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IntegratedFinanceOrganizationBalancingRiskandPerformancewithanTheGlobalCFOStudy2008IBMGLOBALBuSIneSSSeRvICeSIncooperationwithTheWhartonSchoolandEconomistIntelligenceUnitTHEGLOBALCFOSTUDY2008Coverimage:Themesquitetreeisquitehardyandsurviveswellinanareawithverylowaverageannualrainfall.IncooperationwithTheWhartonSchoolandEconomistIntelligenceUnitTABLEOFCONTENTS12469152131394245485052626364PrefaceexecutiveSummaryMethodologyandDemographicsAcknowledgmentsSectionOne:AreCFOsReadyforaRiskierandMoreIntegratedWorld?SectionTwo:TheRiseoftheIntegratedFinanceOrganization(IFO)SectionThree:ProvidingtheTruthSectionFour:ManagingRiskSectionFive:MakingtheTransformationtoanIFOConclusionAppendixesA.RegionalviewpointsB.SectorObservationsC.enterpriseSizeObservationsD.StudyResultsRelatedPublicationsandAuthorsContactusReferencesandnotesBalancingRiskandPerformancewithanIntegratedFinanceOrganizationPREFACETheinterdependentglobalmarketplacebringsthepromiseofnewopportunities.WecertainlyseethatatIBM.Lastyear,ourChairmanlaidouthisvisionforthe21stcenturysuccessortothemultinationalcorporation,thegloballyintegratedenterprise.Thiscorporateevolutionwillspurnewinnovativebusinessmodelsfocusedonoperationsandfunctionsanywhereintheworldbasedontherightcost,therightskillsandtherightbusinessenvironment.ButwhatdoesitmeanfortheFinancediscipline?Dowehavetheflexibilitytonotonlyaccommodate,butalsoenablethisinnovation?TheIntegratedFinanceOrganizationjourneymappedoutinourGlobalCFOStudy2008findingsresonateswithme.Overadecadeago,IBMFinancesetouttocreateamoreeffectiveandefficientorganization.Atthetime,manyonWallStreetwerecallingforthebreakupofourbusinessintoitscomponentparts,andweneededthefactstoprovethemwrong.However,thefactswerehardtocomeby.Inconsistentmeasurementsacrossvariousoperatingunitsmadeanaggregatepictureofthepotentialsynergiesdifficult,ifnotimpossible.Alongourjourney,weestablishedacommonChartofAccounts,dataconsistency,greaterflexibility,afastermonth-endfinancialcloseandafocusonanalyticandbusinessissueswhilereducingtheoverallcostofFinance.Asproposedinthestudy,wehaveshiftedourstancefromprovidingtaillightstoheadlightsforourfirm.Today,ourfinancialmanagementsystemguidestheoperationsofthecompanybyprovidingrelevantinformationandinsights.Inthespiritofcontinuousimprovement,wecontinuethejourney.Intheglobalmarket,ourFinancialManagementconsultingpracticeandManagedBusinessProcessServicescanleverageourinternalexperience,aswellasourdeepdomainexpertisetohelpclientsoptimizetheirperformance.Wehaveover10,000financialmanagementspecialistswhocanhelpyouinyoureffortstoidentify,createanddeliverlastingbusinessvaluetoyourorganization.WewouldliketotakethisopportunitytothankeachoftheparticipatingCFOsandfinancialexecutivesfortheirtimeandtheirinsightsthatarestimulatingnewthinkinginsideIBMabouthowwecanbetterhelpourclientsinnovateandgrow.MycolleaguesandIlookforwardtocontinuingthisconversation–andthisjourney–withyou.ByMarkLoughridge,SeniorVicePresidentandChiefFinancialOfficer,IBMCorporationBalancingRiskandPerformancewithanIntegratedFinanceOrganizationInthegloballyinterdependentmarketplace,CFOsneedtheirorganizationstoperformwellandwanttooutperformtheirpeerswithconsistentlystronggrowthandbigprofits.Theywanttobesuperblyagilewithchange,tenaciouswithunexpectedopportunitiesandresilienttorisk.Mosttrytodosobylettingtheirbusi-nessunitsandgeographiesconductFinanceactivitiesaccordingtospecializedstandardsandprovincialpref-erences.But,accordingtoanewIBMstudyofmorethan1,200CFOsandseniorFinanceprofessionals,thisisusuallythewrongapproach.Rethinkingbusinessmodels,operationsandtheimpactofriskThenotionofbeing“global”isevolvingbeyondamultinationalstructureormerepresenceindifferentcountriestowardestablishinganinterdependentnet-workofworldwideassetswiththeabilitytooptimizeresourceshorizontallyandvertically.Currententer-prisemanagementstructures(forexample,holdingcompanies,decentralizedoperatingcompaniesandintegratedoperatingcompanies)showlittledifferentia-tioninrevenueandstockpricegrowth.Therefore,enterpriseswilltransformtheirbusinessmodelstotakeadvantageofthisnewwayofdefiningaglobalpresence.Tomakeastrategictransforma-tion,enterprisesmustalsotransformtheiroperations.Thekeyquestionisdocurrentfinancialmanage-mentmodelshavethenecessaryflexibility,notonlytoaccommodate,buttoenablethistransformation?What’smore,theworldisundeniablyrisky.Twooutofthree(62percent)enterpriseswithrevenuesoveruS$5billionhaveencounteredmaterialriskeventsinthelastthreeyears.Ofthose,nearlyhalf(42percent)werenotwellpreparedforit.Moreover,riskcomesinmanyflavorsbesidesfinancial.eighty-sevenpercentofriskeventswerestrategic,geopolitical,environmental,operationalorlegal.Despitetheprevalentexposuretorisks,onlyabouthalf(52percent)ofoursurveypartici-pantsacknowledgehavinganysortofformalizedriskmanagementprogram.WhatisimportanttotheCFO?everything.GlobalizationandtheprevalenceofriskplaceanadditionalburdenonthealreadyfullFinanceagenda.Whenaskedwhatareastoppedtheiragenda,CFOshadadifficulttimeprioritizing–nearlyeveryFinanceactivityinoursurveywasca