Finance Office
Finance Office Strategy
Transforming Lives and Societies
Finance Office
Strategy 2013 to 2017
April 2013
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction 2
2.0 Finance Office at a Glance 2
3.0 Vision, Mission & Values 4
3.1 Our Vision 4
3.2 Our Mission 4
3.3 Our Values 4
4.0 Strategic Objectives 5
4.1 Providing Financial Leadership 5
4.2 Student and Client Centric 5
4.3 Engaging and Developing Our Staff 6
4.4 Ensuring Operational Excellence 6
4.5 Enhanced Management Information 6
4.6 Ensuring successful integration of new activities, entities and institutions 6
5.0 Alignment with DCU Strategic plan 7
6.0 Implementation 8
1.0 Introduction
Following the publication of the DCU Strategic Plan 2012 to 2017 ‘Transforming Lives and Societies’, the DCU Finance Office Strategic Plan has been developed to:
• Clearly articulate the overall vision, mission and values of the Finance Office
• Set out the high level objectives of the Finance Office over the period of the plan
• Ensure that there is an alignment between the Finance Office Strategic Plan and the University Strategic Plan.
This Strategic Plant has been prepared following a period of external review, engagement with staff in the Finance Office and with various other stakeholders. We are extremely grateful to staff and others who contributed to the development of this plan.
2.0 Finance Office at a Glance
The current structure within the Finance Office is set out below:
The Finance Office has overall responsibility for the financial environment within the University. It is currently structured around three main areas Financial Planning and Reporting, Finance Operations and Procurement.
A number of Finance Office activities are encompassed across several of the functional areas highlighted above including:
• Business Support
• Treasury
• Audit and Compliance
• Taxation
• Financial risk
• Insurance
The Finance Office:
1. Manages all of the financial aspects of the University in an ethical, transparent and accountable manner.
2. Provides the framework for financial control and related financial policies within which the University activities are expected to be undertaken.
3. Through well defined budgetary control and procurement processes and the related financial reporting, seeks to ensure the efficient and effective use of the financial resources available to the University.
4. Engages with external agencies such as the Higher Education Authority, research funding agencies and financial institutions regarding the funding of the University and other financial matters.
5. Provides advice and support on all of the financial matters affecting the University and supports business development proposals.
6. Puts in place the financial strategy in support of the overall University strategy.
3.0 Vision, Mission & Values
3.1 Our Vision
The Finance function will be recognised as a provider of high quality advice and services and a key enabler in the achievement of the University’s strategic plan.
3.2 Our Mission
To provide the University with professional services in an ethical, accountable and transparent manner, which ensure the effective proactive management of the University’s finances and the delivery of high quality services, and to lead and support the activities necessary for the achievement of the University’s strategy.
The Finance Office will do this by:
• Being seen as a catalyst for change
• Being student and client centric
• Supporting existing academic, research, commercial and other services
• Ensuring operational excellence in all of its activities
• Providing the management information for enhanced decision making
• Embedding a commercial culture
• Facilitating new business opportunities.
3.3 Our Values
• We are committed to excellence
• We are student centric and client focussed
• We act with honesty and integrity
• We are ethical, accountable and transparent
• We value the expertise and commitment of our staff
• We support a teamwork environment
• We show respect for the individual.
4.0 Strategic Objectives
Arising from our Vision, Mission and Values, six key objectives have been identified:
1. Providing Financial Leadership
2. Being Student and Client Centric
3. Engaging and developing our staff
4. Ensuring Operational Excellence
5. Enhanced Management Information
6. Ensuring successful integration of new activities, entities and institutions
4.1 Providing Financial Leadership
In order to achieve our vision it is important that the Finance Office provides financial leadership. In this regard we will:
4.1.1 Lead the development of a funding diversity strategy with a view to achieving a substantial increase in funding from non exchequer sources.
4.1.2 Source and put in place appropriate finance facilities in support of the operational and capital investment required in the University’s Strategic Plan.
4.1.3 Embedding a commercial ethos throughout the Finance Office.
4.1.4 Provide financial planning, efficiency and effectiveness to ensure the use of University resources in a sustainable manner.
4.1.5 Develop financial modelling to analyse, assess, advise, review and monitor new opportunities both domestic and international.
4.1.6 Develop revenue and costing structures within the University to enable the financial cost or contribution of existing activities to be determined more readily.
4.1.7 Deliver on our compliance and governance requirements in conjunction with the commercial revenue objectives.
4.1.8 Restructure the procurement function so that there is an even greater focus on achieving value for money in the University.
4.1.9 Work with sectoral groups for the benefit of the University.
4.2 Student and Client Centric
To ensure that the Finance Office is Student and Client Centric we will:
4.2.1 Ensure that when we engage with students and clients they receive a professional service.
4.2.2 Examine our systems and processes to ensure that they have ease of use and enhance the opportunity for our students and clients to have their needs met though our online offerings.
4.2.3 Enhance our Finance Office web site to ensure that the information required can be easily located and accessed.
4.2.4 Engage with our student and client groups to actively seek their feedback and ensure that we are meeting their expectations.
4.3 Engaging and Developing Our Staff
4.3.1 Carry out a detailed review of the structure within the Finance Office to an appropriate and properly resourced structure design to deliver on the Finance Office strategic plan.
4.3.2 Put in place a skills assessment and staff development plan.
4.3.3 Enhance staff communications.
4.3.4 Provide staff development through engagement on projects and availing of staff rotation opportunities.
4.3.5 Examine opportunities for succession management and talent management.
4.4 Ensuring Operational Excellence
4.4.1 Carry out a review to identify further business process re-engineering and process improvement opportunities.
4.4.2 Build and deepen the relationship with our IT systems suppliers to understand their new and emerging product developments and to avail of related opportunities to enhance our services.
4.4.3 Carry out a review to ensure that we understand and address student, staff and client requirements and needs.
4.4.4 Enhance self service opportunities for students, staff and clients.
4.5 Enhanced Management Information
4.5.1 We will develop a client engagement with the users of information and assess what data they require in the context of the management information needs of the organisation.
4.5.2 Develop an appropriate strategy for financial information in the context of the overall DCU management information systems strategy.
4.5.3 Develop a financial dash board and where appropriate integrate other data sets.
4.6 Ensuring successful integration of new activities, entities and institutions
4.6.1 Develop an effective plan for the integration of new activities, entities and institutions.
4.6.2 Ensure that our finance platforms are successfully migrated and that training is provided.
4.6.3 Complete an assessment of the need/deliverables of each activity, entity or institution from a Finance function perspective.
5.0 Alignment with DCU Strategic plan
For the Finance Office to be successful there must be an alignment between the Finance Office Strategic Plan and the University Strategic Plan. Set out below are the key objectives identified for the Finance Office as part of this strategic planning process and where each primarily fits into the overall University’s Strategic Plan’s Core Principles and Foundations.
6.0 Implementation
On approval of the Finance Office Strategic Plan, individual project plans will be developed and allocated within the Finance Office. One of the first projects will be the restructuring of the Finance Office to ensure that the function remains fit for purpose to deliver on the plan. This will be a significant challenge in the context of the Employment Control Framework and constrained resources generally.
In line with the overall University strategic Plan, the Finance Office Strategic Plan will involve a process of rolling planning. There will be an annual review of the plan to reflect developments within the University and the sector generally, so that the plan remains focussed on the delivery of the University’s Strategic plan as it itself is reviewed and renewed to maintain a focus on the stated Mission, Vision and Values.