At the recent fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) discussion group held in July, Greg Coffey, CFO, George Weston Foods Baking Division gave an insightful presentation on what makes an effective finance team, drawing on examples from George Weston Foods.
According to Mr Coffey, four main factors create a functional finance team in the FMCG industry sector.
'Real success for an organisation is being able to spend more time with clients and less time on paper work. If there are proper systems and processes in place this gives the business confidence that the business is being well managed,' Mr Coffey said.
The finance team also needs to understand the performance of the business. 'If an organisation has a widely understood business strategy, issues and opportunities can be identified early and this makes for confident business decision makers,' he said.
Mr Coffey urges finance professionals to not 'be so bogged down in the systems and paperwork' that they don't have time to be a part of the decision making in the organisation.
'Understand the return you have on your investments, be involved in the sales and pricing decisions it's these things that will make the finance team a better asset to the organisation.'
Finally, Mr Coffey said engaged employees will realise their full potential and better serve the business objectives. 'It is important to coach young staff and have pro-active succession plans.'
Martin Leach, finance manager, George Weston Foods Speedibake, also gave attendees an insight on how to turn a failing business into a profit-making one. Mr Leach found that sticking to the basics of the business and reducing waste were essential to turning his business around.
At the next FMCG discussion group, Bruce Moore, partner, Growth Solution from Deloitte Australia will discuss 'The future of consumer business products'.
The session will be held at 6.30 pm on Monday 15 September at George Weston Foods, level 2, building A, 11 Talavera Road, North Ryde.
To register to attend the next meeting contact Tom Wang on +61 2 9815 7407 or 0414 906568, or via email at tom.wang@gwf.com.au
