It's hard to believe, but the worst discipline in the company is Finance. Because these elitists have not been communicating with you mushrooms, here's what's been getting on.
Early 2015: leadership realizes they have no control over COST effort and could be hurt a lot. So they hatch a plan to do their own, and immediately layoff anyone in Finance with a 4 or 5 rating preemptively so they report "we have already given" and make no changes.
Summer 2015: given assurances of balance sheet and NCF strength the company raises the dividend. Only 5 people in Finance can accurately understand NCF and Balance sheet accounting and they are ignored.
September 2015 Finance reductions minor.
December 2015 our leader says the dividend will not be cut and is sancrosanct.
January 2016 the dividend is slashed based on 13th plan revision but more importantly 4th quarter actuals.
Heads must roll for dividend cut so a plan is hatched: current CFO is severed with 7 figure package by eliminating an ELT position. No one in Finance is deemed competent so other EVP gets combined job and gets SGL promotion so now all ELT EVP's have same SGL.
Company decides cuts not enough after dividend reduction so announces new reduction plan.
At Finance cuts decision meeting, instructions are given: anyone about to retire is not to be severed, any employee who volunteered for EOI with a recent 1 or 2 rating will not be given severance, any Hi-Pot that volunteered for EOI is to be removed from the Hi-Pot list.
End of 2016: only two employees left who can forecast balance sheet accounting and NCF and these two are not listened to.
Early 2017: despite Disposition proceeds, 4th quarter actuals balance sheet and NCF continue negative constant plan revisions. Another "volunteer" severance request goes out to selected employees with disappointing response.
1st quarter earnings release includes $200 million currency hedging loss.
One day after Earnings Release Finance admits they messed up and should have include GoM loss previously described as an exceptional world-class discovery.
Consultants are brought in for benchmarking because 3 previous "sustainable" reductions were not enough.
What's next?