Finance teams are usually measured on getting things right. Good finance OKRs keep accuracy and add speed and usefulness: a faster close, a forecast leaders trust, and cash that comes in on time. Here are three examples.
How to read these examples
Each OKR has an objective in plain words, key results with a start and a target, and the first tasks. The numbers are examples. Measure your own starting point before you set a target.
Example 1: Leaders get numbers they can act on
Objective: Leaders get numbers they can act on.
Key results by the end of the quarter:
- Days to close the books, from 10 to 6
- Forecast error at quarter end, from 12% to 5%
First tasks:
- List every step in the close with owners and times
- Move two manual reconciliations to automatic bank feeds
- Build a simple rolling forecast reviewed every month
Example 2: Cash comes in on time
Objective: Cash comes in on time.
Key results by the end of the quarter:
- Days sales outstanding (DSO), from 52 to 38
- Invoices over 60 days late, from 18 to 5
First tasks:
- Send invoices on the day work is accepted, not at month end
- Set up automatic reminders at 7, 14 and 30 days
- Call the ten largest late accounts personally
Example 3: Spending is clear and controlled
Objective: Spending is clear and controlled.
Key results by the end of the quarter:
- Spend with an approved budget owner, from 70% to 98%
- Software subscriptions with a named owner, from 40% to 100%
First tasks:
- Export every card and invoice payment from the last 90 days
- Assign an owner to each subscription and cancel unused ones
- Publish a one-page spend policy
Mistakes to avoid
- Accuracy only. Accurate numbers that arrive on day 15 are hard to use. Add a speed KR.
- KRs other teams control. Finance cannot make sales send invoices faster alone. Agree shared KRs, or choose what finance controls.
- Setting and forgetting. Check each key result every week, in five minutes, with a goal check-in.
Write your own
Describe what your finance team wants to change and any numbers you know. The OKR generator drafts an objective and key results you can edit.
Connect the goal to the work
Finance work runs on deadlines and handoffs from other teams. When the close tasks and their owners are linked to the close-time KR, the slow step is easy to see. M-Tracker links tasks and projects to objectives and key results, so you can see each week how much of the team's time goes to the goal. No screenshots and no activity tracking.
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Questions people ask
How many OKRs should one team have?
One to three objectives, each with two to four key results.
Should OKRs be tied to bonuses?
Most teams keep them separate. Tying them to pay makes people set safe goals.
What if we miss?
Scoring 0.7 on a stretch goal is a good quarter. Look at what you learned, and set the next one.
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