Principles of Organizational Financial Planning and Business Development - MBA520
June 19th, 2014
Influence of Laws, Regulations, and Operational Risk Assessment in Strategic Planning and Risk Mitigation
The Role of Finance at Apple
The role of finance in the strategic planning process has become more relevant because of the introduction of the balanced scorecard. The balanced scorecard emphasizes financial performance as a key indicator of an organization’s success and helps link strategic goals to performance (Kono & Barnes, 2010). The balanced scorecard also “provides timely and useful information to facilitate strategic and operational control decisions” (Kono & Barnes, 2010). Apple is no different than other major organizations in that it relies heavily on finance in the strategic-planning and decision-making process. The following list provides financial goals and metrics based on the “best-in-industry” organizations.
Free Cash Flow
Economic Value-Added
Asset Management
Financing Decisions and Capital Structure
Profitability Ratios
Growth Indices
Risk Assessment Management
Tax Optimization
“Investment in new business strategies and acquisitions could disrupt the Company’s ongoing business and present risks not originally contemplated” so it is important that Apple does upfront work to make sure it is investing in acquisitions or projects that have a return on investment (US Securities and Exchange, 2013). It is important for Finance to be involved in the strategic planning and decision-making process because they are able to identify the return on investment as well and possible unidentified issues which may not have come up.
Another role Finance plays in the strategic-planning and decision-making is evaluating equipment needed to support future growth. Finance can judge if spending capital on machinery would be a better
References: Apple: Global Trade Compliance. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/legal/more-resources/gtc.html Forbes: Regulatory, Anti-Trust, and Disruptive Risks Threaten Apple’s Empire. (2014). Retrieved fromhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/04/08/regulatory-anti-trust-and-disruptive-risks-threaten-apples-empire/ Kono, P. M., & Barnes, B. (2010). The role of finance strategic-planning and decision-making process Lashinsky, Adam. (2012, Janurary 8). The secrets apple keeps. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2012/01/18/the-secrets-apple-keeps/ US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple Inc. 10-K Report, Rep. No. 10-K, at 91 (2013).