Linking governance to strategy: the role of the Finance Organization

The capabilities, skills, and responsibilities required of finance professionals have changed significantly over the last decade. No longer limited to tracking financial results and rigorous financial reporting, finance experts are increasingly required to support strategic decision making, operation efficiency, and value creation and to combine solid accounting skills with knowledge of the business, leadership abilities, and management expertise. And such capabilities still aren’t enough. In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in the U.S. directly impacted the finance organization (and the CFO) by introducing new responsibilities for the trustworthiness and reliability of financial reports (Section 302) and new requirements for internal controls (Section 404). Such emerging issues and new responsibilities call for a redefinition of the role of the finance organization in the governance process. Using the case of GE Oil & Gas, we suggest that finance professionals can be much more directly involved within the corporate governance framework by playing an active role in translating governance principles into strategic decision making and strategic performance management systems. Although we include examples from GE Oil & Gas to build our argument, many of the issues we discuss are relevant and applicable for the entire GE organization.