How to Be a Valuable Financial Business Partner
Challenges, responsibilities, and choices are simply par for the course when you’re a financial business partner. However, it’s not enough to simply be a partner in name only. You naturally want to bring some serious value to the table as well. Here’s how you can do exactly that and then some.
Know Your Business
Before you can be a truly successful financial partner, you really need to know and understand every aspect of how your business functions from a numbers standpoint. Part of that means cultivating an intimate relationship with your ledger, your main source for critical information and data. However, you need a full understanding of any and all supporting systems as well. Looking at the financial side of the business from every angle is the best way to develop the instincts you’ll need when making important decisions about where to go next.
Be Courageous
Being a terrific business partner when it comes to finances isn’t just about knowing what needs to be done to keep operations running smoothly and that ever-important bottom line healthy. You need to also be comfortable speaking up, even when you know others may not necessarily like what you have to say. Good financial partners tell it like it is, aren’t afraid to dole out reality checks once in a while, and never shy away from a challenge. They’re also comfortable with being persistent, as they realize that it sometimes takes more than one try to get a point across.
Make the Numbers Relatable
Numbers, charts, and raw facts don’t necessarily mean much to someone who isn’t completely in the know. Great financial partners don’t just know how to accurately assess what such things do and don’t mean for a given business’s bottom line. They’re also adept at breaking things down for others, the better to help them understand the situation at hand. They’re able to show how the numbers fit into the bigger story of the business so that everyone’s on the same page as to what needs to be done next.
At the end of the day, being an exceptional business partner is all about adding value to the mix. It’s about helping the business as a whole continue to grow, evolve, and flourish not only in the present but into the future as well. How will you work to further develop your company’s continued success as you help your team make progress toward long-term goals?
