There’s no point in making a strategy that never shows up in the P&L. That’s why one of the most important partners for any strategist is the finance team. Together, they can make a strategy that will actually hit the bottom line. Without that partnership, the strategy risks becoming a story without impact.
Building a stronger plan together
I experienced a partnership that worked well at Philips Lighting. We built a five-year plan with finance fully involved. The strategy team defined the ambition and the choices. The finance team translated these into detailed forecasts of revenues, margins, costs and EBIT. Those numbers were credible enough for rigorous performance management and delivered results.
A business case without finance doesn’t stick
I’ve also seen the opposite. A client had no finance capacity when we were making the five-year plan. We only had a high-level calculation that suggested that the cost to serve would be too high. We detailed out the business case at the last minute, and the strategy wasn’t credible. The following year showed that the cost to serve was indeed too high, and the strategy didn’t work.
Why not just build the business case on my own? Because it won’t stick. Without input from finance on the company’s P&L structure, I can’t even make it properly. And if it isn’t integrated into the company budget, the reconciliation work wastes time and creates debates about “where did this number come from”. None of that creates value for the company, its customers or its shareholders.
The better path: strategy and finance as one team
The better path is to ensure that the strategic forecast is fully owned by the finance team and integrated into the company numbers from the start. Strategy and finance together create a plan that the business can deliver, and results that actually show up on the bottom line.
© Veridia Consulting, 2025
