What are the roles and responsibilities of a finance department

Nowadays the finance department of a firm has a broad range of roles to undertake inside and outside its business and carries large responsibilities especially in fields such as "Shareholder Value" which is increasingly gaining in importance.
The essay focuses on traditional responsibilities such as financial accounting, payroll, estimating and handling cash in- and outflow thus managing liquidity. The second part analyses the newer roles like management accounting, strategy involvement, management information systems, financial analysis and the broader range of responsibilities in the finance department. Finally, a review of the roles and responsibilities will be undertaken to evaluate the importance of the finance department.