What does a “good” finance function actually look like? Insights from across the YFM portfolio

It’s a question that sounds simple… until you ask it.

To explore it properly, we brought together CFOs and finance leaders from across the YFM portfolio as part of our CFO webinar series. The session was co-hosted with Ben Mekie, CEO and Founder of Acuity Associates, not as a presentation, but as a working session, sharing experiences, challenging assumptions, and comparing approaches in real time.

The goal wasn’t theory. It was practical:

What does a good finance function look like in a growing business?

Every business starts reactive.

Scrappy. Fast-moving. A bit chaotic.

As they grow, most evolve into what we’d call project-based organisations:

• Solving problems as they come
• Delivering work case-by-case
• Relying heavily on individuals

And here’s the reality:

Most businesses stay there.

But the strongest performers do something different. They shift to becoming process-driven organisations.

That’s where things change:

• Decisions become repeatable
• Performance becomes predictable
• Growth becomes scalable

And finance sits right at the centre of that shift.

At the core of a high-performing finance function is a simple idea:

Data → Insight → Decision → Action → Better outcomes → More data

Or, as discussed in the session, the “data virtuous loop.”

It’s straightforward in theory:

• Systems generate data
• Data creates insight
• Insight drives decisions
• Decisions improve performance
• Which generates better data… and the cycle continues

In practice?  This is where most businesses fall short. They have the data, but they don’t consistently use it to drive action.

When finance works this way, it stops being a reporting function.

It becomes a driver of performance.

Across the portfolio, that shows up in real, measurable ways:

• Efficiency → removing friction from processes
• Productivity → improving output across teams
• Profitability → better margin and cash discipline
• Enterprise value → building more scalable businesses

And the impact compounds quickly, even small improvements, done consistently, add up.

One of the most useful parts of the session was breaking this down into five core capabilities.

Not structure, not job titles, Capabilities we consistently see in stronger finance functions.

1. Accuracy first

Before anything else:

The numbers have to be right.

• Reliable data
• Consistent reporting
• Trust in the numbers

No shortcuts here. Everything else depends on it.

2. Commercial insight

This is where finance starts to add real value.

It’s about linking activity to outcomes.

A simple example from the session:

If your plan requires 10 deals a month, and your conversion rate is 1 in 3…

Your real KPI isn’t revenue.

It’s 30 sales meetings a month.

That level of clarity is what drives performance.

3. Making it usable

Insight is only useful if people act on it.

The best finance teams:

• Translate data into something teams understand
• Align departments around shared goals
• Ensure the right resources are in place

They don’t just report.

They influence how the business operates.

4. Driving decisions

As businesses scale, decisions can’t sit in one place.

Finance plays a key role in:

• Enabling better decisions across teams
• Keeping those decisions aligned to the plan
• Creating a shared understanding of success

So everyone is pulling in the same direction.

5. Connecting it all

Finally, finance brings everything together.

• Long-term goals
• Short-term activity
• Resources required to deliver

Because ultimately:

Revenue and profit are outcomes of activity, not targets on their own.

One of the most interesting parts of the session was a simple exercise.

Finance leaders scored their own organisations across areas like:

• Planning
• KPIs
• reporting
• alignment across teams

The results varied.

But the real insight was this:

Different people in the same business often saw things very differently.

In some cases:

• Finance thought they were providing clear insight
• Other teams weren’t using or understanding it

That gap is where performance gets lost.

For most teams, this isn’t about transformation.

It’s about getting the fundamentals right.

Across the portfolio, the biggest gains tend to come from:

• Clear, numbers-driven goals
• Integrated financial models (P&L, cash, forecasts)
• Activity-based KPIs
• Visibility across customers, products, and channels
• Regular use of data in decision-making

Not perfectly.

But consistently.

Across the YFM portfolio, the difference between good and great finance functions isn’t complexity.

It’s consistency.

The strongest teams:

• Build the right financial infrastructure
• Use it regularly
• And embed it across the business

They don’t just produce data.

They use it to drive action.

And that’s what ultimately drives:

• Faster growth
• Stronger profitability
• More scalable businesses

Which, in a private equity context, all leads to one thing:

Sustainable value creation.