My early career experience was in financial management in tech companies. After starting out in Accounting, I moved on to Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) where I supported other internal organizations by analyzing spending variances, preparing and booking monthly accruals, developing forecasts and budgets, and chasing capital requisitions through the approval process.

In my very first Financial Analyst role, I recall being invited to a staff meeting of the Facilities and Security department during my first week in the job. The conference room had no windows, and the chairs were arranged in a circle with one chair in the center of the circle.

“That’s your seat, Dave” the department manager said as he pointed to the chair in the center and closed the door. He and his staff sat in the circle surrounding me. “We’re not happy with Finance,” the manager continued, “and we want to make sure you’re aware of our concerns and see if you can improve the situation.” OK, let the inquisition begin, I said to myself.

Everyone took turns unloading about their issues while I carefully took notes. They didn’t hold back. From their point of view, Finance hounded them for information when they needed it, but Finance wasn’t helping their organization to be more effective in achieving their goals. The Facilities and Security group genuinely wanted to support the company we all worked for, but felt that Finance was more of an impediment.

At the end of the meeting I read back the list of issues I heard and promised the group I would look into every one of them. Over the following few weeks I kept my internal clients apprised of progress and how each issue was being resolved.

By addressing their concerns quickly and maintaining good communication we were able to build a productive relationship that benefitted both sides. The administrative departments began to feel that Finance was a supportive partner, and Finance got better cooperation from them during the forecast and budget cycles. The experience taught me a great lesson about how to be a true business partner, and it’s a lesson I have appreciated ever since.

As a CFO, Director of FP&A or Financial Analyst, how do your processes and systems help your company’s other internal functions operate at peak performance? How do you maintain a high level of support and deliver value to your internal constituents?