How to Overcome Analysis Paralysis

Analysis paralysis can be a big problem for executives who are not digitally proficient and able to use intelligent technologies to differentiate themselves from competitors. Trying to navigate the digital disruptions affecting every industry, company, and line of business is next to impossible for companies experiencing this paralysis. The cure for such paralysis is a digital transformation, which is fundamentally about creating better outcomes, better visibility, and the ability to be agile and deliver outcomes in a timely fashion. There are three practical tips to follow when turning digital transformation into a practical strategy for driving long-term growth.

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Why Intelligent Drivers Are Necessary in FP&A

“Intelligent drivers” are measurable business activities that directly link strategy to the organization’s short- and long-term goals. Business process goals and operational activities do not always line up with the organizational structure. Some have a one-to-one relationship, but others may go across multiple departments. Defining intelligent drivers may well lead to rethinking the way budgets are set and departmental performance monitored. Consequently, relationships should, where possible, be validated against both past behavior and assessed as to their accuracy in predicting the future. This is not something that will be exact or proven at first, but the point is to keep iteratively refining the measures by challenging management beliefs about organizational drivers, risk, value, and reward, and how your organization can better leverage them to drive success.

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Proprietary Software Solutions Are Helping Companies Dominate

Industry leaders are leveraging enterprise technology that enables the business to be more productive, profitable and innovative. The largest firms in the industry are capturing a greater share of the market then they used to, and research links this trend to software. Leveraging proprietary software pairs with other strengths to form competitive advantage is becoming the norm in today’s market. Proprietary software is providing some companies advantage and the full-stack model is dominating the software-vendor model. The result is that large firms are gaining market share and getting ahead of the competition.

Read More at The Harvard Business Review >

The Next Generation of Data Intelligence

Business leaders want the ability to access their data analytics at any moment to help them make critical business decisions. To accomplish this, they must refocus their data management and analytics technologies to provide their workforce with accessible and defined data that enables them to manipulate and exchange data among multiple applications for detailed views of the business. By addressing these critical needs, analytics can paint a detailed picture that allows decision makers to understand what’s happening in real time.

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Will Your Finance Systems Be Obsolete in 2019?

“Implementing ERP like it’s 1999 didn’t work then — and it’s definitely not working now.”

Too many companies have jumped blindly into their ERP implementations without a clear plan or organization. Traditional ERP implementations will continue to fade in 2019. More forward-leaning organizations are finding success focusing on true digital transformations. Instead of assuming that a single software solution or single vendor can deliver the breakthrough capabilities required for the future, more companies are finding value in integrating multiple systems to gain stronger insights into their business. The key to effective implementations is starting out with a clear digital strategy to help navigate through the options and find a solution best fit for the organization’s needs.

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Reduce Finance Risk by Reducing (or Eliminating) Use of Spreadsheets

“The trouble with spreadsheets is that they put a lot of responsibility in the hands of the user.”

Spreadsheets are everywhere, and it makes sense why- they are familiar and inexpensive. However, a problem arises when businesses start relying on spreadsheets for important decision making because they leave a lot of room for human error. Better alternatives are available- new analytics technologies enable businesses to have greater control over calculations and the movement of information, and many provide audit trails to document exactly what did, and did not, go into any given analysis. Most render it impossible for users to mess up the formulas.

Read More at Forbes Magazine >

The Rule of Finance Transformation: No Pain, No Gain

It is clear to many business leaders that in order to remain competitive in today’s business climate, they must increase their economic value by re-evaluating their strategy, business model, and financial operations. Business transformations are all about trying to change the way you do business whether on a global, enterprise-wide scale or one that’s more limited. With any kind of transformation, there will be a significant learning curve for the entire organization. Whether because of competitive pressures, technology, new regulatory requirements, or other changes, many organizations must initiate costly, painful transformations. However, with the right approach, it will be worth it.

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Why You Need a “Last-Mile” Data Management Solution

“When it comes to operationalizing customer lifecycle processes supported by enterprise software, many organizations struggle to meet the unique needs of different business units. A centralized, one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it, and individual groups increasingly need to augment core system data to meet specific customer needs.”

When this happens, users typically resort to spreadsheets. But spreadsheet-based processes are far from scalable. They’re insecure, inconsistent, and ill-suited for complex data structures. They take data outside of the core system and make reporting difficult if not impossible.

The solution: fully integrated, end-to-end visibility software.

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The Right Technology Can Enable Agility in Your Organization

Data analytics and agility are the top two trends impacting CFO’s longer-term business strategy. Across the board, studies are showing that the role of finance leaders has evolved considerably over the past five years alone. Even as they are asked to do more with less, finance leaders must demonstrate great agility in finding new ways to manage their workload, while still offering data-driven insight that helps grow the business. In this landscape of increased responsibility and changing priorities, success is dependent on accurate, real-time data that is easily accessible, and business process excellence embedded in technology that enables leadership to change direction as quickly as possible.

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