1: Roles of the Finance Function

Question 1

organisation

Answer 1

a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and which has a boundary separating it from its environment
- boundaries can be physical or social

Question 2

private sector organisation

Answer 2

also called businesses, can be owned and operated by private individuals or institutions

Question 3

public sector organisations

Answer 3

usually owned by the State

Question 4

non-governmental organisations

Answer 4

private organisations that operate in the public sector by, for example, providing services to the community or protecting the environment

Question 5

vision

Answer 5

the desired future state of the organisation
- generally this will be high level and timeless

Question 6

mission

Answer 6

an expression of overall purpose and scope of the organisation in line with the values and expectations of stakeholders
- answers the question: what sort of business are we or do we want to be?

Question 7

objectives

Answer 7

specific targets that set and control the overall functioning and progress of the organisation

Question 8

digital world

Answer 8

increasing levels of digital technology in our everyday lives

data and information is collected, stored and communicated about organisations and individuals in many different ways, from computers, to smart phones and new digital technologies

Question 9

business environment

Answer 9

everything that surrounds an organisation, physically and socially

Question 10

technological connectedness

Answer 10

how data is created, stored, retrieved and synchronised

has caused the rules of business to change and become more dynamic

Question 11

corporate governance

Answer 11

system by which companies are directed and controlled

considers how directors can be held accountable to shareholders for their actions

Question 12

ethics

Answer 12

code of moral principles that people follow with respect to what is right or wrong

ethical principles are not necessarily enforced by law, although the law incorporates moral judgements (e.g. theft is wrong ethically, and is also punishable legally)

Question 13

corporate social responsibility

Answer 13

through a set of actions, which an organisation is not obliged to take, but takes them anyway for the wellbeing of stakeholders and the public

Question 14

corporate digital responsibility

Answer 14

expands the concept of social responsibility to cover data and digital devices