When it comes to organizational change, there’s many reasons to stick to the status quo. But maintaining a tight grip on what’s working now sabotages what could work better—like cost efficiencies, improved scalability, and more strategic departments that adapt swiftly to market and regulatory challenges.
Take the office of the CFO: traditionally very risk-averse and numbers-driven, they want proof-of-concept and immediate results before embarking on uncharted territory. It’s why they’re trusted to maintain financial health and make decisions for organizational longevity. But if you look closer at the traditional ways of working, you’ll see it was created for a pre-technology world. What once was effective at segmenting departments for maximum accuracy now stifles global collaboration.
It’s why, at Clearsulting, we’ve tweaked our own model. “We have the privilege of working with large-scale organizations across various industries, and there’s a striking difference in efficiency and culture when they get this right,” says Clearsulting CEO Marc Ursick. “It’s not just about operational improvements—it’s creating a culture of continuous innovation and accountability that drives long-term success.”
Let’s compare.
Finance operating model: Traditional vs. modern
Across four key aspects—organization, team skillsets, process standardization, and data—here’s a breakdown of how traditional workflows differ from a more modern approach.
Organization
Traditional: Finance functions are managed geographically, with each business location handling its own reporting and processes. For example, a company with offices in Germany, France, and the United States would have location-specific CFOs managing the close process, who ultimately roll up to a global CFO.
Modern: Functions lean on technology to streamline processes, with data available in a centralized location. Instead of individual resources processing transactions, closing the books, and managing reporting, Centers of Excellence (CoEs) have a simplified workflow for faster reporting. One Global Process Owner (GPO) is accountable for sign off.
Team skillsets
Traditional: Expertise is scattered across various departments and locations within the organization, limiting cross-functional collaboration and innovation.
Modern: CoEs act as a hub of expertise, connecting all subject-matter experts (SMEs) together to foster innovation, establish leading practices, and scale innovation as the organization grows. Pivoting away from manual upkeep, your teams embrace digital to focus on value-add activities like analyzing data for informed decisions. Finance is seen as a partner to the business—not just the bookkeeper.
Process standardization
Traditional: Processes differ according to location—where decentralized teams manually close the books. Your team focuses on the day-to-day needs of the business.
Modern: The use of technology means greater unity and standardization, eliminating redundancies and inconsistencies. Automated processes and real-time analytics lend themselves to more reliable insights and give your team time to focus on long-term strategy.
Data
Traditional: Information is stored across multiple, disparate systems and cannot be easily accessed.
Modern: Data is your strategic asset, housed in a single source of truth. Dashboards display key information, strengthening governance and understanding of risk.
Why the modern model works
You hire your team members for a reason—and removing the barriers of siloed teams enhances the internal network of SMEs and compounds expertise. That was the experience of one of our clients.
"Standardizing processes globally, appointing Global Process Owners and Centers of Excellence, and establishing clear governance improved efficiency and created a structure that optimized our use of technology,” says one Fortune 100 Global Process Owner. “It not only enabled us to drive continuous improvement, but also enhanced decision-making to deliver real value across the business."
Self-assessment: Is it time to reconsider your finance operating model?
In our experience, there are 10 key challenges that signal it’s time to take a closer look. Can you relate?
- You rely on local teams to manually collect financial data, process transactions, and perform reporting.
- Processes differ across locations and business units.
- Your SMEs are scattered across the organization and cannot easily collaborate or enact change.
- Your teams operate in the short-term—focused on tasks instead of providing strategic insight for decision making.
- Your data lives in siloed, disparate systems that require manual exports.
- You can’t vet the cleanliness of your data, often finding duplicates or errors across large subsets.
- New regulations are a headache, causing your teams to scramble for compliance.
- Your governance structures are reactive instead of proactive.
- Your teams are relied upon for data points; not brought into strategic conversations.
- Accountability suffers as multiple teams juggle the same tasks.
There’s always room for improvement—even for the most successful organizations. No matter how you compare, continually challenging the status quo is the difference between good and great.
Get started
Whether you’re ready to explore new ways of working or want fresh perspective, the Clearsulting team can help—working side-by-side with you to understand, automate, and optimize financial workflows in a way that works best for your business. That way, your team can uncover new insights that drive you forward and inspire growth.
Let’s keep in touch: https://www.clearsulting.com/
