Daryl Jones

Community Leader

Lean, smart staff using powerful information systems

The era of growth for growth’s sake is dead and gone. Welcome to the era of disciplined profit management. In the epicenter of this new era stands the bank’s finance department. A key variable that will define a bank’s success going forward will be how well financial professionals can provide the information, tools and advice for banks to manage their risk-adjusted returns more effectively. While this department will need to “keep the lights on” with duties surrounding basic accounting, accounts payable, fixed assets and regulatory/SEC reporting, the real value will be unlocked through financial analysis, profitability, ALCO and treasury processes. Finance functions need to be smart teams that help the bank operate smarter. To live up to this role, bank finance groups will need to improve their financial reporting and profitability platforms. They will need to support the implementation of stronger pricing and analytic tools in the business areas, and they will need to manage the balance sheet in a more dynamic and real-time manner.

Participants in The Cornerstone Report's Finance and Accounting Community will receive a comprehensive staffing comparison in major accounting and finance functions. They will also receive spending comparisons on external accounting/tax costs and a review of what systems peers have deployed or upgraded for 2010. In addition, Cornerstone will provide best practice information concerning how finance groups are operating to better support business goals and remain efficient.

We hope you join us in participating in this industry-leading resource for achieving high performance in your finance and accounting operations.

Finance groups can no longer simply report what occurred yesterday. Instead, they must be valued advisors who drive the bank toward greater value in the future. They must be the voice of margin, expense control and capital management when others push growth or costly initiatives without a proper business case. Finally, they must demonstrate through their own efficiency and process effectiveness that the bar can be raised on performance across the bank. We hope you will join with us in the creation of this industry-leading resource for building a smart and efficient Finance function.

Below are select metrics that will be collected for the survey and used, upon completion of the study, to benchmark your institution against median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile study findings.