Reading this morning’s papers, it’s clear that there’s no shortage of points of view regarding the historic financial reforms Congress approved yesterday. While the reforms have arguably pumped up the Federal Reserve’s power to regulate – stirring the smoldering ambers of late-20th-century political debate – one immediate consequence should be the entrenchment of finance professionals along the front lines of industry for years to come.

Or, we should say, “further entrenchment.” For it was the financial crisis and the response that followed that granted finance entry to industry’s outer perimeter where sales executives drive and close deals. It’s where business is … well, business. And where seldom a discouraging word was welcome. Hence finance professionals have historically been kept at bay as they paid for the sins of their predecessors — the greenshade, “gotcha” guys of yesterday.

The crisis and now the reforms have changed all that. Had the economic climate returned to growth (via yet another bubble) finance may have been handed a return ticket. However, the recovery’s uneven meter has chastened those who once fearlessly preached that with every downturn comes an upturn.

The immediate response to the reforms will be business decisions about whether compliance with the new regulations calls for higher banking fees. In recent years, finance has proven itself an effective communicator when it comes to illuminating the cost of capital in the common business equation. While an impact on the cost of capital remains to be seen, the most immediate consequence of financial reform is arguably one more veneer of economic uncertainty — a development that should further secure the role of finance in business decision-making along the front lines. ###