Why Finance is Fit to Lead the Way for Transformation

With growing threats in today’s economy and increasing regulatory expectations, businesses are looking to finance leaders to support decision-making.

Covid-19 has reshaped the way businesses think about planning.

With expectations for faster forecasts and insights mounting, transformation projects that improve planning, scenario modeling and forecasting need to be prioritised as business-critical rather than nice to have. Having these insights will strengthen internal business partnerships as well as support business strategy conversations.

Despite the apparent shift to more forward-looking tasks in the finance function, the coronavirus has forced a large majority of CFOs to put off or change their plans for innovation projects. According to a Grant Thornton CFO Survey in May of this year, eight out of 10 surveyed finance executives had delayed or reshaped innovation projects. The remaining two out of 10 reported that the crisis had accelerated their transformation projects.

Why business agility is more important than ever

As the country faces further lockdowns, there is an increased focus on agility.

Business agility is the ability of an organisation to: Adapt quickly to market changes – internally and externally. Respond rapidly and flexibly to customer demands. Adapt and lead change productively and cost-effectively without compromising quality.

It is difficult to respond rapidly and plan for various scenarios without access to real-time data. Legacy systems and broken data models impact business agility and can become a roadblock to change if not addressed.

Forward-looking businesses are adapting their operating model to the new world of work, what this looks like we don’t fully know but being able to drive performance improvements, test and measure effectively and accurately across the business is key to survival.

Why the hesitancy to get started with Finance Transformation?

The current pandemic is forcing organisations to respond and adapt rapidly to become digital-first. Pushing quicker, strategic decisions and increasing business appetite to introduce new technologies and ways of working. Incredibly, Microsoft has seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in just two months, according to CEO Satya Nadella (Source: Microsoft) demonstrating where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Despite finance leaders understanding the need to improve their business operations, not all companies have experience in introducing process change or even know where to start. Lack of expertise, hesitancy from cost constraints, reluctance to move out of comfort zones and lack of company-wide buy-in are often obstacles in successfully introducing change in a business.

After all, it’s not just about finding the right technology solution and a way of implementing it; the world has shifted and reimagining your business operations with fresh eyes is required. Having a skilled task force to help you deliver on your objectives can help you move out of stuck quickly and effectively.