The role of the finance function is changing rapidly. Traditionally, finance’s role was to look back, reporting on past performance, but today, the business relies on financial data to plan for the future. With new demands for data insight, finance departments are now expected to evolve, harnessing technology to boost productivity, save time and drive ROI.
Finance teams now have to find more effective strategies for balancing old and new responsibilities. According to Gartner, the top trends in finance leadership align closely with organisational priorities. CFOs are under increased pressure to show profitable growth, so continued funding for technology investments (particularly AI) is a top CFO priority, the analysts say. Here are the trends that are helping finance leaders keep pace in a rapidly evolving environment.
The changing finance role
With CFOs more closely involved with boardroom level strategy than ever before, they are looking at various ways to move away from administrative and transactional tasks and towards digitally enabled strategy. In addition, the shift to remote work is helping the finance function transform how it operates. The changing role of finance is increasingly reliant on technology to augment the skills and expertise of finance professionals, leading to more efficient and accurate financial operations. From more virtual collaboration tools and technologies, to automation and AI, solutions like EPM platforms are helping finance teams deliver more substantial business value.
Stay flexible
Pressure is increasing to deliver great quality faster at a lower cost. People talk about continuous improvement, agile processes and short sprints, but most are too busy just getting the daily tasks done to truly stay flexible. An EPM project is a living and breathing thing, requiring constant updating to identify improvements and innovations. Cultivating a culture of flexibility doesn’t have to be hard. Breaking down projects into smaller, more manageable portions, combined with regular engagement across the entire team, can help drive the agility that will ensure a renewed focus and better outcomes.
Digitisation
Digitisation isn’t just a fleeting trend, but a fundamental change in how CFOs operate and add value to their organisations. Implementation of automation, workflow support, mobile technology, cloud computing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), cognitive computing, and blockchain are helping to revolutionise manual, time-intensive processes. This not only enables significant automation of business workflows, but can significantly amplify the impact of finance operations on the business.
Data and analytics
Organisations now understand the power of data insight and are increasingly putting it at the core of business-critical decision making. Nowhere is this more evident than in the finance department where investment and capital allocation is facing digital and analytical overhaul. In today’s fast-paced business environment, waiting until month-end to gauge performance is no longer viable, so CFOs are using real-time analytics to make quicker, more informed decisions. Finance functions are also adopting advanced analytics and data visualization tools to help transform raw numbers into an understandable narrative for stakeholders.
AI
AI is being integrated into finance processes for tasks such as risk detection, predictive analysis, and automating manual processes to review and approve financial transactions. The predictive power of AI makes it a potent tool for finance teams. In fact, when there has never been so much data available, and demand for prediction is on the rise, AI represents an opportunity to increase predictive capabilities while improving the reliability of projected scenarios.
Strategic partnerships
Partnerships with experts like Futuresense allow finance leaders to use these trends and technologies strategically. In the past, the driving force behind forming partnerships was to reduce expenses and enhance operational efficiency. However, many organisations have seen the value in collaborating with partners to integrate services that organisations cannot rapidly develop independently. This not only drives innovation, but helps fuel transformation, and propel growth.
