Don’t Shoot the Accountant
You know the meeting.
Operations is excited. Finance looks concerned. Someone says, “Let’s circle back once we have more data” - which everyone knows is really just a polite, “No.” It’s the corporate equivalent of ghosting - via spreadsheet.
That’s usually when someone sighs, stares down the table, and quietly mutters what everyone’s thinking: “Finance kills everything.”
But don’t shoot the accountant - they’re not killing ideas. They’re just trying to keep the business alive long enough to fund the next one.
It’s not that finance doesn’t get it - they just get it too late. By the time the numbers catch up, the decision has already been made, the product has already launched, and everyone has already moved on to the next fire.
Operations thinks finance is slowing them down. Finance thinks operations is driving blind. And, inconveniently, they are both right.
The real issue isn’t priorities - it’s translation. Two groups describing the same problem in different dialects: one speaks in urgency, the other in accuracy.
And until they start hearing each other, the business is losing something important in the space between.
Cease fire. And build a bridge.
Role-Based Disconnects
Different vantage points: Operations focuses on execution and output - finance focuses on measurement and control. They look at the same business from opposite ends of the process.
It’s like they are standing at opposite ends of a telescope – both convinced the other’s view is upside down.
Timeline mismatch: Operations lives in real time (“What’s happening today?”). Finance lives in reporting time (“What happened last month?”).
Accountability silos: Operations owns delivery and service metrics, finance owns numbers and compliance - but no one owns the bridge between decisions and dollars.
Language gap: Operations speaks in units, throughput, and service quality. Finance speaks in variances, margins, and accruals. They measure the same system differently.
Bridge the Gap Through Strategic Alignment
Shared purpose: Both sides see themselves as part of the same value chain - finance informs, operations executes, both drive performance.
Joint ownership of outcomes: Metrics and incentives link operational success to financial results (e.g., productivity and profitability).
Regular connection rhythm: Finance joins operational conversations early, not just during month end close; operations has visibility into forecasts and budgets continuously.
Forward-looking mindset: Finance shifts from reporting the past to helping model the future - operations brings truth from the field to those models.
(But alignment is just a buzz word alongside competing priorities.)
Cultural Disconnects
Finance seen as “the police”: Operations teams often feel finance exists only to say “no,” not to help solve problems.
Ops calls them the fun police. Finance calls it Tuesday.
Operations seen as “undisciplined”: Finance may see operations as ignoring constraints or chasing pipe dreams without vetting financial impacts.
Different definitions of success:
For operations, success = output and satisfaction.
For finance, success = predictability and efficiency.
Wiring mismatch:
Operations tends to be action-oriented and adaptive.
Finance tends to be more cautious and analytical. Those energies can clash.
Bridge the Gap by Shifting Behaviors
Finance as a partner, not a gatekeeper: Finance helps operations see trade-offs and shape better decisions, not just enforce limits.
Operations as a collaborator, not a rogue actor: Ops teams invite finance input before acting, not after the fact.
Shared curiosity: Both sides learn to ask, “What are we missing?” instead of “Who’s wrong?”
Respect for strengths: Finance brings clarity and discipline - operations brings agility and innovation.
Together they create balance.
(Even the best of intentions only help so much when systems are fighting each other.)
System Disconnects
Data timing issues: Operational data is often live and messy - financial data is clean(er) but delayed. That lag creates mistrust.
Systems not integrated: ERP and operational systems rarely “talk” cleanly, so insights are lost in translation.
Budgeting disconnect: Finance models assume static conditions – ops teams manage constant change. Budgets can feel irrelevant fast.
Feedback loops missing: Financial insights rarely flow back into day-to-day operational decision-making quickly enough to matter.
Bridge the Gap with Integrated Processes
One version of the truth: Shared dashboards or data sources eliminate the “your numbers vs. my numbers” debate.
Timely, actionable data: Finance helps design metrics that operations can use in real time instead of waiting for month-end reports.
Scenario thinking: Joint planning replaces static budgets - simulate outcomes and adjust together.
Operational literacy for finance, financial literacy for ops: Cross-training builds mutual empathy and smarter decision-making.
(Data and dashboards don’t build trust. People do.)
Disconnected People
Few true “translators”: People who understand both operations and finance are rare, and organizations underinvest in them.
Trust erosion: When one side feels misunderstood or micromanaged, collaboration breaks down fast.
No shared narrative: The two groups often lack a common story about how cash flows through the business.
Bridge the Gap Together
Translator roles: People who “speak both languages” (project managers with finance backgrounds, ops-minded controllers), who connect meaning to money, become strategic assets.
Transparency drives trust: Teams can bring sources of tension to the surface (“this doesn’t pencil out financially” or “this slows delivery”) earlier without blame.
Telling the story of the numbers: Finance frames data in operational stories - operations frames stories with financial grounding.
Shared wins: When both teams see themselves in the success story - “we improved the bottom line and customer experience” - collaboration sticks.
In the End
Numbers might be the language of business, but relationships are the key to results.
The best businesses don’t pick sides between finance and operations. They build bridges.
Because when finance starts listening for intent and operations starts speaking in impact, the conversation shifts — and so does performance.
So, don’t shoot the accountant – hand them a hard hat. You’re on the same team.