The role of the finance function has undergone a significant shift in recent years. Finance teams are now expected to be strategic partners who can provide insights and recommendations that drive business growth. As a result, many organizations are turning to strategic financial consulting firms for help.
Financial consulting firms can provide a number of benefits to businesses. The top 10 are:
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Strategic direction:
Strategic financial consulting helps companies identify their business goals and then develop strategies for achieving them. It enables organizations to identify the right metrics that will help measure success, as well as the resources they will need to achieve those goals.
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Enhanced business performance and shareholder value:
Financial consultants can help companies build strategies that support their long-term goals and objectives by assessing their current state and identifying opportunities for improvement. For example, they might recommend processes or systems upgrades that will allow businesses to improve their financial performance or reduce costs over time.
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Innovation and growth:
Financial consultants help organizations innovate by identifying new revenue streams or cost savings opportunities that can drive growth over time. This includes developing new products or services, expanding into new markets or acquiring other businesses that offer significant growth potential for your company’s future success.
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Optimization of financial resources:
Whether it’s an acquisition, merger or divestiture, a company is constantly evaluating its capital structure as well as its cash flow forecasts. Financial consulting firms can help companies determine how best to optimize their capital structure while minimizing risk while maintaining liquidity targets. They can also assist with mergers, acquisitions or divestitures by providing independent evaluation and recommendation of alternatives such as tax-efficient structures, valuation methods and financing sources (debt versus equity).
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Independent evaluation and recommendation of alternatives:
The ability to objectively evaluate and present alternatives give clients confidence in the decisions they make. By providing unbiased recommendations based on data analysis and industry best practices, clients can avoid making costly mistakes or overlooking important opportunities. This also helps ensure that projects meet client expectations, which helps cultivate long-term relationships with clients.
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Functional expertise:
Finance consultants bring functional expertise in areas such as accounting, tax, forecasting and budgeting — areas that can be difficult for companies to manage internally. The ability to access this expertise on an as-needed basis allows companies to focus on their core operations without sacrificing the support they need from their external partners.
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Remediation of business process risk:
Many businesses have complex and manual accounting and finance processes that are not only inefficient but also expose them to a high level of risk. For example, if a single employee fails to follow proper procedures, it could lead to significant problems for the company. Strategic financial consulting can help companies identify areas where their processes are most at risk and develop solutions to mitigate those risks.
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Operations improvement and cost reduction programs:
Many organizations do not take full advantage of their financial data because they don’t know how to interpret it or use it effectively. Fortunately, financial consulting firms can help by providing recommendations for improving operations and reducing costs across all departments. These recommendations typically include ways to increase efficiency by streamlining processes or automating manual tasks, reducing costs by reallocating resources from non-critical functions, and increasing revenue through new product development or expansion into new markets.
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Turnaround strategy and execution support:
If your company is facing serious financial issues, such as a cash flow shortage or a negative balance sheet, a financial consulting firm can help you develop a plan to turn things around. The right consultant will have deep expertise in turnaround strategies and the ability to assist you with the execution of that strategy.
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Organizational redesign:
The organizational redesign is a critical process for any company that wants to stay competitive in today’s environment. It helps businesses improve their performance by identifying opportunities for improvement and creating an actionable plan to achieve that goal. A strategic finance consulting firm can help with an organizational redesign by providing its expertise in areas such as budgeting and forecasting, financial planning, strategic management, HR management and more.
Conclusion:
Hiring a strategic financial consulting firm to help navigate the ever-shifting landscape can help drive growth and strengthen your business in the long run.
