Utility Week

16 | 21ST - 27TH JUNE 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Finance & Investment L ike other parts of the utility spectrum the role of finance is being shaken up, but how do chief financial officers adapt to the new landscape where customer is king and data is the new oil? In the second of Utility Week's CFO Forums, finance chiefs gathered in central London to discuss more about the structural changes needed as they and their teams expand their roles and work more closely with operational colleagues. They were joined by Mark Craddock, managing director at KPMG, and George Markellos, director at KPMG, both experts in financial transforma- tion, who shared their insights from leading companies through the process. The discussion centred on four key themes: customer centricity; data and ana- lytics; a flexible digital ecosystem; and the workforce of the future. Customer centricity versus good financial governance Customer centricity, the customer journey, customer engagement – all familiar and well used phrases in the lexicon of utility person- nel. But they are not o‡en used in the same sentence as the finance team. Yet as KPMG's Markellos explained, they ought to be. The issue for participants was whether it was possible to combine customer engagement and an improved customer experience with the more traditional authority o‡en needed for the job. Markellos said finance departments needed to think about customer centricity in two ways. First, consider how finance sys- tems impact on the customer and make them more customer friendly; and second, think of the finance function as a service, with busi- ness colleagues as customers. "Finance has always been changing," said Markellos "but now the speed of change is faster and sharper." And while the focus in the past, he said, was mostly about costs and efficiency, added to this now are outcomes and services. It was incumbent on the finance department to think about the processes they design through a customer lens – invoicing sys- tems that work for the customer not just the finance department, approval systems that incentivise business policy, and so forth. Another example quoted was the tension created if the sales team is being encouraged to discount to drive sales, yet the financial approval system makes it difficult. The think- ing these days, said Markellos, is: "How can finance colleagues provide good customer service if they didn't receive a good service themselves through the systems and pro- cesses used by finance internally?" Roundtable participants highlighted the well-established structure of having business partners – members of the finance team who work directly with operational colleagues – and agreed there was a demand to think more along business and customer lines across businesses. But the big question for participants was how could finance staff who weren't intuitively "customer centred" change their mindset? Some pointed to spells on the shop floor when they worked in other organisations, which had helped embed a customer ethos. KPMG's Craddock described how one com- pany set up business partners like sales reps, and got them to use Salesforce so‡ware to track meetings and outcomes. Simply changing the language the finance team uses can break down barriers, said Mar- kellos. "Finance has to think about interface points between finance and the business; and if they are designed more around cus- tomers, there are likely to be less inefficien- cies and handovers. If they aren't responding to that, there is a danger they become irrel- evant as a function." However, some participants pointed to the need for finance teams to remain at arm's length to maintain authority and provide good governance – to avoid "going native". Another added: "I see customer centricity as overarching business strategy, and how you bring that to life as a finance director is interesting. But customer service is just a fraction of what we do – and it's not just about having a service mindset, we need to provide good governance as well." When finance becomes a service Data analytics and customer centricity were top of the agenda at last month's Chief Finance Officer Forum in London, hosted by Utility Week and supported by Oracle. Denise Chevin chaired. Roundtable CFO Forum, Charlotte Street, London, 9th May

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