The OKR method has proved itself to be a highly effective way to structure and achieve objectives since the 1970s. This methodology is particularly useful for finance-related fields and departments. While other fields and departments such as customer service or marketing may have measurements that are more abstract, and therefore less conducive to creating measurable and trackable metrics,finance department OKRs finance department OKRs are great candidates for OKR implementation due to the requirement of extensive number crunching and various KPIs . The department which accounts for profitability and revenue for the entire business demands utmost scrutiny. It becomes very essential to measure what really matters.
What are Finance OKRs?
Finance OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are measurable goals set by finance teams to improve profitability, budgeting, expense management, and compliance. Because finance departments rely heavily on KPIs, they are ideal for implementing OKRs that drive accountability and efficiency.
Let’s look at an example of a finance OKR:
- Objective: Reduce Tax Liability
- Key results:
- Increase Tax advantaged investment from 70% to 100%
- Decrease current liabilities from 40% to 10% by the end of quarter 3
- Decrease Depreciation Cost from 40% to 60%
Finance departments have to assess and gauge the expenses , revenue, and cash flow of the company as a whole. Consequently, they have to be accountable for analyzing the financial health of individual departments. This process is made simpler with OKRs and OKR software .
Here’s an interdepartmental Finance OKR example:
- Objective: Improve the budget finalizing process
- Key results:
- Finish reviewing and approving departmental expenditures by next week.
- Decrease redundant expenditures by 85% by the end of quarter.
- Review and finish compensation agreements by the end of the quarter.