What is Financial Management?

3. Procurement
This is typically divided into two categories:

Direct procurement includes the parts and raw materials used to make a company’s products. Direct procurement is typically overseen by supply chain and/or operations teams who manage and work with suppliers through a procurement system. The parts, raw materials, and finished products are tracked using an inventory system. Having these systems connected to each other makes operations, control, and oversight of suppliers and inventory much easier.
Indirect procurement refers to supplies that don’t go into a company’s products and services but are used for day-to-day operations. These might include items such as office furniture, laptops, and stationery. Finance authorizes and tracks these purchases using a procurement system.
4. Financial planning and analysis (FP&A)
In large companies, this is sometimes a separate team inside the finance department. FP&A specialists are responsible for modeling potential scenarios and forecasting likely outcomes for the best- and worst-case situations. They use these forecasts to develop financial plans and budgets for the next quarter or year. FP&A professionals often work closely with other parts of the business to develop forecasts and budgets, including sales plans, workforce plans, and operational plans. This is known as connected planning.
5. Tax
Every company must file taxes, but it gets especially complicated for big companies that must file in different countries. Such companies often have specialized tax teams who use tax-reporting software for country-by-country and other reporting.
6. Treasury
The treasury department is responsible for tracking and managing capital assets, debts, loans, and cash in the bank. Treasury advises the CFO on how much money is available for things such as capital investments (for example, big equipment purchases) or mergers and acquisitions (M&A). They’re also responsible for the company’s capital structure (see below).