Finance and Accounting Functions
Finance and accounting both focus on an organization’s financial performance, but their purposes and orientations differ.
Finance is concerned with how the organization strategically utilizes its financial resources to sustain and grow operations in both the short and long term. Key responsibilities include:
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Enabling operational and strategic initiatives by formulating and monitoring both operating and capital expenditure budgets.
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Conducting financial analyses to inform strategic decisions, such as those involving international expansion, technology investments, or strategic partnerships.
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Managing the organization’s treasury through prudent investment and borrowing decisions across varying time horizons.
Accounting, by contrast, is focused on precision, compliance, and transparency. It systematically records, classifies, and reports financial transactions to support internal decision-making and external accountability. Core functions include:
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Recording revenue and expenses in accordance with established standards such as IFRS or U.S. GAAP.
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Supporting corporate governance by maintaining detailed financial records and facilitating periodic internal and external audits.
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Producing essential financial statements such as income (P&L) statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
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Ensuring full compliance with financial regulations and reporting obligations to government authorities, regulators, and investors—reflecting the growing global demand for transparency, fiduciary integrity, and responsible corporate governance.
Both finance and accounting must continuously adapt to evolving regulations, emerging technologies, and shifting ethical standards that heighten risks of fraud and fiduciary misconduct.
HR’s Interface with Finance and Accounting
HR depends heavily on these two functions to plan, execute, and sustain its initiatives. It partners with Finance and Accounting to develop and monitor annual budgets, manage vendor relationships, and ensure financial discipline across HR programs.
Moreover, HR contributes to good governance by delivering ethics and compliance training, supporting risk prevention measures (e.g., candidate screening, fraud investigations), and facilitating internal and external audit processes.
Marketing and Sales Functions
Marketing and Sales represent the revenue-generating engine of an organization. Depending on the structure, these may operate as independent but interlinked functions.
Marketing defines how products and services are positioned and perceived. It manages the classic “4 Ps”—price, product, promotion, and place—ensuring strong brand presence and market relevance. Marketing also provides the organization with intelligence on customer needs, market dynamics, and competitive threats. For global enterprises, this often entails balancing a unified brand identity with local cultural nuances.
Marketing strategies generally follow two archetypes:
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Push Strategy: Actively presenting products to customers (e.g., showrooms, retail displays, or trade promotions).
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Pull Strategy: Creating customer demand through brand appeal and advertising (e.g., beverage companies promoting lifestyle branding).
Sales, shaped by both industry norms and marketing strategy, translates demand into revenue. Whether operating in B2C or B2B models, sales channels may be direct (via internal sales teams) or indirect (via distributors, agents, or strategic partners). These choices have major implications for HR—particularly in recruitment, training, and incentive design.
HR’s Support to Marketing and Sales
HR aligns its initiatives with the organization’s brand identity to attract talent that reflects brand values. It partners with Marketing to build teams that embody customer-centricity, creativity, and innovation.
For Sales, HR designs performance-based compensation models, conducts sales capability training, and nurtures a culture of motivation and achievement.
Research and Development (R&D) Function
The R&D function fuels future growth by developing innovative products, services, and technologies. Its significance varies across industries, but it is especially vital where intellectual property and innovation drive value—such as technology, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
In the public sector, R&D focuses on theoretical advancement, scientific exploration, and sustainability initiatives that serve societal good.
Organizations may centralize R&D globally or decentralize it within business units to maintain customer proximity. However, high R&D spending does not automatically equate to high innovation. The PwC Global Innovation 1000 Study (2018) found that top innovators outperform top spenders by aligning R&D investment with strategic priorities, focusing on impactful innovation, and fostering agile, talent-driven cultures.
HR’s Role in R&D
R&D success depends on top-tier talent and an environment that nurtures creativity. HR partners with R&D leaders to:
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Recruit and retain specialized talent with advanced technical expertise.
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Build compensation and recognition systems that reward innovation.
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Promote inclusive, diverse, and psychologically safe work cultures that inspire original thinking.
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Safeguard intellectual property through robust contractual and policy frameworks.
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Reduce bureaucratic barriers and design career paths for technical experts that foster long-term engagement.
Operations Function
Operations is the organization’s execution arm—responsible for developing, producing, and delivering the goods and services defined by Marketing and R&D. It transforms strategy into tangible outcomes and drives revenue realization.
The Operations function focuses on efficiency, quality, and compliance while balancing productivity with workforce safety and environmental responsibility. Global operations face the added complexity of managing multi-country manufacturing, logistics, and cost optimization strategies.
HR’s Role in Operations
HR enables Operations by ensuring the right people with the right skills are available at the right time. It applies workforce analytics to forecast needs, plan capacity, and manage restructuring or downsizing when necessary.
HR also supports compliance—training managers in safety, documenting workplace incidents, and ensuring adherence to labor and regulatory standards. In unionized environments, HR plays a critical role in contract implementation and dispute resolution.
Information Technology (IT) Function
IT governs the organization’s digital ecosystem—managing data storage, communication systems, and enterprise software platforms. Its mission is to ensure secure, seamless, and efficient information flow that enables strategic decision-making.
A core responsibility of IT today is data integration through Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, which unify organizational functions such as:
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Finance: General ledger, asset registers, payables/receivables.
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Operations: Inventory, workflow, and quality control.
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Supply Chain: Vendor selection, logistics, and payment.
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Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Sales and client interaction.
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Human Resources: Employee data, payroll, benefits, and performance systems.
IT’s Key Challenges
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System Complexity: Legacy and vendor-diverse systems complicate integration.
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Data Security: Safeguarding information is both an ethical and legal imperative.
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Efficiency and Scalability: Balancing performance, cost, and system capacity.
Emerging solutions such as Software as a Service (SaaS) now enable organizations to access sophisticated IT systems cost-effectively, with vendors maintaining infrastructure while clients pay subscription-based fees.
HR’s Partnership with IT
HR supports IT by building a steady talent pipeline and reinforcing data security through training and policy development. Conversely, IT empowers HR through systems that automate and enhance people management.
For example, when implementing an HR Information System (HRIS), collaboration between HR and IT—from needs assessment to rollout—is crucial for successful adoption and user experience. Continuous partnership ensures that the system evolves with organizational needs, driving both operational efficiency and strategic value.
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