What Sets Modern Finance Teams Apart from The Competition?

What sets modern finance teams apart from their competition? The short answer: their cost management methodology.

“Using cost management as a strategic lever, as opposed to a defensive response, creates new opportunities. It is no longer a reactive tool. It is a proactive way to become more competitive in the global environment.”

Modern finance leaders have transformed not only the way they view their costs, but also how their costs operate within their overall finance strategy. The biggest difference between finance teams with this viewpoint and those that are still struggling to understand their cost is that they are using new technologies and thinking outside the box. They use new tools, new techniques, completely new cost structures that not only reduce costs, but also free up money for growth.

Read More at Knowledge @ Wharton >

Smart Automation: The Framework for Dynamic Digital Operations

The Hackett Group defines smart automation as “the optimization of structured work, knowledge work, and interaction work through the adoption of emerging robotic process automation (RPA), smart data capture, conversational interfaces, cognitive automation, and agile orchestration technologies.”

For finance, this means applying new technologies to improve effectiveness, efficiency, and user/customer experience, while providing operational insights. Because digital transformation and innovation are disrupting the way businesses operate and increasing competition, smart automation solutions are an important part of the finance function’s future.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

Cost Management Isn’t Only About Costs

“Not long ago, companies thought cost management was about reducing expenses. The notion then evolved and was viewed as a way to manage costs while also driving growth. Now, cost management is advancing further. Business leaders see it as a strategic initiative that is part of a larger transformation process.”

Modern businesses’ focus on cost management has shifted from cost reduction to cost transformation. The cost-to-transform method is about managing cost structures along with revenue growth and changing product and services offerings, all while focusing on growth. In this “save to transform” mode that many businesses are in, technology is making a huge play.

Read More at Knowledge @ Wharton >

Digital Technologies Are Re-Imagining Financial Reporting Capabilities

Many finance leaders see their reporting practices as a monotonous task that requires many charts and spreadsheets that show several different versions of how the business is performing. A Deloitte survey reported that the majority of finance leaders spend almost half of their time creating and updating reports, and only 18% communicating results to the business. While some companies are using standardization to gain efficiency and insights quickly, many are applying point solutions to traditional reporting processes to help improve specific capabilities. A handful of digital technologies are providing modern businesses with a fully-automated end-to-end reporting process that makes real-time insights accessible.

Read More at The Wall Street Journal >

How Agile Technology Drives Supply Chain Innovation

Change and uncertainty are inevitable in manufacturing. While effective production planning can support manufacturing processes, there will always be uncontrollable factors that are difficult to manage. Manufacturers are dealing with an increased pressure to meet customer demands quicker and more cost-effectively. Visibility of where manufacturers are within the production process is a key driver and control for an organization. Companies that have a detailed overview of every step of the production process are enabling machine integration with business applications. Without this integration, there is potential for reduced machine utilization, less effective enterprise resource planning, reduced consistency in product quality, and failures in many business performance fundamentals. The right technology enables agile and responsive supply chain management.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

Three Ways CFOs Can Be a Catalyst For Change

Largely driven by advancements in technology, today’s corporate finance leaders are expected to work more collaboratively with functional areas in their companies and are well-positioned to positively support enterprise-wide performance and strategy. In order to influence business outcomes, CFOs need to be a catalyst for change by playing a much bigger role in shaping corporate strategy, implementing key initiatives, and providing data, guidance and insight.  Modern finance leaders are driving performance in three areas – operations, technology, and talent – and can impact all areas of the business as they continue evolving from finance and accounting managers to strategic business partners.

Read More at CFO Magazine >

Four Traits of Effective Finance Leaders

“CFOs are expected to wear many hats: Strategic partner, relationship builder, change agent and technology champion. But ultimately, a CFO’s top priority is to ensure sustained financial performance for the organization.”

CFOs are under increasing pressure to do it all. To become more effective in their position, they must align their efforts with their organizations’ highest priorities and become personally effective at facilitating change and shaping their company’s strategy. This means finance leaders need to focus on fewer things, even as the organization makes more demands on their time. According to Gartner, “A CFO’s personal effectiveness is measured by their performance against their CEO’s financial expectations and how well their organization exhibits “efficient growth” behaviors.”

Gartner found that personally effective CFOs follow four common practices.

Read More at Smarter with Gartner >

Re-imagine the Finance Function with Intelligent Technology

The CFO’s role is evolving, and intelligent technology is helping them work more efficiently and add greater value to the businesses. Intelligent technologies are no longer just a “nice to have” pipe dream; they’re a business reality that is changing how organizations function. Through an intelligent finance operating model, CFOs can help transform the finance function; moving from transactional and reactive to proactive and strategic. This isn’t just about achieving operational excellence, but reshaping the way businesses fundamentally work and engage with technology. CFOs are now able to overcome the burden of manual, time-consuming accounting and reporting by implementing intelligent finance applications and processes enterprise-wide to improve efficiency and free up time for more strategic tasks.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

The Three E’s of Strategic Finance

Finance must be an integral part of the strategic process, and successful engagement in business strategy requires finance professionals to play key roles—and often lead the process—in three specific ways: education, evaluation, and execution. Education is a key element in strategic finance because it is the bridge between data and insights. Reporting doesn’t always lead to understanding, and sharing information doesn’t always result in actionable insights. In today’s organizations, proactive education about how finance can and should influence business decisions is essential to strategic success. Evaluation involves finance’s analysis of the present reality and possible future. Finance provides future operational plans, capital project analysis, financial markets planning, and execution. Every business strategy relies on timely insights that shape business growth. Finally, execution is the orientations and skills finance professionals possess that are critical to lead strategic execution. Investors who want to diversify their assets and save for their children’s future may explore the website of The Children’s ISA.

 Read More at Strategic Finance Magazine >