Executive Summary
The term “change management” is used quite a lot these days as companies try to scale fast
without sacrificing on quality of services/products offered. In this article, we will discuss: what is
change management? Why should finance and accounting be first in your thoughts when it comes
to which change is necessary? And how does a CFO make this possible for your team?
What is Change Management?
The word is changing every second. Technology is helping us grow at an exponential rate than
before. In terms of consumers, change translates into changed behaviors. For example, Gen Z are
empowered with data from the internet as well as an understanding of the harm certain brands
are having on the environment, and so they are extremely picky when it comes to purchasing as
well as brand loyalty.
Change is all around us and organizations that do not evolve become extinct. As Darwinist as this
sounds, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to see examples of well-known brands die in the matter of a
few decades despite reaching heights of popularity – a great example is Kodak.
Simply put, successful change management comes from being able to foresee trends and
operationally prepare for these trends. The true success of change management depends on how
well an eye is kept on data that is being generated across your financial and operational
departments as well as agile decision making based on this data.
Data and Change Management
I am sure you’re wondering what does finance/accounting have anything to do with change
management. The first step towards making any change is identifying the need for change. Your
CFO will be the first person to look at your books and tell you that sales have slowed down in x
customer segment or y region. The data that is gleaned from your books will signal a need for
change. What that change will depend on the problem, but the problem is often companies can
go months and years without trying to understand what the problem is.
A good CFO will be able to glean from the numbers what changes the company might have to
make to stay relevant. The strongest teams appreciate this information and make departmental
and organizational changes based on these suggestions.
The Role of the CFO
To ensure successful change management, the CFO will work with senior management to
establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) along the new goals. For example, if our goal is: we
want to increase our sales in y region by z%, the KPIs that need to be monitored are: store
revenue, number of customers who came to the store/site but didn’t purchase, and perhaps
experimenting with price sensitivity. Your CFO can now start tracking not only these KPIs to paint
a compelling picture of what exactly is happening but also create systems to capture these data
points.
What if your Company Can’t Afford a Full-Time CFO?
Fractional CFO services are starting to gain traction around the continent. One leading firm in this
area is ProChange Africa, which offer hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly CFO rates. The best thing
about their approach is value add at all levels and the CFO will also be matched with your
company based on industry experience.
If you are unable to afford a fractional-CFO, consider onboarding a fractional-finance manager,
which is also offered by ProChange Africa. Some financial visibility is better than no visibility.
Check out their website: www.pro-change.co and schedule a meeting with a financial expert
today
