Unlock your Finance Team

Is Your Business Moving at the Speed of Your Decisions?

"I've got a great accounting team, but they can't seem to finish anything without my input."

I've heard that throughout my career. Sometimes it's frustration with the accounting department. Other times, it's an owner who feels overwhelmed by the number of decisions requiring their attention. In either case, the underlying problem may have less to do with the capabilities of the people involved and more to do with how decisions are being made throughout the company.

When Everything Requires Your Approval

Think about a typical day running a growing manufacturing business. Purchasing needs approval to order additional materials. Production is concerned about whether those materials will arrive in time to meet customer commitments. Human Resources wants to fill an open position but needs confirmation that the company can afford another employee. Meanwhile, your Controller needs approval on a capital expenditure, wants to discuss a cash flow concern, and has several other financial decisions waiting for your input.

Every one of these people is trying to do their job, and everyone is waiting on you!

Of course, you have your own responsibilities. You're meeting with customers, negotiating with suppliers, handling employee concerns, and trying to find time to plan for the company's future. But throughout the day, you're constantly being pulled away to answer questions and approve decisions that others may be perfectly capable of making.

By the end of the day, you've resolved problems, answered countless questions, and made dozens of decisions. You've been busy, but how much time did you actually spend leading your business toward its future?

When the business was smaller, having you make every significant decision worked. You knew what was happening throughout the company, understood the challenges, and could respond quickly when someone needed an answer. But as the company grew, so did the number of employees, departments, and decisions requiring your attention. What once helped you maintain control has now become a limitation, and your business is eventually operating at the speed of just one person.

Your Finance Team Can Do More Than Report Numbers

A strong accounting team is essential to any business. They keep the books accurate, process transactions, manage payables and receivables, and provide the financial information needed to run the company. Those responsibilities matter, but there's a significant difference between producing financial statements and helping leadership use that information to make better business decisions.

Consider your Controller. They may be excellent at managing the monthly close, preparing financial statements, and overseeing the accounting department. But can they explain how changes in production scheduling affect inventory levels and cash flow? Can they help department managers understand the financial consequences of adding employees, purchasing equipment, or accepting a large customer order?

More importantly, can they help establish financial guidelines that allow those managers to make appropriate decisions without seeking your approval every time?

These are the capabilities that begin transforming an accounting department from a reporting function into an important part of your leadership team. The opportunity may already exist within your organization, but your Controller needs the experience, support, and authority to develop into that broader role.

Sometimes the issue isn't a lack of talent. It's that nobody has taken the time to develop the talent already there.

Financial Clarity Creates Better Decisions

Let's return to our purchasing example. Your purchasing manager knows what materials are needed, production knows when they're needed, and accounting knows how much cash is available. Yet the decision still lands on your desk because nobody has connected that information into a process everyone understands.

Now imagine sitting down with your Controller, purchasing manager, and production manager to discuss reasonable inventory targets, purchasing guidelines, cash flow expectations, and approval limits. Together, you've established expectations that everyone understands and agrees upon. Your Controller has the responsibility to monitor performance, identify exceptions, and raise concerns before they become problems.

Now, when purchasing needs to order additional materials, the manager can make that decision within the agreed-upon guidelines without waiting for your approval. Production understands how its scheduling decisions affect inventory and working capital, and your Controller can help both departments understand the financial implications of their decisions.

You're still involved in major expenditures, unusual circumstances, and strategic decisions, but your managers have the information and authority necessary to handle their responsibilities.

This doesn't mean giving up control of your business. It means establishing clear expectations, giving people the tools and authority to meet them, and holding them accountable for the results. Instead of making every decision yourself, you're developing a leadership team capable of making informed decisions while maintaining financial discipline.

Developing Financial Leadership

Your Controller plays an important role in making this approach work. They maintain the financial guidelines you've established together and ensure department managers have the reports and information they need to make informed decisions.

They also monitor results, identify exceptions, and keep you informed about the company's financial performance. Regular reporting and communication allow you to stay current on what's happening throughout the business without having to approve every decision.

Your managers gain the confidence to do their jobs, your Controller takes on a broader leadership role, and you maintain oversight while focusing on the future of your business.

Unlock Your Finance Team. Empower Your Leadership Team.

Building a stronger leadership team doesn't necessarily require hiring additional executives or adding another layer of management. Sometimes it begins with giving the people you already have the information, authority, and support they need to make better decisions.

At Janssen Strategic Advisor, I work alongside business owners, Controllers, and leadership teams to strengthen financial leadership, establish clearer expectations, and improve the financial information used to make business decisions. My goal isn't to make your company dependent on an outside advisor, but to help develop a stronger, more capable team.

Think about the difference this could make in your business. Your managers can handle their responsibilities, your Controller keeps everyone informed, and you have more time to focus on customers, opportunities, and the company's future.

Unlock your finance team. Empower your leadership team. Stop being the bottleneck.

Let's Start a Conversation

If you stepped away from your business for two weeks, which decisions would come to a complete stop?

If that question raises concerns about how decisions are made in your company, I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss how stronger financial leadership could help.

Visit JanssenStrategic.com to start a conversation.