Finance transformation is often seen as an opportunity to refresh legacy systems, modernise processes, enhance customer experience, and implement helpful technology. But in today’s global economy, transformations are not simply a refresh — transformations are becoming part and parcel of sustainable business operations.
I asked three leaders in the UK and US about their experience leading teams through change and advice they would offer others. This top tip may come as no surprise to inquisitive finance and accounting professionals: Begin by asking questions.
Initiating the journey by answering straightforward queries — such as, What works? What doesn't? — is key to forming a transformation plan.
Laying the foundation for transformation
Lizzie Poole, ACMA, CGMA, Director of Group Accounting at Ocado Group, stresses the importance of a collective understanding of terms and expectations. She shared, ‘You need to start with What is transformation? before you determine whether you've got people on the agenda or not.’ Further, she recommends positing these queries to the transformation leadership team: What's important? What do we need to drive? What are we going to do about it?
Leena Dattani, FCMA, CGMA, Consultant, agrees with the importance of asking queries to arrive at a shared understanding of definitions and assumptions.
She reflected on a previous experience in her consulting career where the company had loads of data, but Leena needed the business leaders to articulate: Who owns the definitions? What are the assumptions? What governance exists regarding introducing new parameters? It’s crucial to ‘look at data definitions, initially, because we know that if we don't get that right, the rest of it won't go to plan,’ she said.
When answers to queries form, you can then organise your cross-functional leadership team around categories. Lizzie reflected: ‘We organised it into pillars, and the finance directors have a pillar each, and we talk about it within our pillars, because they interlock themes and coordinate together.’
Shared definitions and clear communication across teams foster transparency. Transparency builds trust amongst staff.
Leading teams through the transformation journey
Transformation leadership must be bold. Lizzie emphasised, ‘We need to be bold, direct. To set out our stall, not in an aggressive way but in a calm, logical, this-is-my-stance type of way.’
Along with transparency, confident leadership builds trust. Another factor to leading teams on the journey: Assure staff that the change is beneficial.
‘I'm a really big advocate of not just doing things because it's the right thing to do but doing it because you're genuinely going to benefit from it,’ Leena said.
During Leena’s years of experience, she’s observed that staff are hesitant to change because they think, I've been using this system, and it works. I don't know if this new system's going to work. She said, ‘It's not because they're lazy, or they don't want to try anything different.’
If staff feel supported by their leaders, they’re more likely to acquiesce to the transformation.
Jennifer McCalman, CPA, Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer at The Hershey Company, views any resistance to change from her staff as an opportunity to learn as a leader.
‘If you spend enough time, and you look hard enough, you can tell when people really dive into something versus when they're just doing their job. And as long as we continue to focus on the things that demonstrate somebody's going above and beyond … you can build strategies around increasing motivation,’ she said.
Some team members will readily ask questions and embrace change. Jennifer noted, ‘There are people who are naturally curious, and they're going to continue to ask questions and dig into things, which is great. You're always going to have a mix. You're never going to have 100% of your people fully motivated and engaged at every point in time.’
To address the layers of complexity, Jennifer recommends that you strive to understand what motivates people at an individual level.
‘[At Hershey,] we do a pretty good job of keeping motivation and engagement, even through times of change. And most of it’s because we try to be very transparent. People tend to respect that, and the more you help people understand, the more comfortable they get around what’s happening and what’s changing, how it’s impacting them,’ Jennifer reflected.
With such a variety of processes and desired outcomes of each transformation, plus a range of perspectives people have about transformations, it may be comforting to know that your leadership style does not need to be set in stone.
In fact, adaptability is a key trait for leaders — as it is for the teams undergoing the transformation.
To ‘get everyone on the same journey… you want transformational leadership. You can't stick to whatever type of leadership you've had before,’ Leena said.
‘I wouldn't say I have one leadership style. I flex based on what the situation needs. There will be times I will make a decision and say, That's it, we're running with it. There are other times I'm very democratic, and I ask people for their views and opinions.
‘I'm transformational when I'm going through a journey like this, and I think that's the key to knowing what style to use and how to flex it without losing yourself. Remain authentic when you're doing it,’ Leena advised.
Embracing change
Jennifer accepts that change is inevitable and said, ‘My entire career has been transforming. It’s an evolution … it's always happening.’
Leena echoes that pragmatic perspective: ‘Everything around you is always changing, so we need to be able to repeatedly absorb that change, question the outputs, make decisions. And when change is always happening, I think these three things are key: You want to have judgement; you need to have good communication; you have to have confidence.’
You don’t have to know all the answers; in fact, acknowledging when you are unsure about a topic is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Lizzie notes that emotional intelligence (EQ) has been ‘a well-coined phrase in a leadership sense for a little while, so obviously it's important to have a level of intelligence in whatever field you want to operate in, and I think that intelligence comes in many different ways. … Leaders need EQ to know how to lead teams.’
For those of you going through a finance transformation, here are helpful tips to bear in mind:
Ask queries and collaborate with cross-departmental leaders
Engage your teams and stay transparent to maintain trust
Lead with clarity and confidence
Adjust your leadership style to the situation but stay authentic
Cultivate sound judgement, communication skills, and confidence within yourself
Jennifer, Leena, and Lizzie’s advice highlights that successful transformation is driven by clear and intentional leadership. When leaders communicate openly and adjust their style for the situation to meet their teams where they are, transformation becomes a shared journey.
By elevating the human perspective, we create finance functions that are not only more capable and resilient but more inclusive, collaborative, and future ready.
Explore these resources for more expert insights:
Women in Finance and Accounting (articles and presentations)
Future of Finance 2.0: Re-defining finance for a sustainable world (report)
Reshaping Finance (podcast)