Financial Leadership skills

The level of financial expertise needed in an organization or by an individual is related to the volume and complexity of ongoing financial activities. Effectively managing a business is typically more complicated than controlling a personal checking account. However, whether you are an individual trying to maintain personal finances or a CEO leading a multi-company conglomerate, the financial activities fall into one of three areas.
Account
The initial category of financial activity is to account for all the detailed transactions through an organized system through a process that includes some type of internal controls. Individuals are using on-line banking connected to personal financial software to record all their financial transactions. Many small businesses are utilizing accounting software, such as QuickBooks, to maintain all their accounting activities including the revenue, receivables, expenses, and payables. Current technology allows accounting transactions to be recorded in a financial system the same time the transaction occurs.
Report
A reporting process utilizes all accounted-for transactions to create financial and other reports showing activity summaries. Financial summaries can serve various purposes such as reporting profit and loss, filing tax returns with KRA, or presenting a company’s financial picture to its stakeholders. In today’s environment, organizational reporting processes extend far beyond the age-tested management financial report. Companies are being managed and led using advanced measurement tools such as Balanced Scorecard and the 360 degrees review.
Decide
The ultimate purpose for the accounting and reporting activities is to have reliable, relevant and timely information to base decisions. Reported information provides leaders in the C-suite a basis for making various decisions from dealing with daily activities all the way through their strategic plan implementations.
The three areas of financial leadership are very obvious and simple. However, until you clearly understand the activity magnitude within these three areas you will not be able to align the people and processes under each area to lead your company to greater success. Executive level leaders who comprehend the three areas of financial leadership are leading their company to higher levels.