By Rich Bond
Recently, my business school sent an email with the title “The Future is Finance.”
My initial reaction was, the future is not finance. Finance is a necessary part of the future of business but is largely a supporting function, outside of financial services. But more importantly, the function needs to operate as a strategic partner within the organization.
It’s in this second point that I agree somewhat with what my school (Wharton) is doing. They’ve created a major in Quantitative Finance that is cross-disciplinary and has a strategic focus. But I still believe that while Quantitative Finance is powerful, better ideas are more powerful.
Finance can help make the future better and allow companies to succeed, but finance alone is not sufficient to make a company or an idea succeed.
Finance people’s value increases as they learn more about their organization and the financial impacts of what the organization is doing. Their contributions will have even more value, if they understand the influence of the various finance-related functions in the company, such as treasury, accounting, and information technology.
Let me know what you think. richard.bond@bondandcompany.com.
