Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series on the power of technology-driven workflow processes and how the accounting profession is making them work.
The accounting profession has always strived to maintain high standards of precision, but as global business complexity grows, so does the need for technology-driven workflow processes that support that endeavor. Paving the way to a culture of precision requires fostering an environment where decisiveness and confidence in planning is possible.
This means collaborative, cross-organization planning that mirrors the unique contours of the business so you can plan for opportunities, react quickly to changes, and uncover what you didn’t know was possible.
Why precision matters
Aside from the obvious, precision is more important than ever given the massive amounts of data generated every day. According to the World Economic Forum, 463 exabytes of data will be created online daily by 2025.
To give it some context, an exabyte is 1,000 bytes to the sixth power. 463 exabytes is the equivalent of creating 212,765,957 DVDs per day. Being able to extract the value hidden in this data will require the right solutions.
Turning that data into actionable insights also requires a technological solution that can provide a single source of truth. Data flowing cross-departmentally from HR to sales to operations to the Office of Finance requires advanced collaboration in order to create more confidence in the overall budgeting, forecasting and planning processes.
Finance professional as strategic business partner and the rise of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
The days of musty logbooks and accounting spreadsheets are long over. With real-time access to data and a clear overview of actuals, the accountant’s role has shifted from generating reports to generating value across the enterprise as a strategic business partner.
Based on an FP&A business model, the finance professional now has the opportunity to optimize the use of capital and resources by supporting business decisions.
Finance professionals have, in some way, always been the steward of company capital by shouldering the responsibility of financial controls and reporting, ensuring adequate capital flows, and deploying capital for the best long-term return. But what has specifically changed is the array of new technology available to augment that role.
These new capabilities for finance have led to new operating models that rely on a team of value-focused finance practitioners expanding opportunities for the enterprise. Better data management and collaborative tools remove the burden of gathering and preparing data, and provide more time for analysis, insight and recommendations.
This shift to value-focused finance places a strong emphasis on financial planning and analysis (FP&A). More than simply a box to tick off on enterprise organization charts, FP&A brings this vision into reality.
Creating a data-driven culture
Modern FP&A is clearly reliant on a data-driven culture that has emerged with technological advances. Technology is both the origin and the perpetuator of this trend. Accountants share a unique position at the forefront of this evolution.
Building a data-driven culture requires a collaborative mindset on all levels of the organization. It is based on the principles of organizing and sharing information, focusing on planning and forecasting and easing workflow processes.
The pandemic has underscored the evolving role of the accountant as a value partner who informs how the business operates beyond the numbers. In order to add value, the Office of Finance must understand the business drivers operating behind the scenes. It is not about becoming tech-dependent, but about leveraging its ability to accelerate processes with precision.
With this knowledge, finance professionals are able to understand how modern forecasting, planning and budgeting can increase value across the enterprise.
While executive buy-in is an essential component to building collaboration, one of the greatest obstacles for businesses today is fragmented data stuck in departmental silos without automated processes to keep decision-makers informed in real time.
The second part of this series will address the power of automation and how accountants can leverage it to increase efficiency and effectiveness in their workflow to anticipate, shape, and achieve every important outcome related to current and future business performance.
Florian Winterstein, CEO at Jedox, is an expert on fast-growing SaaS/PaaS organizations with a career spanning more than 20 years in management and leadership of software and consulting companies and knows how to provide high-quality solutions. Serving board of directors at other globally recognised cloud vendors and as former chief strategy officer (CSO) of the BravoSolution Group, he brings comprehensive expertise in digitalization, business transformation, growth strategies and organizational development. Previously, he played a central role at international companies such as Lufthansa, Allianz, Vodafone and ThyssenKrupp. At Jedox he contributes his experience to further expand the internationalization and leading market position of the company.
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