MSG Team's other articles

12315 How Algorithms Rule our Lives and What Businesses, Consumers, and Citizens can Do

How Algorithms Rule Our Lives and Whether That is Necessarily a Good Thing We live in the Age of the Machine and the Era of the Algorithm. Right from our news feeds on which we depend on to know what’s happening in the world around us that are curated by Algorithms, to the Social Media […]

10790 How to Prepare the Project Risk Assessment Matrix?

The Project Risk Assessment Matrix is one of the required documents to complete the Define phase of the DMAIC methodology. The procedure has been designed in such a way to ensure that people implementing the project have given a thought to what can possibly go wrong and begin thinking of mitigation plans. Here is a […]

10397 The Motorola Six Sigma Story – Birth of Six Sigma

No understanding of Six Sigma is complete without truly understanding where it came from – Motorola. The backdrop of the story shows how Six Sigma implementations changed the way Multi-National Corporations conducted operations worldwide. It started in 1981. Motorola like most American companies was reeling under the threat of Japanese competition. Recovering from World War-2, […]

9471 Develop a Goal Statement corresponding to the Problem Statement

A six sigma team is meant to concentrate on the solutions and not on the problems. It is for this reason that once the problem has been identified, it must be quickly turned in to a goal statement that will guide the execution of the project. What is a Goal Statement ? The Problem statement […]

12587 Business Process Reengineering and Best Practices

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) evolved almost at the same time i.e. 1st half of 1990. Both relates to radical redesign of an organization at a relatively short period. Both are having the primary intend to optimize workflow and improve productivity. But, the chicken and egg question remained, whether an organization […]

Search with tags

  • No tags available.

The Finance Certifier is the only member of the Six Sigma Project team apart from the Project Lead that is selected by the Project Champion. This is because, it is the Project Champions responsibility to ensure that the financials of the Project are absolutely unbiased. Of late, finance certifiers have come under a lot of fire. This is because there are criticisms that the supposed cost savings recorded by the project, never actually materialize and in many organizations Six Sigma has become a loss making affair.

From an organizational point of view, Finance Certifier is present to ensure that the resources of the organization which are sanctioned under the belief that they will help meet long term strategic goals are not wasted. The role of Finance Certifier has been elaborated as follows:

Stage at Which Required

The Finance Certifier is involved with the project at the very beginning in the “Define” stage. This is where the budget for the Project is being created. The Finance certifier must collaborate with the Project Lead to create a budget for projects as well as justify them with a cost/benefit analysis. Although the job is to collaborate with the Project Lead, the Finance Certifier must be as critical of the report as possible.

The Finance Certifier is then required towards the end of the Project. Participation is required to validate the expenses done and benefits realised from the Project. Indeed, it is the Finance Certifier that declares the project a success or a failure.

Job Description

  • The Finance Certifier is responsible for creating the budget for the project. This budget is the basis on which the Project Champion and the Project Lead negotiate with the top management for resources.

  • The Finance Certifier is responsible for conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the Project. The report submitted by the certifier attaches a financial value to the project. Only if the organization thinks that there are enough benefits to be reaped as resources allocated.

  • The Finance Certifier monitors the execution of the project to check if the resources are being utilised as per the plan. The Finance Certifier controls the expenditure on behalf of the Project Champion.

  • The Finance Certifier ends the project with the evaluation as to whether the goals that were set for the project have been met or not. This evaluation goes a long way in deciding whether the process will be declared a success or a failure.

Job Specification

  • The Finance Certifier needs to be well versed with the concept of costing and managerial accounting. Only this knowledge will help them to conduct a good cost-benefit analysis.

  • The Finance Certifier must understand processes and Six Sigma. This will help them empathise with the Project lead and decide whether the expenditure is justified.

  • The Finance Manager must be good at Variance Analysis. This will help them find out the real reason why expenditure has overshot (if it has) and avoid the same in the future.

Article Written by

MSG Team

An insightful writer passionate about sharing expertise, trends, and tips, dedicated to inspiring and informing readers through engaging and thoughtful content.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Six Sigma Project Team Members

MSG Team

Role of Project Champion in Six Sigma Project

MSG Team

Role of a Project Lead in a Six Sigma Project

MSG Team