LB Forsikring: Development never stops with finance business partnering

Starting from the top, finance business partnering is a concept that - in its purest form - is about dedicating skilled finance professionals to ensuring that the key persons in the management of a company have the insights needed into the company's financial data.

So that they can act in a strategic, long-term, and proactive way to market trends,

Thus, it is the finance business partner's finest task to be a trusted in-house advisor to, for example, the CFO, the COO, or the HR Director, and to keep them informed and give them financial insight. And for this, a high level of expertise combined with good relational skills are necessary. 

Therefore, finance business partnering is also a powerful lever to create value in an organisation. And we've had a talk with Asbjørn Christensen Haslev about their use of the concept in LB Forsikring.

He heads the department of Business Controlling and Management, where the business partnering concept is placed.

We meet Asbjørn at LB Forsikring's premises in Copenhagen from where we can see the sea and a windy sky. And though he can't celebrate his one-year anniversary with LB Forsikring until in the late summer of 2023, he has been focused on creating more business value from day one through finance business partnering.

Part of the key to being successful with finance business partnering lies in strong relations across the business units of an organisation, so that, for example, business strategic initiatives are not designed in silos, but with an eye for their impact on the rest of the business.

Asbjørn tells us that the original basis was good. Some relations had already been established across the business units, and there was a positive attitude to releasing the potential of working in a more structured way with finance business partnering.

So, LB Forsikring had a good basis for Asbjørn's further development of finance business partnering efforts. That is skilled employees, good access to data, the right system support, as well as an ambitious strategy and management.

Asbjørn says: ”The members get richer when we in Business Controlling and Management support LB Forsikring in doing high-quality work. Since the more well-driven and efficient LB Forsikring is, the more we can be of use to our members. So we need to keep up the value because of our members. And I believe that this is a really strong foundation for driving a business."

”That actually the ones using our service and products also benefit when we make a good job," Asbjørn brings home his point.

With the mindset ”How to create the greatest value possible on the basis of an already existing solid foundation?" Asbjørn starts by setting the course for the business to launch the important relational work between the various business units.

Since Asbjørn's team in Business Cointrolling and Management are to play LB Forsikring as good as possible across the entire organisation. "Actually, that's our finest goal," as Asbjørn says.

He elaborates: ”To be able to see the big picture and make good decisions, you must, first of all, find out what happens across the organisation. And here I could see that we had a solid base and potential to release even more value by bringing the business closer to us in Finance. We did that, more specifically, by establishing the framework for a sparring process - both internally in my department and between the finance business partner and the different members of the group management. Thus, we could play each other strong and further develop the good things that we have."

The solid foundation in LB Forsikring consists of a strong sense of community, where the employees are striving every day to improve the members' experience. Consequently, parts of the reporting was already in place, as was the case with several processes such as the forecasting, budgeting, and management model.

We direct the talk even more to finance business partnering and to the concept not being a new one in LB Forsikring. But it has become more structured. It has changed from primarily supporting the business to also being on the wavelength of internal clients and the business.

"There is no doubt that the classic controlling work must be done; we must establish an overview of the initiatives launched in the organisation, we must figure out how to calculate LB Forsikring's activities, and how they affect financial planning and forecasting. That is, which activities support the business, and which have served their purpose. This concerns data and analyses. But I can also see a completely different level where relationships come into play. Where insights become valuable," Asbjørn explains before continuing.

"This is also where – if you are a skilled finance business partner – you achieve a certain level of confidentiality. If you can build trust and show transparency, work with data and analysis will provide much more value. Because you’ll get a better basis for discussions as well as a ‘room’ where those to whom you are a finance business partner can safely share different views. And this is extremely important as the world isn’t perfect. Then, we at LB Forsikring can share insights, concerns and challenges, and discuss scenarios before they arise. Then, the likelihood is greatest of us making our way through them in the best possible way," Asbjørn concludes his point.

Over the last six months, a great deal of the work performed in Business Controlling and Management has consisted in calibrating what a finance business partner is, and what the concept should be used for in LB Forsikring.

It takes time, and all those involved must respect this. Creating transparency throughout the organisation isn’t a short-term task, but rather a prerequisite for making the best decisions where possible, just as it is a task that should be revisited regularly.

Asbjørn points out that, actually, there are parallels to a friendship. "You need to nurture the relationship between a finance business partner and, for example, a CFO, and you’ll have to accept that some dynamics take time. For some, the relationship may become good rather quickly, but the development of the relationship in the long run is decisive for the collaboration. It takes time, trust, and transparency."

However, not everything has been straightforward; when we ask what has been the hardest part of further developing the finance business partnering concept at LB Forsikring, the answer comes promptly – though with a twinkle in his eye: "Perhaps it’s just me." Asbjørn smiles and continues: "Understood in the way that things take time. Though you present your concept, and people are on board, and you have the best intentions, you also need to respect that there are many other activities than just those that you are involved in. As is the case with everything else, you must document and show which kind of value creation is possible."

Value creation is a keyword that comes up several times during our talk. It lies not only in economic analyses and activities but also in trust and confidentiality. With the awareness that trust and confidentiality help lift the business, regular quarterly and monthly reviews with the group management at LB Forsikring have started ongoing considerations of what is relevant for the business, and what the purpose is. Since nothing is set in stone. There’ll always be situations that nobody had seen coming. "That’s why it's important to continuously calibrate," Asbjørn points out.

Calibration has also proven to be important vis-à-vis the employees.

"We have also strengthened the team during the last period of time as regards finance business partnering. As a team, we have moved to another stage. We are, however, still in the phase starting many dialogues and identifying how to approach the finance business partnering task – also internally in the team."

Asbjørn continues: "Some of our team colleagues were already involved in the partnering aspect, and they will, of course, continue with that. But in some areas, it has been necessary for us to get new people on board with other competences. Also, to be able to convey the partner role, so that it wasn't just me. The team as a whole are striving to support and further develop the finance business partnering concept, so that we can enjoy a stronger position than before. Both in our team and in LB Forsikring as a business."

The very composition of the team is worth considering. It’s a bit like a football team that depends on the ball being passed from foot to foot. This makes us zoom out on LB Forsikring as an organisation. Though it is important that Asbjørn and his team are ready to support the business, the overall organisational culture is also crucial for being successful.

Asbjørn is optimistic about the future development of finance business partnering, and there’s no mistaking his concluding words: "The team-spirit of LB Forsikring is really truly impressive. Thanks to that our finance business partners are almost part of daily life in the business units they support. We can actually feel that by getting our message across faster. We are continuously developing – and respect that good things take time."