Business partnering shift - How do financial managers cope with paradoxes?

Abstract: This thesis examines which paradoxes finance functions face in a business partnering shift and how financial managers handle them. Drawing upon paradox theory and insights from a multiple case study on three listed Swedish large cap firms in different industries, we identify three main paradoxes: (1) control and collaboration, (2) dual community, (3) change and stability relating to digitalisation. Furthermore, this study contributes by finding that two main strategies are used by financial managers when coping with paradoxes, namely communication and engagement. These strategies are adopted for all of the three paradoxes, albeit in different ways. Moreover, we nuance the previously explored involvement-independence dilemma, and how it creates conflicting expectations on the role as well as a need to balance management accountants' belonging to both the group and divisional finance function. This is true for two of the case companies with a more complex organisational structure. Further, the empirics provide evidence of how a CFO's background can assist in changing the perception of others on the finance function. Finally, we find that the paradox of change and stability materialises in a similar way across the companies and that all use role models as a coping strategy.