As Finance functions evolve to meet the changing business needs, many organizations are undertaking transformation initiatives to improve performance, drive efficiencies and optimize costs, leading to tangible ROI from Finance. Organizations that aspire to be competitive need the right blend of talent and technology solution stack capable of meeting their changing needs. Inefficiently structured finance functions and lack of buy-in from key stakeholders have been major obstacles for organizations as they strive toward improving performance, driving efficiencies and optimizing costs.

Weak response to unforeseen market developments, inefficiencies arising from sub-optimal technology stack, and a lack of a single source for data are some of the challenges that drive the need to transform your finance function. A combined technology and functional model solution that is custom-built for your business is pivotal and become a go-to Business Partner. Some of the key trends in our view include: Advanced Analytics and Business Intelligence offer Finance with the insights needed to be a true business partner using cutting edge techniques like Machine Learning.

For instance, Extended Planning & Analysis (XP&A) takes the best Finance's FP&A capabilities and extends them across functions like Sales, HR, Operations through a holistic thinking mindset. Rolling forecasts and continuous planning help reduce uncertainty and increase agility. And, Driver-based planning and Zero based budgeting are resetting Finance on the right path of value creation by identifying key business drivers.

Businesses need the right talent and team which understands both functional needs and technology solutions to support in implementation and know how best to deliver on expectations.

Advanced Analytics and Business Intelligence, Data Consolidation and Single source of Truth and Low Code/ no code solutions combined with Robust Financial Planning Practices might just be the answer.

If you are a business leader or a CFO and looking to generate better ROI from Finance, do take a look at our most recent publication on how you can go about your own transformation journey.

Click here