Forbes.com: Why finance teams need to use social media

This post was originally posted on Forbes.com. To read the full post, click on the link below. In the wake of a near-global financial meltdown, the roles of corporate accounting and finance departments are more important than ever. But as the corporate watchdogs on profitability and sticklers on controls, these teams are not always appreciated for what they do. Accounting departments are often perceived as impediments to business rather than enablers. Sales and marketing teams get especially frustrated, blaming accounting and finance for complicating their lives and preventing them from booking more deals. Consequently, accounting departments often earn a reputation for taking away the punch bowl just when a party is getting started. Although most controllers and CFOs aren’t in the job to win popularity contests, there is merit in finding ways for accounting and finance teams to become more involved, transforming into trusted advisors inside a business. In the past, the way a company was structured often prevented this from happening. Walled-off or WWII style “departments” and management structures created clean divisions between employees. This seems particularly outdated in this age of virtually organized companies. Nevertheless, most accounting departments today are still isolated from other parts of the business until a transaction gets thrown over the cubicle wall. Read the rest of the article at Forbes.com