For decades, finance teams have been the backbone of corporate decision-making, ensuring fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability.
However, in many organisations today, finance departments are overstepping their mandate—micromanaging other business units rather than guiding them towards better financial discipline. Instead of enabling growth, they have become barriers to innovation and operational efficiency.
The Shift from Strategic Guidance to Operational Overreach
The finance department’s role should be to provide insight, coaching, and support to help leaders make informed financial decisions. Yet, a 2024 Gartner study found that 62% of business leaders feel their finance teams are overly involved in operational matters that fall outside their expertise.
Instead of empowering teams with financial acumen, finance departments are often imposing rigid controls that stifle agility.
A report by McKinsey further highlights that 54% of CFOs say their finance teams are spending too much time policing expenditures and enforcing unnecessary restrictions rather than focusing on strategic financial planning and forecasting. This interference leads to slow decision-making, frustrated teams, and missed growth opportunities.
The Impact of Overreach on Business Performance
This shift has real consequences. According to PwC’s 2025 Global Finance Effectiveness Benchmarking Report, companies with overly controlling finance departments report:
Rather than serving as strategic advisors, finance teams are often dictating operational decisions—something best left to department heads who understand the day-to-day realities of their teams.
A Return to Finance as a Strategic Enabler
Finance must refocus on its core purpose: guiding and coaching business leaders to make better financial decisions rather than acting as gatekeepers.
CFOs and finance leaders must shift towards a partnership model—collaborating with departments, simplifying financial processes, and enabling responsible risk-taking.
With 71% of CEOs now expecting finance teams to play a stronger role in business strategy (Deloitte, 2024), the message is clear—finance must return to being an enabler of growth, not a bottleneck to success.
