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time to shut it down. It’s important to
Experimentation risk remember that “success” may not
necessarily be tangible or financial. It
While companies focus a great deal of energy on risk management, successful may, of course, mean meeting a set ROI;
intrapreneurship requires the freedom to experiment — and potentially fail. creating a new product, service line, or
“Intrapreneurial projects by their nature are riskier,” said Donny Shimamoto, division; or developing a new prototype.
CPA/CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC On the other hand, a project may be
considered a win if it simply instils an
in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the US. For intrapreneurship to work, businesses need to entrepreneurial mindset within the team
realise that it can’t be held to the same standards and expectations as other or throughout the culture. In either case,
projects or operations because doing so may hinder its success. Instead, finance finance can help companies gain more
teams can counsel businesses on how best to ensure that any failures don’t have from a project by quantifying what it was
an inordinate impact on the overall organisation, he said. meant to achieve and how well it did.
Too much emphasis on minimising risk or conformity can be damaging. As one Even when a project has not been
example of what can go wrong, Shimamoto pointed to a US CPA firm that started a successful, those involved can be
bookkeeping practice as a separate intrapreneurial entity within the larger firm. In celebrated and made into coaches who
a positive step, the bookkeeping practice was given its own separate brand, train others on intrapreneurship,
operating procedures, and technology stack. However, some of the firm’s partners Goldstein suggested. The aim should be
insisted that the bookkeeping business should have the same margins and some of to underscore the importance of creative
the same operating policies as the larger firm. That became a problem because the thinking and to leverage the experience
bookkeeping business was more forward-thinking, used a digital-first approach, the intrapreneurs have gained.
and wanted to take more reasonable risks than the parent firm might have done, he Staying on course
said. Feeling stifled and unable to innovate, the managers of the bookkeeping Of the 2,200 companies that have been in
business finally left the firm and started their own successful practice. the Fortune 500 since its inception in
The finance team can help educate intrapreneurs on compliance and risk 1955, only 49 have remained on the list
concerns at the outset. The project will have a better chance of success if every year since then, according to the
intrapreneurs are aware of these issues. “Intrapreneurship is not an excuse for magazine. Innovation and new revenue
circumventing risk guidelines,” suggested Andrew Goldstein, partner, Deloitte streams are critical to ongoing corporate
Digital GmbH in Munich. success. The contributions that finance
Businesses should be aware of the risk if they don’t have an intrapreneurship can make are crucial to the success of
programme, because it can mean losing proactive, creative people. Even worse, intrapreneurial efforts as well as the
because these “dreamers” may prefer working within a large corporate company’s overall health.
environment, they may jump over to the competition if their current employer According to Ndlovu, finance can help
doesn’t allow for creativity, Goldstein said. with maintaining solid and consistent
“Not every idea will be a success, or there may not be an immediate payback on records that give the intrapreneurship
the investment,” said Paul Gardner, ACMA, CGMA, the CEO of Fresh Accounting in team a solid foundation for budgeting
Hong Kong. “But in order for companies to continually develop, they have to keep and planning, as well as identifying and
investing in new ideas.” communicating cash flow projections.
Finance is also well positioned to help
intrapreneurs track financial
performance against planned objectives,
Manage expectations recommended that organisations follow manage tax considerations, and provide
To help manage and set realistic a stage gate approach, in which the guidance on making smart budgetary
expectations, finance can educate project is divided into funding adjustments.
management and the intrapreneurial milestones. The phases should mirror the “Finance experts pave the road to
team on how these efforts differ from organisation’s fiscal year, he advised. financial stability,” Ndlovu said. They can
typical corporate initiatives. For example, Proper milestones and monitoring help intrapreneurship teams develop a
intrapreneurial projects typically see may be forgotten in some companies. road map, overcome unexpected
their best returns in the medium term or “Too often organisations fund these challenges, and make smart decisions
long term, Shimamoto said, while the projects and just let them go on their own that benefit the business. ■
organisation may be focused instead on without checking on their progress to see
getting a short-term return on its if continued investment is warranted or if
investment. The finance team can a project should be cancelled,”
provide forecasts on the return horizon Shimamoto said. Anita Dennis is a freelance financial
and identify nonfinancial metrics that writer based in the US. To comment on
can be used to show progress or Determine what success looks like this article or to suggest an idea for
continued potential for return. From the beginning, businesses should another article, contact Oliver Rowe at
When it comes to funding an decide how and when a project will be Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.
intrapreneurial project, Goldstein considered successful or when is the

14 I FM MAGAZINE I December 2022