Our cash flow is struggling because client invoice collections are falling through the cracks. Our Finance seat says billing is an operations function, while our Operations seat says collecting money is a finance function. How do we cleanly assign accountability for collections on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When client collections fall through the cracks because of finger-pointing between Finance and Operations, you have a classic accountability gap. To resolve this, you must look at your Accountability Chart and define exactly who owns the ultimate result of getting paid, rather than who performs the administrative tasks.

Typically, the Finance seat must own the overall accounts receivable metric and the system for collections. This means Finance is accountable for issuing invoices on time, sending automated reminders, and tracking aging reports. However, the Operations seat or Sales seat often holds the primary relationship with the client. Therefore, the actual outreach to a delinquent client should be divided clearly.

A clean way to structure this is to make the Finance seat accountable for the system and the metrics, while assigning the role of client dispute resolution to the Operations or Sales seat. For example, if an invoice is thirty days past due, Finance flags it. If it reaches forty-five days because of a service quality issue, Operations must step in to resolve the dispute and secure the payment. The key is to document these specific roles clearly on your Accountability Chart so both seats know exactly where their hand-offs occur. This eliminates the gap and protects your cash flow.