Appended below is a table that I have set out to consider at least some of the features of a first class or world class finance department (FD):

Salient points to the above features:-

1. CFOs who preside over world-class finance departments shape the culture of finance They therefore draw up a mission statement for the finance organization. Finance staff will find it more enjoyable when they have a sense of purpose and an awareness that they contribute to greater goals.
2. It is important to understand that Finance Department is a service provider hence the constant need to partner with other operating managers within the organization. Hence, it is important how a finance department role is perceived by others.
3. Employees don’t actually have to work in finance to understand the company’s financial performance. More exchanges of information between finance and business units by holding regular departmental, managerial, executive and companywide meetings. Finance should be “supplying the kind of financial thinking and tools that allow the enterprise to make the right business bets.”
4. In the best finance organizations, finance staffers know how the company operates — not just how the finance department operates.
5. Generally, a lot of finance chiefs were conservative, straight-arrow types who’d invariably err on the side of caution and prudence and humility. Others parts of the organization would like finance to take a more pro-active role particularly with cases happening in Enron, WorldCom, Tyco,etc - problems with revenue recognition, no restatements,.
6. Here, we mean that finance staff should think strategically, constantly striving to glimpses into the future , ready to seize opportunities and turn perceived downfalls into advantages or avert potential disaster. Essential questions should be asked when analyzing data :what are the strategy assumptions that can be made from these numbers? Next, what do these numbers say about potential pitfalls, and what recommendations can we make based on them? And finally, do these numbers support the company’s decisions?
7. Sometimes, finance department might over-react and be a goal keeper of operating cash and killing off every new idea solely because it costs too much money up front, first-rate finance departments try to find ways to turn a great — but seemingly unprofitable — idea into a money-maker.
8. To be a world class finance department, the accomplishment is not from one staff but the finance team. Hence the spirit of teamwork and collegiality he’s fostered within his finance department. Also we need to understand that building a great team means more than simply hiring the best resumes. It’s also about how well the members of a team work together.
9. This is all linked towards the changing trend of setting up shared serviced centers or outsourcing low value transaction processing services. For world class finance department they constantly seek services that are critical to the contribution to the growth of their companies.
10. This is just a truism: If a world class finance department does not have the proper tools, i.e. systems, infrastructure, processes and people, how can it contribute to the greater growth of the company?

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