How to Improve Communication in Your Office of Finance

Communication is essential to drive the completion of each month-end financial close.

Accountants and finance professionals are traditional numbers people with exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, but the ability for an individual to communicate well both verbally and orally is equally as important; particularly as the role of the finance team.

4 Tips For Improved Communication

1. Build a Single Source of Truth

It’s hard to communicate effectively about financial processes, progress, and insights without being completely confident that the entire team is singing from the same hymn sheet.

2. Create a Collaborative Workspace

Email and stand-up meetings are traditionally how most co-workers communicate. But with the average office worker spending around three hours a day reading and responding to emails, it clearly isn’t the most efficient method during busy periods.

3. Develop a Coherent Plan

Knowing what you want to do and when you want to do it is the foundation of good communication. Before any substantial task is started, spend time developing a clear and coherent plan to walk the team through.

4. Invest in Skilled Communicators

In the world of accounting, even a minor miscommunication can lead to major mistakes. Heads of Finance should be working closely with the HR function to assess potential new hires on these skills.

Here are our thoughts on how team leads can make the most of these new solutions to improve communication in their Office of Finance.