The challenge for any leader moving into a new organization is to hit the ground running, quickly bringing value to the business that he or she is supporting. In no field is this more true than in corporate finance, where pressure to reduce costs is high and management tenure increasingly short.

It is imperative that you start with a clear vision of a finance team that is involved in your business and engaged in key management decisions. You need to communicate this vision to both the team and the key stakeholders outside of the finance team. Your vision will be used to develop, implement and measure the success of specific objectives and tactics during the execution of the rest of this process.

This article has been excerpted from the Journal of Accountancy. Read the full article here.