To fulfill the needs of both internal and external clients, finance professionals should configure processes within the enterprise to ensure the most seamless and predictable satisfaction of the demand for information and analytics, primarily catering to management and shareholders.

Therefore, when recruiting employees for the finance department, attention should be directed not only to their resumes and qualifications but also to their alignment with the enterprise’s values and operational methods within the finance department. While this may seem like common sense, these simple and straightforward aspects are often overlooked in practice. The ramifications of erroneous decisions and negligence can be detrimental to both the team and the reputation of the finance department within the enterprise.

As an illustration, one can look at a leading company in terms of sales volume and undeniable leadership in Russian product retail – «Vkusvill». Its founders and leaders have long championed a corporate policy of customer orientation and maximal reduction of bureaucracy internally and externally. Each employee in the company fulfills specific functions for a particular customer, often catering to several types of customers. The primary customer is the consumer – the visitor to the store or the «Vkusvill» website. Another equally important customer is the consumer of work or service within the company – the internal customer.

The consumer, also an external client of the retail network, supports the company through their visits or attention to the brand, the size of their shopping cart, and the amount spent within a specific period. Consequently, their actions may either bolster or diminish their usage of «Vkusvill» products or lead to their cessation. Similarly, an employee – the user of internal services – should have the option to choose between internal service providers and the possibility to replace them entirely with external, third-party services.

In line with this, «Vkusvill» has implemented not just «customercratic» practices, as its leaders term it, but has also duplicated all key functions, or service providers. This has been executed to ensure that internal customers always have options, and internal services thrive in an environment of motivational and healthy competition. Undoubtedly, such a model may not be suitable for every enterprise and sector, as some may lack the profit margins to sustain such initiatives, while others may require stringent control over specific internal processes, such as security. In varying corporate cultures, such practices may give rise to politics, intrigue, coalitions, gossip, and ultimately lead to a decline in service quality and process efficiency. However, embracing, testing, and selectively implementing the best corporate practices are pivotal for development, motivation, and long-term success for any team.

Employees in internal service departments should always remember that if they lose a significant portion of their clients, insolvency may be imminent, similar to conventional competition among enterprises in the market. Consequently, if an internal service employee fails to be customer-oriented and efficient, the corporate culture and business practices of the enterprise should allow for the possibility of revising their scope of work or even their termination. To a large extent, such corporate culture and the establishment of a corresponding environment, or conversely, the refusal to create a competitive finance department, populism, and the protection of unscrupulous employees, are the direct responsibility and indeed the choice of the financial leader.