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Is Finance The Enemy?

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Page 1: Is Finance The Enemy?

Is finance the enemy?

Some of my favorite Dilbert cartoons are when Dilbert goes down to the company

dungeon to turn in his expense report to the fat, accounting trolls with no hair, sharp horns, and

pointy teeth. The exchange typically goes something like this:

Dilbert: “It takes you two months to process my company credit card reimbursement.”

Dilbert: “So I get in trouble every month for incurring late fees.”

Dilbert: “Why must I be punished for your incompetence?”

Accounting Troll: “Apparently, I’m AWESOME!”

How do your internal customers see you? As the problem? Or as a partner?

I’ve talked with many finance and accounting people who have a “CFO means NO”

type of mentality. We are known for our “voice of reason.” We are the left-brain voice of logic

for the right-brain creative types.

In order for the company to function, both sides need balance.

I’ve spent my career in retail. I remember well when a new CFO came on board our

finance team. He placed a jar on his desk. If anyone said, “That’s the way we’ve always done

things around here,” they had to contribute to the jar. We also had to contribute to the jar if

anyone in finance or accounting bad-mouthed the merchants who ALWAYS seemed to be

missing their sales forecast and could never buy the right stuff. THEY were the life-blood of the

company. We were dependent on their ability to drive the customer through the door. Our job

in finance was to help them be successful. Or as Disney Corp used to say, “I service my external

customer the best when I provide excellent customer service to my internal customers.”

In providing this internal customer service, we need balance. Our job IS to be the

watchdog of the company assets. Often, we directly report the numbers and our suggestions to

the CEO. We have to stand up when we feel something is wrong. When I interviewed with the

CEO of a retail company for a Director of Finance job, he said, “If you consistently agree with

the merchants or the operations team, I don’t need you.” A good CEO needs our insights,

balance and perspective. However, we need to use tact to have long-term success. Someone

once defined tact as the ability to go on the offense without being offensive.

Recently, I went through an interview with a company that had a “servant-leadership”

type of culture. One of the questions I was asked intrigued me: “Tell me a time when you’ve

been able to anticipate the needs of your internal customers?” Made me think a little bit. In

particular, it made me think of the type of people I try to hire.

There are some basic “rite of entry” skills that are needed for any accounting or finance

position. We have to know how to do the job and have the confidence to explain it to others

and solve problems. Beyond those “rite of entry” skills, I always look for someone with a strong

balance between courage and consideration. If you don’t have the confidence in your skills

and the courage to challenge a Sr. Leader when appropriate, if will be more difficult to move

up to the top levels of the organization and add value. On the other side, you may be right; you

may win the short-term battle but lose the war by completely turning people off with an abrasive

style—not enough consideration.

One of my favorite stories is about the engineers testing the windshield glass for the

Japan bullet trains. (Incidentally, I first heard this story applied to the bullet trains in Japan;

another guy said if was a true story for the bullet trains in Europe. Not sure which is true or even IF

it is true; but if the story ISN”T true, it should be). When they were creating the bullet trains, one of

their biggest concerns was wild birds and turkeys flying through the countryside, hitting the front

windshield glass of the bullet trains, going through the windshield and injuring the engineer. So,

the designers invented a gun and actually shot birds toward the train to test the impact. On the

first couple of experiments, the turkey went through the windshield glass right into the front seat;

not good—the engineer would have a hard time driving the train with a turkey in his chest. So,

Page 2: Is Finance The Enemy?

they tried several things including adjusting the angle of the glass, increasing, the thickness, etc.

But nothing seemed to work. The potential train operator always ended up getting nailed with a

bird. Finally, one of the designers turned to the other and said, “You think we should stop using

frozen turkeys for our test?”

Someone without the proper balance, particularly on the “courage” side, could be

shooting frozen turkey bullets toward his team members.

To sum it up, Dilbert says it best:

Dilbert: “I need an explanation for these numbers”

Accounting Troll: “This is budget season so I will spit on your data and send you away.”

Dilbert: “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Accounting Troll: “Our bodies are 95% made of spit.”

Let’s not spit on our internal customers. We need the courage to stand up to protect the

assets by achieving the balance between courage and consideration.