The Best Ways CFOs Can Support Financial Culture

The proper environment of shared goals and values is driven by leaders. Here are ways CFOs can help strengthen company culture for their organization to thrive.

Set an Example

Leading with example sets a path onto a supporting culture. Inconsistent or unclear governance framework creates a bottleneck for improving financial results.

‘’This is the way we’ve always done it’’- I can’t express how many times we’ve heard this during our interviews and market analysis. However, the way you’re working might not be working. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can start promoting positive changes that attract and retain qualified talent. Lead by example: embrace positive environmental changes without the constant need to input an idea of ‘’culture’’ but much rather allow it to flow as an outcome of good decision making and leadership.

Accountability

Empowering your team to spend through their own company card provides them with a sense of trustworthiness and responsibility. Unlike the alternative. Uncomfortable reimbursements that occur every so often and take time away from both parties (buyer and accountant). Not to mention, it’s picking directly into their pockets and asking them to wait while the company decides when and how to reimburse. It’s the way you’ve always done it – I get it! But out-of-pocket expenses only exist because your team has no other way around it.

MX Build flexible control provides innovative ways to spend safely. You can’t manage what you can’t see, that’s why real-time visibility into project spending and budgets are such a powerful tool. Every card is paired with our MX Build software. Request as many purchase cards as your team requires, or create virtual cards for everyone in the back office. Set smart limits on each card to avoid overspending, deny or approve purchases via SMS and manage your monthly reports, and sales tax reports all in one place.

Embracing Sustainability

Finance isn’t just about the accounting team, every employee plays a part in the success of finance culture sustainability. As we know by now it is people who drive change. For changes to be sustainable, there are 3 key steps leaders in finance can follow: 

• Leadership Alignment: Active support and clear vision are two key steps to align stakeholders into change.
• Change Readiness: It’s important to understand when your team is ready to accept the change. Seamless integration is what more companies are going after – intuitive tools that require little to no training for optimal usage and performance.
• Change Management: The ability to inspire and motivate your team through credibility and example, promoting change adoption to combat resistance.

Culture in Construction

From the years I’ve been around, I know for a fact that construction companies build their culture based on what our industry is like: traditional. With many companies coming from generations of builders, it’s not uncommon to strive for a sense of familiarity. Especially through embracing the traditional ways that are more often than not reluctant to change.

Our industry grows fast but changes slowly, or so it seems. The pandemic forced construction leaders into making decisions that would later on translate as the largest technological adoption the industry has ever undertaken. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve taken the industry 6 years to adopt all the technology it has in the past two. With simple steps and more intuitive tools to adopt, it’s not a hassle for financial leaders to build company culture through accountable and safe spending habits.