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What are Finance OKRs?
The OKR acronym stands for Objectives and Key Results. It's a goal-setting framework that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s, and it became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s. OKRs helps teams has a shared language to set ambitious goals and track progress towards them.
Crafting effective OKRs can be challenging, particularly for beginners. Emphasizing outcomes rather than projects should be the core of your planning.
We've tailored a list of OKRs examples for Finance to help you. You can look at any of the templates below to get some inspiration for your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
The best tools for writing perfect Finance OKRs
Here are 2 tools that can help you draft your OKRs in no time.
Tability AI: to generate OKRs based on a prompt
Tability AI allows you to describe your goals in a prompt, and generate a fully editable OKR template in seconds.
- 1. Create a Tability account
- 2. Click on the Generate goals using AI
- 3. Describe your goals in a prompt
- 4. Get your fully editable OKR template
- 5. Publish to start tracking progress and get automated OKR dashboards
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Tability Feedback: to improve existing OKRs
You can use Tability's AI feedback to improve your OKRs if you already have existing goals.
- 1. Create your Tability account
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on Generate analysis
- 4. Review the suggestions and decide to accept or dismiss them
- 5. Publish to start tracking progress and get automated OKR dashboards
Tability will scan your OKRs and offer different suggestions to improve them. This can range from a small rewrite of a statement to make it clearer to a complete rewrite of the entire OKR.
Finance OKRs examples
You will find in the next section many different Finance Objectives and Key Results. We've included strategic initiatives in our templates to give you a better idea of the different between the key results (how we measure progress), and the initiatives (what we do to achieve the results).
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to enhance leadership skills in the finance department
ObjectiveEnhance leadership skills in the finance department
KRAchieve a 20% increase in leadership competency scores in finance team evaluations
Implement regular feedback sessions to identify improvements- Arrange weekly leadership development workshops for the finance team
- Incorporate mentorship programs with experienced leaders
- KRImplement a weekly finance-focused leadership workshop for potential leaders
- Schedule a consistent time for the weekly meetings
- Invite potential leaders to participate in workshops
- Identify relevant finance topics for weekly workshops
- KRIdentify and mentor 3 high-potential employees for leadership roles
- Begin one-on-one mentoring sessions regularly
- Identify three employees showing leadership potential
- Develop personalized mentorship plans for each
OKRs to enhance accuracy of general ledger amounts to 90%
- ObjectiveEnhance accuracy of general ledger amounts to 90%
- KRConduct weekly audits of general ledger for accuracy and discrepancy detection
- Rectify detected ledger inaccuracies promptly
- Review weekly transactions in general ledger
- Identify and document any accounting discrepancies
- KROrganize bi-weekly ledger accuracy training for the finance team
- Schedule and announce the bi-weekly training sessions to finance team
- Prepare engaging and comprehensive training materials about ledger accuracy
- Define the key topics focussing on ledger accuracy for training sessions
- KRImplement a new streamlined ledger management software tool
- Identify necessary features for the new ledger management software
- Purchase or develop the selected software tool
- Train staff on how to use the new software
OKRs to enhance risk management in the finance department
- ObjectiveEnhance risk management in the finance department
- KRDecrease risk-related financial losses by 15%
- Strengthen internal audit procedures
- Provide staff training on risk management
- Implement regular financial risk assessment strategies
- KRDevelop and train staff on 3 new risk mitigation strategies
- Identify and outline 3 new risk mitigation strategies
- Prepare a comprehensive training program around these strategies
- Schedule and conduct training sessions for staff
- KRImplement risk assessment tools to identify 20% more financial risks
- Choose appropriate risk assessment tools
- Train staff on proper tool usage
- Monitor and measure effectiveness regularly
OKRs to enhance finance department's risk management initiatives
- ObjectiveEnhance finance department's risk management initiatives
- KRImplement a comprehensive risk monitoring system by end of quarter
- Select appropriate risk monitoring software
- Train staff on system usage and reporting
- Identify key risk factors for ongoing review
- KRAchieve a 20% increase in risk management staff competency through targeted training programs
- Develop targeted training programs addressing identified skill gaps
- Implement training programs and assess staff competency improvements
- Identify specific areas requiring competency improvement in risk management staff
- KRReduce operational errors by 25% through improved controls and processes
- Evaluate and upgrade existing tools and systems
- Implement stricter quality control measures
- Conduct regular staff training on operational procedures
OKRs to enhance profitable performance of the finance team
- ObjectiveEnhance profitable performance of the finance team
- KRImprove the ROI (Return on Investment) by 10% on all key business initiatives
- Increase upselling and cross-selling efforts across channels
- Identify and eliminate inefficient processes or expenditures
- Implement tracking metrics to optimize marketing campaigns
- KRIncrease total revenue by 15% in operational areas
- Initiate strategies for customer retention and acquisition
- Enhance product/service offerings to drive sales
- Implement efficiency measures to reduce operational costs
- KRCut financial inefficiencies and wastage by 20%
- Implement stricter budget control measures
- Conduct thorough assessments to find wasteful spending
- Train employees on cost efficiency strategies
OKRs to ensure compliance and adaptability of Finance department for long-term success
- ObjectiveEnsure compliance and adaptability of Finance department for long-term success
- KRIdentify and prioritize areas for automation and digitization within the Finance department
- KRImplement updated financial policies and procedures to meet regulatory requirements
- Revise and update financial policies and procedures to align with regulatory standards
- Conduct a comprehensive review of existing financial policies and procedures
- Identify gaps between existing policies and regulatory requirements
- Communicate and train employees on the updated financial policies and procedures
- KRTrain all Finance department staff on new compliance protocols and best practices
- Schedule a training session for all Finance department staff
- Conduct role-playing exercises to practice implementing the best practices
- Assess the knowledge and understanding of staff through a post-training evaluation
- Develop training materials and resources for the new compliance protocols
- KRDevelop a roadmap for integrating emerging technologies to future-proof Finance operations
OKRs to instill a high-performance culture in Finance Operations
- ObjectiveInstill a high-performance culture in Finance Operations
- KRElevate employee job satisfaction rate to 90% via targeted development programs
- Initiate regular feedback sessions to identify employee issues and concerns
- Implement rewards and recognition system to acknowledge outstanding performance
- Develop tailored training programs focusing on employee skill enhancement
- KRReduce financial reporting errors by 15% to ensure accuracy
- Provide staff with additional training on financial reporting
- Adopt automated financial reporting software to minimize manual errors
- Implement a double-checking system for all financial reports
- KRIncrease department's monthly revenue by 10% through process efficiencies
- Identify and eliminate unnecessary processes in the workflow
- Train staff on new, streamlined procedures
- Implement more efficient, cost-saving technology
OKRs to improve accuracy and timeliness in invoice processing
- ObjectiveImprove accuracy and timeliness in invoice processing
- KRIncrease on-time payments by 30%
- Implement automated reminders for upcoming payment due dates
- Offer incentives or discounts for early or on-time payments
- Enhance payment procedures for user simplicity and convenience
- KRReduce invoice processing errors by 25%
- Implement invoice automation software to reduce manual entry
- Regularly audit invoices to identify errors
- Train staff on accurate invoice processing methods
- KRDecrease invoice processing time by 20%
- Train staff in efficient invoice management techniques
- Implement automated invoicing software to speed up processing
- Streamline invoice approval workflow to minimize delays
OKRs to maintain financial health by sticking to budget
- ObjectiveMaintain financial health by sticking to budget
- KRIncrease savings by 10% through efficient budget allocation
- Allocate income towards high-interest savings accounts
- Identify and cut unnecessary expenditures from personal budget
- Regularly review and adjust budget for efficiency
- KRAchieve zero budget overruns in all spending categories
- Monitor all expenses regularly and adjust promptly
- Provide training for effective budget management
- Implement strict financial controls and budget limits
- KRReduce discretionary spending by 15% compared to last quarter
- Identify non-essential expenses from last quarter
- Define a strict budget on discretionary items
- Implement expenditure tracking and control methods
OKRs to implement an AI tool for efficient user manual generation
- ObjectiveImplement an AI tool for efficient user manual generation
- KRSecure funding for AI investment by increasing budget 20%
- Create a detailed proposal highlighting AI's potential returns
- Collaborate with finance team for budget reallocation suggestions
- Pitch the revised budget plan to decision-makers
- KRIncrease user manual production speed by 50% using the newly implemented AI tool
- Prioritize AI-assisted content editing to enhance efficiency
- Utilize AI tool for automatic content generation for user manuals
- Implement regular staff training on AI tool usage
- KRTrain team on AI tool usage, resulting in 30% less time spent drafting
- Implement regular practice sessions to reinforce learning
- Establish a progress monitoring system for tool proficiency
- Schedule AI tool training sessions for all team members
Finance OKR best practices
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tip #2: Commit to weekly OKR check-ins
Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples above). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
Save hours with automated OKR dashboards
Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly if you want to get all the benefits of the OKRs framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
Spreadsheets are enough to get started. Then, once you need to scale you can use Tability to save time with automated OKR dashboards, data connectors, and actionable insights.
How to get Tability dashboards:
- 1. Create a Tability account
- 2. Use the importers to add your OKRs (works with any spreadsheet or doc)
- 3. Publish your OKR plan
That's it! Tability will instantly get access to 10+ dashboards to monitor progress, visualise trends, and identify risks early.
More Finance OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to boost the number of investigations and remediation of critical compliance issues
- OKRs to minimize unavoidable equipment downtime next quarter
- OKRs to amplify lead generation for increased pipeline activity
- OKRs to enhance productivity and expertise of our Linux Admin team
- OKRs to implement a robust outbound strategy for enhanced recruitment and service provision
- OKRs to streamline and enhance fulfillment center operations