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CGMA Finance Impact™ Tool Demonstrates past performance and provides predictive indicators of future

performance

Addresses best practices to foster long-term operational efficiency

Drives improvement and supports strategy development and the business planning process

Embedded meaning Insights, management or maturity, performance, analysis, continuum,

transformation Improved performance through analysis as a catalyst to transformation

Fosters long-term sustainable finance function efficiency

Identifies strengths and areas for improvement

Monitors for progress

Provides actionable insights for finance and accounting departments

Drives improvement and supports strategy development and business planning

Delivers proven results

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CGMA Finance Impact Tool

The CGMA Finance Impact Tool is a comprehensive and systematic review of an organisation’s activities. Finance function improvement starts with self-assessment and analysis that serve as a catalyst for transformation. This self-assessment process allows you to discern clearly its strengths and areas where improvements can be made. Which ultimately culminates in actionable items that can be monitored for progress.

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Executive Summary

The achievement of excellence within the finance function of your organisation is critical to the achievement of success of your entire organisation.

Providing evidence of achievement in terms of the financial function is necessary. Capturing the level of achievement within your finance function provides a current status.

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Executive Summary continued

A key question which often emerges is “where is my organisation in relationship to others?”. The CGMA FIT tool, a self-assessment process, provides priceless information on the current strengths as well as areas for improvement through comprehensive feedback.

The CGMA FIT tool provides not only a current point in time reference as to the operational efficiency of your finance department. Each organisation is unique and the CGMA FIT tool assesses your organisation within six critical areas impacted by the finance function.

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Executive Summary continued

Ultimately the CGMA FIT Tool, is a comprehensive and systematic review of an organisation’s activities. The self-assessment process allows the organisation to discern clearly its strengths and areas in which improvements can be made. Ultimately culminating in actionable improvement items that can then be monitored for progress. The primary purpose of the CGMA FIT tool is to drive improvement and support strategy development within the business planning process.

Content within each maturity template

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Data

Data is the factual information that is ultimately used as a basis for reasoning, discussion or calculation.

Data concepts within this area of the finance function include the excellence of the transactions being made, the integrity of the data and how you can actually count on it, as well as how optimally your systems are integrating.

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Data

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Data and Systems The accuracy and consistency of stored data, indicated by an absence of any

alteration in data between two updates of a data record. This includes the bringing together of the component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystems function together as a system. For example, in information technology, systems integration is the process of linking together different computing systems and software applications, physically or functionally, to act as a coordinated whole.

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Data

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Transactional Excellence Being able to process work efficiently and with minimum errors is critical for the

success of any business. Transaction processing may be strictly internal or it may interface with customers. Transaction excellence is a differentiator for those businesses that master it. Quality customer service demands transaction excellence.

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Reports

Reporting pertains to each organisation’s reports on the data that has been analysed.

This section focuses on your organisation’s process, communication and reporting of content and internal controls surrounding reporting.

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Reports

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Reporting Process The reporting process comprises defining the reporting objectives, planning the

report, constructing the report, distributing the report and collecting and analysing feedback. At each of these steps, several questions should be considered and the reporting organisation should develop its own answers.

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Reports

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Reporting Content Reporting content includes identification of relevant materials, topics and

indicators that appropriately address the organisation’s purpose and mission. Content should sufficiently reflect not only complete and accurate financial data, but should also address significant economic, environmental and social effects that enable stakeholders to assess the reporting organisation’s performance in the reporting period.

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Reports

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Internal Control The management of risk is any action taken by management, the board and other

parties which is designed to provide assurance that the organisation’s objectives, mission and goals will be achieved. The use of control processes, policies, and procedures are elements within a recognised internal control framework.

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Analysis Analysis has to do with how well your finance function

conducts the process of evaluating data using analytical and logical reasoning to examine each component of the data provided.

Analysis includes the systematic examination and evaluation of data or information, by breaking it into its component parts to uncover their interrelationships. There are a variety of data analysis methods, some of which include data mining, text analytics, business intelligence, and data visualisations.

The ability to successfully analyse is dependent upon the ability to understand and interpret data within the context of the organisation, highlight useful information and suggest reasonable conclusions.

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Analysis

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Finance Capabilities The finance function’s analytical capabilities are reflected through the

effectiveness of your organisation’s examination of non-measurable data. This includes items such as a firm’s reputation, a brand image or a customer’s feelings about a product and is a demonstration of the strength of your finance function operations.

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Analysis

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Operational Analysis Evaluating external factors that can affect the organisation’s performance as well

as strategically assessing the organisation’s own resources and potential. Internal strengths and weaknesses along with outside opportunities and threats are keys to an organisation’s success. SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, is a strategic-planning method an organisation’s leaders often use to aid them in establishing business objectives or achieving the organisation’s mission goals.

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Insight

Insight is providing feedback or ideas based on knowledge about a particular topic in the form of perspective, understanding, experience, feelings and deductive reasoning that benefits the organisation.

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Insight

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Decision Support The finance function provides and leads operation and decision support. An

example is integrating organisation data and 3rd party information within the outputs of the finance function to provide insight into what is driving management decisions.

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Insight

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Information Utilisation This pertains to the ability and extent in which management information and

analysis functions in regards to strategic, tactical, financial planning and budgeting, forecasting, risk management and the like.

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Influence

Influence pertains to how well the finance function is a trusted, respected and necessary contributor in the organisational strategy process and in all key business decisions.

The finance function should provide proactive leadership and challenging assumptions, as well as recommendations that help shape the strategic direction of the business.

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Influence

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Planning Influence The leaders within the finance function seek to develop and promote relationships

both within the organisation as well as outside of the entity.

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Influence

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Strategy and Performance The finance function is a key lead in identifying, developing, implementing and

evaluating the organisation’s key strategic objectives. An effective performance management process enables managers to evaluate and measure individual performance and optimise productivity by Aligning individual employee's day-to-day actions with strategic business objectives Providing visibility and clarifying accountability related to performance expectations Documenting individual performance to support compensation and career planning

decisions Establishing focus for skill development and learning activity choices Creating documentation for legal purposes, to support decisions and reduce

disputes

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Impact

Impact is the measurement of the tangible and intangible effects (consequences) of the finance function’s action within its department or its influence upon the organisation(s), both internal and external.

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Impact

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Leadership and Change The finance function retains, recruits and effectively develops a culture of

leadership.

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Impact

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Reputation The perceived impact the finance function has on influencing those both inside

and outside the organisation to favourably regard the function and organization.

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Impact

Instructions: Please read through each question and, using the responses provided, indicate where your organisation most frequently operates.

Financial Performance The financial measures of the organisation (ROI, customer satisfaction, and the

like) indicate how well an organisation's overall financial health is over a given period of time. Financial performance is used to evaluate how well an organisation is using its resources to make a profit and meet its mission and objectives.

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Reporting

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Reporting

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http://www.cgma.org/Resources/Tools/Pages/CGMAFinanceImpactTool.aspx