Download this report to learn more about nine key changes identified in this research that have started to transform the finance function of today, and five actions finance professionals at all levels can take to prepare themselves for tomorrow’s career.
Published By: Sage EMEA
Published Date: Nov 05, 2018
This report was produced specifically for the UK and Ireland (UK/I) region and is based on data gathered from real-world business leaders explaining how they perform tasks on a daily basis. In the report, we will look at how business managers can step up from the operational tasks and focus on work that will propel their business forward.
We will:
• Touch on the priorities of what we could be termed 'accelerated business leader's': those decision makers leading their industries forward in a way that harnesses emerging technologies and agile new ways of working.
• Examine key factors that hold businesses back and limit business growth.
• Explore the technologies that can drive operational agility and scale.
Finance teams are working harder than ever before. CFOs today shape strategy across their organization, driving long-term growth and performance. But some do it better than others, and new research explains why.
As more and more data pours into the office of the CFO, experts say, minimizing its complexity and maximizing its usefulness becomes critical. “The amount of data is phenomenal,” says Mr. Whitehead of Airbus Defence and Space, “but what’s worse is the lack of harmonization. Unstructured data is what kills you. The key for me is how to have clear data in a usable and consistent form, which can be turned into succinct information the business can look at, understand where the value chain is, and make decisions.”
According to the report, Benchmarking the Accounting Function 2015, only 56% of companies currently use automation to reconcile accounts. While many finance leaders want to change the process of reconciliation, the task can seem overwhelming.
However, developing a plan does not have to be complicated or time-consuming – and the benefits far outweigh the risks. A smooth, stress-free financial close adds qualitative value to the company by freeing employees to focus on strategic initiatives and ways to grow business.
A CFO’s Guide to Transforming the Financial Close shares how to build a center of excellence to streamline reconciliation so you can align objectives to overall business goals. Leading-edge automation tools can stop the madness of shuffling papers, sorting emails and searching spreadsheets, turning the reconciliation process from a cost center to a value-add for the company.
While being the backbone of many organization’s Offices of Finance and Accounting, it is now commonly acknowledged that this overreliance on Excel spreadsheets coupled with the lack of visibility associated with its use represents a very real risk. With automation available to improve both process efficiency and effectiveness, the challenge many companies face isn’t why they should transform their process but how.
The key to overcoming this challenge is creating a strong business case for investment. One that not only sets out the objectives of the project but is also underpinned by a robust financial analysis, in the form of qualitative and quantitative ROI, and a thorough understanding of risk.
Over the past few years, terms such as: ‘Modern Finance,’ ‘Continuous Accounting’ and ‘Robotic Process Automation’ have all created buzz across the finance industry. These have been launched as a response to the challenges facing finance around attracting and retaining high quality employees, the rising risks due to the difficulty in certifying accurate data, today, and the expectation that finance has a role in driving the business forward.
Published By: BlackLine
Published Date: Feb 26, 2018
If you’re in the middle of a finance transformation initiative, then you’re not alone. Leaders at enterprise and mid-size finance and
accounting organizations alike are reviewing their current processes, technology, and talent, to build their blueprints for change. With the rise of broader digital transformation projects, finance organizations are first looking to upgrade their own operating models. The truth is that finance transformation is a journey, not a destination. Many finance organizations have already embarked on it, driving down costs, whether through enhancing shared services centers, or applying more centralization, standardization, and automation. Yet for many, the greater opportunities lie ahead: providing better insight to the broader organization, shedding low-value workloads that hold the team back, and revamping ingrained legacy accounting tasks that create risk. Wherever you are today, there are real opportunities to move the dial away from the status quo.
Published By: MineralTree
Published Date: Jan 23, 2018
In today’s world of constant technological advances, automation has become the norm in most areas of business. To stay ahead of the competition and drive growth more quickly, savvy businesses are using automation as a way to stand out. Herein lies the concept that automation is not only a priority but also a strategic advantage to your business. Find out why leading finance executives are making accounts payable automation a priority.
Published By: Winshuttle
Published Date: Aug 17, 2017
Automation is not only a positive disruptive force for finance teams, but also a benefit to other departments as the savings trickle throughout the business. Here are five ways that automation can drive value across the entire company.
Download this paper written by BPM partners to see how the 'last mile' has become a very complex and challenging process for companies and their CFO's and the strategic need to automate the controls around these processes.
Published By: BlackLine
Published Date: Jun 15, 2016
Finance is shifting from traditional rigid and manual accounting processes to more automated, more flexible, and more agile cloud based systems. This shift is essential, because it provides the productivity benefits so that finance can focus more on reporting and analyzing financial performance. Download this eBook, “The Modern Approach to Closing the Books” to learn a new approach to the Record-to-Report processes - an approach in which automation, controls and period-end tasks are embedded within daily activities allowing for; more balanced workloads, time freed for analysis, current – not out of date – results, and Finance to better align with business operations.
This quick guide will help you get inside the heads of your CEO, head of Finance, and head of IT and craft a persuasive argument to convince them about the value of Marketing Automation.
Now is the time for the finance organization to step up to the challenges and become a strategic business partner in the deployment of profitability analysis across the enterprise. This requires a fundamental shift—in terms of both vision and execution. Tomorrow’s winners will be the ones that are not content simply to survive this economic onslaught, but work to emerge nimble enough to thrive. Profitability analysis is critical in this context.
Read this whitepaper to learn more about profitability analysis and its benefits.
Profitability analysis is important to all companies. But in times of economic uncertainty, it becomes even more critical because organizations need a comprehensive and forwardlooking view of profitability to ensure that they can remain financially viable, whatever the economic circumstances. For companies to be successful, they need automated systems that enable interactive profitability analysis that can be shared across a broad swath of users. They also need robust, advanced analytics, to provide detailed granular metrics for assessing profitability and measuring performance. IBM offers solutions that can meet those needs.
When an unpredictable economy brings sudden shifts in revenues, costs, and profits, Software solutions can give Finance the ability to anticipate and adapt. But Finance needs the help of IT. Specifically, Finance needs the help of inspiring IT Managers who can lay out the roadmap that will take Finance from the automation of discrete processes to the broader task of transforming the business to compete successfully in a challenging global economy.
Read the white paper‚ Building a Business Case for AP Automation: How to Propel Your Project to the Top of the List‚ to discover how AP automation creates benefits for the entire business such as:
• Cost savings due to fewer manual processing tasks and less IT requirements
• Complete visibility and control thanks to customizable dashboards and metrics
• Faster payment cycles with the ability to capture more early payment discounts
• Improved employee productivity and supplier satisfaction
Read the new independent research report from Ardent Partners, ePayables 2015: State of the Market Report.
Drawing on the feedback of hundreds of AP and finance professionals, this unique report offers a comprehensive snapshot into what’s happening in AP, including insights on:
• How the role of AP is continuously evolving
• Key drivers that shape AP leaders’ plans and priorities
• How automation technology is impacting AP
• Operational benchmark statistics and recommended strategies
Read this analyst white paper to identify key strategies and capabilities for effective multi-author, recurring narrative reporting and disclosure management.
In today’s highly competitive business environment, many organizations are expanding through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Unfortunately, success comes at a cost. Growth via M&A activity often involves absorbing disparate ERP applications, which, over time, can create significant inefficiencies — particularly in the accounts payable (AP) department. The good news is, AP automation is emerging as an end-to-end solution that forward-thinking organizations can use to eliminate AP-related silos and maximize their market potential.
Businesses with a complex ERP environment have several choices when it comes to AP automation solutions.
This white paper is intended to assist AP and finance leaders, along with ERP system administrators, in evaluating their options, simplifying the decision-making process, and getting the absolute most out of their AP automation investment.
