Op-ed by Vicky Van Den Haute,
CFO Alistar
A disappointing margin, a forecast that’s off, or an invoice sent too late. Finance ultimately sees it in the numbers, but that’s rarely where the problem originates. Anyone who wants to drive growth must understand what’s happening behind the numbers.
“As CFO of Alistar, I experience this every day. In recent years, our group has grown through acquisitions to more than 950 employees in eight countries. Each acquisition brought additional revenue, customers, and expertise, but also new systems, definitions, and ways of working. As a result, one insight has become increasingly important to me: behind every financial figure lies an operational reality.”.
Back to the source
We recently noticed that the services provided and the invoicing didn’t fully match up. We could have corrected the difference financially, but that would have only hidden the visible problem. So we traced the chain back: from invoice to service delivery and time tracking, from there to project and contract, all the way back to the commercial agreements with the client. That’s when you realize that a single financial figure is the result of decisions made throughout the entire organization.
How do other CFOs handle this?
During an exclusive lunch, we’ll bring together a select group of financial leaders to discuss one central question: How can you consolidate finance without losing control and without disrupting your organization?
I sometimes compare it to an iceberg. As a CFO, what you see above the water’s surface is revenue and margin. Below the surface lie contracts, people, processes, systems, and—above all—ownership. If you want consistently better results, you have to dare to take action there.
However, more data does not automatically provide more insight. A dashboard shows where something deviates, but rarely explains why. The added value of finance lies precisely in establishing connections between the numbers and the operational reality behind them.
The finance department saw the effect, but the cause lay within the business.
Finding a Balance
In a buy-and-build environment, that complexity increases even further. Consolidation is the easy part. The harder part is determining what to standardize as a group, where centralized control is needed, and where local entrepreneurship actually creates value. Too little harmonization makes it difficult to manage. Too much can actually sap the strength of an acquired company.
That has also changed my view of the CFO's role. Finance must safeguard the integrity of the numbers, but it doesn't stop there. A CFO must uncover which
There are operational decisions behind it. Not to take over ownership, but to place it where it belongs.
The numbers remain essential. But anyone who wants to drive growth must not only know what’s happening, but also understand why. That’s why the most interesting conversations among CFOs today are focusing less and less on reporting and more and more on growth, governance, and ownership—on how to maintain control without sacrificing entrepreneurship.
