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Building the Strategic Finance Operating Model

The CFO’s Blueprint for Value Creation in the Age of AI
By Donald B. Rogers, CPA, MA
Foreword by John T. Weisel

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392 pages · Hardcover and paperback editions available now on AmazonKindle and audiobook editions coming soonInvictus Global Media

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Endorsements

What leaders are saying

John T. Weisel

Building the Strategic Finance Operating Model is a hands-on guide to helping leaders avoid repeating transformation failures and achieve meaningful, sustainable business change. Read it with curiosity. Discuss it with your teams. Refer back to it as your organization evolves.

John T. WeiselFormer EY Global Consulting Leader, Financial ServicesForeword author
Lawrence S. Maisel

Transforming finance rarely succeeds because leadership lacks ambition or vision. It fails because organizations try to execute tomorrow’s strategy with yesterday’s operating model. Vision alone is insufficient. The Strategic Finance Operating Model™ (SFOM) closes that gap.

Lawrence S. MaiselPresident, DecisionVu AnalyticsTechnical advisor
Yvonne M. Poster

One of the most complete visions of modern finance currently available. The central thesis is both timely and compelling: the operating model has become the constraint. AI does not resolve structural weaknesses. It exposes them.

Yvonne M. PosterChief Financial Officer, Signal MutualFormer Global Head of Finance Transformation, XL Group, AmTrust Financial Services and MS Amlin
Jeffrey Nachowitz, CPA

Technology alone has never transformed an organization. Sustainable value is created when strategy, finance, operations, governance, and people work together through a well-designed operating model.

Jeffrey Nachowitz, CPAFormer CFO, Global Technology and Operations, MetLife
Maurice Pierre, MS

When the executives finally ask for numbers, they get conflicting information and are unable to make an informed decision… The Strategic Finance Operating Model™ helps prevent this by standardizing and streamlining the business from the ground up.

Maurice Pierre, MSApplied Mathematician & ResearcherDistinguished contributor
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Part I · Chapters 1–3

Why Transformation Now?

Why finance has to change, and why the operating model, not the technology, is where that change has to start.

The challenge addressed

The CFO’s remit keeps growing, but the way finance is organized hasn’t kept up. Part I makes the case for a new operating model and introduces the SFOM™ as the blueprint.

What it covers

  • The new CFO mandate.

    How the role has expanded, and what that now asks of the finance function.

  • The case for a model.

    Why piecemeal fixes stall without one connected design.

  • The blueprint.

    An introduction to the SFOM™ and how it creates enterprise value.

Strategic Finance Operating Model™

  1. Strategic Imperatives

    Defining the “why” Behind Transformation

  2. Talent Activation

    Building the Finance Workforce of the Future

  3. Process Optimization

    Where Strategy Meets Execution

  4. Data Enablement

    Data Go-To Guide for Finance: Strategy, Governance & Conformity

  5. Insights & Analytics

    From Numbers to Narratives

  6. Service Delivery Model

    Designing Finance for Scale and Trust

  7. Governance, Risk & Controls

    Safeguarding Finance in the Age of Complexity

  8. Digital, Technology & AI

    Redefining Finance from Source to Report

  9. Constituent Experience

    Building the SFOM™ with Stakeholders in Mind

  10. Outcomes & Benefits

    Making Value Real

The ten components of the Strategic Finance Operating Model™.
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Part II · Chapters 4–15

Designing the SFOM™

The model itself: where your function stands today, and how each of its ten components is designed.

The challenge addressed

Before redesigning anything, leaders need an honest view of their starting point and a shared picture of what good looks like.

What it covers

  • Assess maturity.

    A way to see where finance stands today, and where it can go.

  • Why old models fall short.

    What traditional operating models miss, and why it matters now.

  • Ten components.

    A chapter on each part of the model, from strategic imperatives to outcomes and benefits.

Strategic Finance Operating Model spider diagramRadar chart with four maturity rings and ten axes, one per SFOM component, numbered clockwise from the top as in the list that follows. The current maturity polygon sits mostly around the first ring; the target polygon reaches the third and fourth rings on every component, showing the gap between current and target maturity.STRATEGICFINANCEOPERATINGMODEL™
  • Current
  • Target
  1. Strategic ImperativesDefining the “why” Behind Transformation
  2. Service Delivery ModelDesigning Finance for Scale and Trust
  3. Governance, Risk & ControlsSafeguarding Finance in the Age of Complexity
  4. Digital, Technology & AIRedefining Finance from Source to Report
  5. Constituent ExperienceBuilding the SFOM™ with Stakeholders in Mind
  6. Outcomes & BenefitsMaking Value Real
  7. Insights & AnalyticsFrom Numbers to Narratives
  8. Data EnablementData Go-To Guide for Finance: Strategy, Governance & Conformity
  9. Process OptimizationWhere Strategy Meets Execution
  10. Talent ActivationBuilding the Finance Workforce of the Future
Where you stand, component by component: current and target maturity.
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Part III · Chapters 16–18

SFOM™ Journey

How to put the SFOM™ blueprint to work: three phases, from design to lasting results.

The challenge addressed

Good designs still fail in delivery. Part III lays out the path from strategy and design, through build and implementation, to sustaining the gains.

What it covers

  • Strategy & design.

    Set the vision, understand the current state and build the roadmap.

  • Build & implement.

    Deliver the change with discipline.

  • Sustain & optimize.

    Lock in the value and keep improving.

Strategic Finance Operating Model (SFOM™) – Methodology Phases

  1. Phase 1: Strategy & Design (Foundation & Planning)

    High-Level Description

    Define the future-state vision and operating model: align stakeholders, assess current state, design the SFOM, build the business case, and create an integrated roadmap.

    • Program setup and governance
    • Conduct current-state assessment
    • Define future-state vision & SFOM design
    • Define improvement recommendations
    • Develop business case
    • Create integrated roadmap & transformation plan

  2. Phase 2: Build & Implement (Execution)

    High-Level Description

    Execute the transformation plan by designing, building, configuring, testing, and deploying solutions with disciplined change management.

    • Detailed design
    • Requirements & solution architecture
    • Build & configure
    • Reports & analytics
    • SOPs & controls
    • Testing & pilot
    • Rollout & change management

  3. Phase 3: Sustain & Optimize (Value Realization & Continuous Improvement)

    High-Level Description

    Stabilize the new operating model, realize value, strengthen governance, and drive continuous improvement as a habit.

    • Stabilization & hypercare
    • Benefits tracking & value realization
    • Continuous improvement & optimization
    • Governance, risk & compliance sustainment
    • Capability building & talent activation
The three phases of the SFOM™ methodology.
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Part IV · Chapters 19–26

Leading Transformation

Where operating models meet human behavior: the leadership side of change.

The challenge addressed

Most transformations don’t fail on technology. They fail on people, culture and follow-through.

What it covers

  • Why transformations fail.

    The patterns behind programs that stall.

  • Leadership and culture.

    The CFO as change leader, and culture as a real lever.

  • Making change stick.

    Program governance and change enablement that last beyond go-live.

Don Rogers in conversation with guests at the Business Expo
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Part V · Chapters 27–35

Future of Finance

What comes next: the AI-native finance function and the next decade of finance leadership.

The challenge addressed

AI will reshape how finance works, but only on the right foundation. Part V looks at what an AI-native function has to get right.

What it covers

  • AI-native finance.

    How AI changes the function and the architecture behind it.

  • Trust and control.

    Governance for AI in finance.

  • People and leadership.

    How work, skills and the CFO’s role evolve.

AI will not modernize finance by itself

AI is a force multiplier, not a foundation.

AI delivers extraordinary potential—but only when built on the right foundation.

AI engine

Intelligent. Adaptive. Scalable.
Unlocking new levels of performance.

  1. 1. Disciplined process

    Standardized, efficient processes that enable consistency and scale.

  2. 2. Trusted data

    Accurate, complete, and governed data that fuels insight and decisions.

  3. 3. Governance

    Clear policies, controls, and accountability that build trust and ensure compliance.

  4. 4. Cloud-enabled architecture

    Modern, flexible, and scalable infrastructure that supports innovation and speed.

  5. 5. Activated talent

    Skilled, empowered people ready to adopt, adapt, and lead the change.

Without the foundation, AI automates dysfunction faster.

Build the foundation. Activate AI. Accelerate impact. Sustain value.

AI is a force multiplier, not a foundation.

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