Do you have to deal with an ocean of Excel spreadsheets filled with critical financial data but lacking checks or audit trails? Or reports that paint an inaccurate financial picture, leaving you unable to make informed decisions? If your finance team is struggling with outdated systems and cumbersome processes, it’s time to consider implementing a good EPM solution.

Unfortunately, many companies don’t even realise that they could achieve more efficient, streamlined financial operations. In fact, many businesses believe that their tried and tested solutions just need some improvements to make things run more smoothly, while others are unaware that their finance teams struggle with real challenges on a daily basis.

Here are some indicators that it’s time to change how you do things:

Spreadsheet hell

Excel was not designed with collaborative, real-time financial management in mind. An over-reliance on spreadsheets creates errors and inefficiencies, particularly with regards to the time wasted trying to manage multiple spreadsheets across a business.

Ineffective reporting

Manual reporting is not only time-intensive, it is often inaccurate and does not allow for the types of real-time updates that modern businesses require to stay ahead of competitors. Reports that offer anything less than real-time insights through visually appealing dashboards can compromise the entire decision-making process, ultimately achieving the opposite of what they are meant to achieve.

Data rich, information poor

The power of data in financial decision-making is undisputed. However, if teams are spending their days manually gathering data, the real power of that data is being wasted. With limited analytical insight, organisations can’t define and report on key success drivers and finance teams can’t monitor the business and optimise results in real-time.

However, with so many technologies and solutions available to finance teams, it can be hard to figure out what to implement, and when. Good EPM software can help streamline and automate all financial processes by enabling finance teams and business leadership to graduate from using simple spreadsheets to working collaboratively on a single platform, business-wide.

There are some things to look for when choosing the best EPM solution for your business:

Flexible and extensive reporting

Users from different departments, locations, and business lines should be able to gain access to core reports and robust dashboards that assist with reporting and analysis. Interactive dashboards should allow users to easily make changes to the interface to drill down and examine information across the entire organisation at the touch of a button.

Intelligent business support

The company’s business strategy should be fully supported by strategic initiatives, so organisations need solutions that are smart enough to make it easy for them to track the achievement of business objectives. From strategic planning, to compliance and governance, to forecasting, companies should be able to not only leverage the benefits of advanced analytics features, but to proactively incorporate AI into their financial processes to gain better insights.

Smart software

Organisations should be able to scale their business, adapting to new challenges and opportunities as they arise. The proper implementation of an EPM solution should easily meet the company’s current and future business and regulatory needs, adapting and scaling as the business changes. It goes without saying that the EPM system should integrate seamlessly with the company’s existing tools and technologies, enabling the business to clearly and accurately align its plans with execution and enable ongoing monitoring and adjustment as they progress.

Ultimately, an effective EPM solution should empower a business to enable more accurate and flexible financial management processes, freeing finance teams up to focus on generating the results modern organisations need to stay ahead of customer and competitor demands.