The Importance of Business Partnering and Self-Service in Finance

Alyssa Shadinger, CFO of Sisense, sits down with CJ in this episode for a masterful deep dive on building and scaling analytics teams and perfecting the art of the OKR (Objectives and Key Results). They discuss the optimal structure for data and analytics teams and where they should sit within the org. Alyssa explains how Sisense clarified their data models for more accurate self-service reporting, how the company maps their analysts to different teams, and where the costs of this should sit in the P&L. Then CJ and Alyssa delve into OKRs, the biggest challenge to their success, the role of finance in helping the rest of the company define them, and the necessity of linking them to measurable financial outcomes. They also talk about the optimal number of OKRs that an org should have, and other tips for achieving them.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(01:38) Sponsor – RemoFirst | Mercury

(04:06) Where Data and Analytics Should Sit Within an Org

(09:52) If BI Should Start as an Engineering Function at an Early-Stage Company

(11:53) Delineating Between Systems Management Versus Actual Data Work

(14:11) How to Go About Building Out the Analytics Team

(16:31) Sponsor – NetSuite | Operators Guild | Maxio

(20:15) Business Partnering Versus Self-Service

(23:46) The Role of the BI Team in Clarifying Definitions

(24:28) How Sisense Maps Analysts to Different Teams

(26:27) Where the Cost of These Analysts Should Sit in the P&L

(27:09) The Biggest Challenge to OKRs

(29:50) The Role of Finance in Helping Groups Come Up with OKRs

(30:52) The ROI of OKRs

(31:49) Why OKRs Should Be Visible to the Entire Org

(32:24) The Right Number of OKRs

(33:53) Why Some OKRs Just Disappear Mid-Year

(35:49) Who Should Be Responsible for Reporting on OKRs

(36:36) Baking OKRs into Your Weekly Cadence

(37:15) Long-Ass Lightning Round: Hiring Mistakes

(42:26) Advice to Younger Self

(43:10) Finance Software Stack

(44:23) Craziest Expense Story