while operating managers retain responsibility for operations and information is shared rather than restricted.
- AFinance analysts are embedded in commercial teams to advise on pricing and investment decisions using forward-looking informationCorrect
- BFinance produces historical variance reports in more detail and distributes them later
- CFinance takes over responsibility for all operational decisions in each department
- DFinance restricts access to data so only the CFO can interpret results
Explanation
Business partnering means working alongside managers, applying forward-looking financial insight to decisions. More detailed historical reporting remains scorekeeping. Taking over operational decisions or restricting data undermines partnership, as managers retain accountability for operations.
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