The role of management accountants is continually being redefined. Finance professionals are no longer restricted to number-crunching but act as strategic business partners — co-pilots in decision-making.
In this episode of the ‘Reshaping Finance’ podcast, we explore the critical function of business partnering with Richard Latchford, VP Finance and CFO U.S. Commercial at GSK, and Ash Noah, CPA, FCMA, CGMA, VP, managing director, MA Learning, Education & Development at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants®.
From understanding the levels of operational, financial, and strategic decision-making to embracing artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and cloud-based analytics, finance professionals must adapt to a collaborative future.
Going beyond providing financial data to co-creating solutions means you enable your leaders to make the right business decisions.
Effective business partnering leads to strong outcomes
Business partnering, at its core, is about empowering businesses to take strategic action, which delivers impactful results.
‘There are a myriad of decisions that businesses need to make: operational decisions, financial decisions, strategic decisions’, Noah said.
As a finance business partner, your role is to advise on organisational direction, being engaged from strategy to execution. ‘That means understanding the business model and being part of every critical decision’, he said.
With a strong grasp of the levels of decision-making, you can ensure alignment with the organisation’s overall strategy.
Co-piloting the business journey
Viewed through an interpersonal lens, business partnering is like being a co-pilot — navigating a complex financial landscape alongside business unit leaders.
‘The future of finance is collaborative. It’s about one-on-one relationships with business leads, not just functional alignment’, Noah said.
Leading commercial finance parenting for GSK’s Pharma business in the US, Latchford views great business partners as co-pilots who support decisions, simplify complexity, and translate insights into clear financial strategies.
At GSK, they have taken a structured evolution approach over the past two decades, resulting in a finance model that has evolved into three distinct layers: onshore business partnering, FP&A hubs, and transactional centres. ‘It’s about aligning structure with strategy’, Latchford emphasised.
Working alongside CFOs and finance leaders globally, Noah echoes the shift in mindset, where finance professionals move past traditional boundaries to become true co-pilots in the business journey.
‘The new way of working isn’t about who you work for, it’s about who you work with. Co-pilots are embedded in the business, not just adjacent to it’, Noah said.
The evolution of business partnering
The role of business partnering has shifted significantly since the early 2000s, when it first emerged alongside the offshoring trend in finance. The shift required finance professionals to move beyond number-crunching and develop new skills focused on understanding the business and influencing decisions.
Finance professionals are now strategic partners, playing a key role in shaping business strategy. But foundational elements are vital to building for the future, and it starts with clean data.
‘At GSK, we’re bringing everything into the cloud, into a single data lake, so we can automate, analyse, and act faster in a responsible and compliant way’. According to Latchford, ‘clean, centralized data is the key to accelerating decision-making’.
‘With AI and automation reshaping how we deliver insights and value, we’re building a finance function that’s ready for the future with secure cloud-based data, automation, and AI’, Latchford said.
A collaborative future with AI
Whilst AI will enhance processes, human judgment and expertise will remain irreplaceable, according to Noah.
‘AI won’t replace knowledge. In fact, expert knowledge will be more critical than ever to validate and act on AI-driven insights’, he added.
As business partners work to bridge existing gaps, Noah highlighted a critical opportunity: ‘We’ve delivered 90% of what the business needs in governance, but when it comes to business decision guidance, there’s a 65% gap, according to Gartner. That’s our opportunity’, he said.
The ultimate test of value is when the finance business partner asks their stakeholders: ‘Have I delivered what you need?’ And then listening. ‘Closing that feedback loop is how we truly add value’, Noah said.
Listen to the full episode of the ‘Reshaping Finance’ podcast titled ‘Future-proof finance: Partnering in a shifting world,’ and hear the whole conversation with Noah and Latchford.
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