How Finance Drives Insights from Analytics

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There is no one better with numbers in a company than the people in Finance. This is not simply proficiency with a calculator or a spreadsheet, although those are essential skills in themselves. Finance professionals have to process a huge amount of information as they manage the daily transactions of the business and prepare accurate and timely reports for managers and stakeholders. We develop an instinct for the ebb and flow of business cycles that are revealed in the data that is collected and interpreted. 

We are trained from day one to see the patterns and trends in numbers. They dance for us as we run subconscious algorithms in our heads. Any wrong notes in the music jar instantly and spur us to dig into the cause and effect. This is a great skill, but one that we must refine in order to unlock the Unfair Advantage of Finance.

Strength in numbers

To stay competitive in a global market, businesses need relevant information based on reliable, timely, measurable data. Analytics draws the melody from the background noise, finding the valuable insights that will make the difference between success and failure, and promote growth and prosperity. 

Finance draws insights not only from company-wide data points but from external sources as well. Internally, we look to the raw data of key performance indicators, from factory line unit production to customer call response times, and we combine these with the daily flow of transactions that are processed for income and expenditure. Externally, we capture micro-and macro-economic data and industry-specific trends from business leaders and customers. Finance can then use its strength in numbers to generate insights from this pool of valuable data.

However, these finance function skills are hidden in plain sight in many businesses. Despite the strength of insights that we develop as part of our financial role, decision-makers often look instead to new technologies and external consultants to deliver those insights, without considering the analytical engine that sits in the finance function. What do we need to do to change this? We have to start with the end in mind.

Start with the end in mind

Decision-makers need the analytical insights that finance brains can provide, but those insights must be relevant to the problems at hand and layered with a deep understanding of the business. We have to hone our instinctive sense of those jarring wrong notes and come at the exercise from a whole new direction.

• Read the room. What jumps off the page to us in a financial sense may not be relevant to immediate challenges. We must listen to the concerns of our decision-making peers and pick the right insight for the moment.
• Spread the net. People often forget that the finance function deals with such a variety of data from so many different sources. We are unrecognizable from the historical image of an accountant surrounded by cash books and clutching an abacus. Show the non-financial decision-makers what we do. Bring those nuanced insights to the table and tell a compelling story.
• Build wisdom. As the saying goes, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” We have to spend time understanding the business and the economic and market influences upon it, adding valuable context to dry data.
• See the future. Because finance picks up the earliest indicators of new challenges as deviations from established data trends, we have a fortunetelling skill second to none. Once we have the attention of our decision-making peers and we have delivered the insights they need for immediate action, we can reveal our strategic superpower.

Our potential impact on business success is limitless if we can communicate our insights effectively. 

Let us know how you tell a compelling story in your regular reporting cycle.

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This was the third article in my series "Unlocking the unfair advantage of Finance". You can read the previous article(s) below.

It's time to unlock the unfair advantage of Finance

Finance professionals know how to make money

If you want to learn more about how finance professionals can influence decision-making then check out my latest article series "The Art of Decision-Making" below.

The ultimate guide to decision-making for finance professionals

Do you understand how you make decisions?

Do you make decisions or do you influence them?

From influence to impact - the hardest part of Finance

The art of improved decision-making explained

If you want to become a better business partner, consider taking our online course "Business Partnering Explained - Value Creation Unlocked" to get a better handle on the role. It's accredited for 5.5 CPD hours.

You can read a lot more articles about FP&A, Business Partnering, and Finance Transformation below. It all start's with “Introducing The Finance Transformation Nine Box” where you set the ambition for your transformation. You should join the Finance Business Partner Forum, which is part of the Business Partnering Institute's online community.

The Mindset Change Checklist For Finance Professionals (the last article in a series about the mindset change that finance and accounting professionals should make to become business partners)

It's Time To Decide If You Want To Be A Business Partner (the last article in a series about the personality traits of business partners)

All Successful Business Partners Are "Leaders" (the last article in the series about our new capability model)

Should We Keep Talking About Business Partnering? (part of a 17-article series where we deep-dive on the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of business partnering by putting it on a formula)

Your Journey To Successful Business Partnering Explained

How To Create Value Through Business Partnering

Everyone Can Adopt A Business Partnering Mindset (part of a six-article series about FP&A Business Partnering)

From Business Partner To Working Within The Business (part of an article series where I interview finance professionals about their careers in FP&A and Business Partnering)

Is Your Product Optimized For Value Creation? (part of a toolbox series where we look at what tools FP&A professionals should leverage to drive value creation)

How Business Partners Turn Analysis To Insight (part of case study series where I interview business partners about how they drive value creation using real cases)

The Future Of FP&A: Two Ways To Take The Reins

What Is The Accounting Profession Paradox?

What Defines A Finance Master?

The New Career Path For Finance Professionals

How Finance People Can Be More Successful

The CFOs Roadmap To Transforming Finance

How To Become A Finance Business Partner

Financial Analyst vs. Finance Business Partner

Finance Business Partner Is A Bullshit Job

How Business Partners Keep A Plan On Track

Anders Liu-Lindberg is the co-founder and a partner at the Business Partnering Institute and owner of the largest group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering on LinkedIn with more than 10,000 members. I have ten years of experience as a business partner at the global transport and logistics company Maersk. I am the co-author of the book “Create Value as a Finance Business Partner” and a long-time Finance Blogger on LinkedIn with close to 65.000 followers and 140.000+ subscribers to my blog. Recently I became an advisory board member at Born Capital to help identify and grow the next big thing in #CFOTech.