Ignorance is No Longer Bliss for the Businesses Who Ignore Spreadsheet Risk

The urgency of modern data management is increasing for most organizations, yet many struggle with size and complexity and are uncertain about where and how to get started.  Data that is properly governed, timely, secure, and trustworthy lays the foundation that enables the entire organization to leverage the data for valuable insights. However, many C-level executives still make important business decisions based on spreadsheet data alone, which in turn exposes them to major financial risk. With limited tracking and security options, spreadsheets are a tailor-made environment for errors that can go forever undetected. This means that business leaders are running scenarios, calculating costs, and producing reports that are being used to make important decisions with the wrong information. To be successful and ultimately profitable, these businesses must reduce dependence on spreadsheets and invest in a robust and integrated system that can  turn data into answers. 

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Modern CFOs Are Leading the Charge to Improve Cost Management Outcomes

“CFOs can improve savings programs with the right architecture and information systems in place.”

In the past, the focus of cost management strategies has been on saving and cost-cutting to fund growth and profitability. Traditional approaches to cost management were streamlining business processes, reducing external spend, improving policy compliance and integrating organizational structure. Although relying on tactical improvements to achieve strategic-level cost targets is likely the primary reason many cost programs haven’t been successful, there are other significant barriers as well.

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Deloitte’s 2019 Global Cost Survey found that many cost management programs fail because they lack the proper architecture― outdated ERP systems, disparate legacy tools and poorly structured cost management programs. Armed with intelligent technologies and a forward-thinking mindset, leading CFOs are shifting their focus to fund the digital transformation needed to develop the agile business models that position companies to grow in digitally disrupted markets.

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Navigating the Cost Stages of Your Business

“Transformative companies know that having access to accurate cost information is more than just a novel exercise, but the insights can drive real competitive advantages.”

In business and in life, every single decision comes at a cost. Fully understanding each cost associated with a choice is a critical activity for any company looking to compete and grow. Cost stages in a business are like life stages – as you grow, you must refine each step in the process to thrive. Each stage requires different tools and capabilities designed to handle everything from minor bumps and bruises to major interventions. To make better business decisions, finance leaders must first improve the way they leverage their cost data to propel long-term, sustainable growth.

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What Makes a Strategic CFO?

Strategic CFOs harness the power of technology to understand the “why” behind their numbers and use that information to solve complex business challenges faster. They possess the skills to manage rapidly changing technological processes, and they keep up with the ever-changing business landscape of their competitors. As innovations like AI and predictive analytics become more prevalent in finance, successful leaders must ensure their teams build a new skill set – met decision making. Modern CFOs help drive the direction and success of their organization and ensure business decisions are based on solid financial data.

Read More at Forbes Magazine >

Success is Utilizing the Right Data – Not Just Owning It

“No matter how much data is fed to machine learning and predictive analytics tools, the key is deciding which outputs are useful and how to act on them.”

When it comes to implementing new technologies, many businesses go through what Gartner calls a “hype cycle”- where the initial implementation is a period of inflated expectations that  becomes a “slope of enlightenment” once people begin to find practical uses for the technology, and finally develops into an extended “plateau of productivity”, where the actual value of the tool is realized. Today, technology itself will not provide a competitive advantage. How a business leverages their tools to gain meaningful business insight and what they do with that knowledge will define their success. With the rise of digital transformation and innovation, beating out competitors will come down to visibility, judgement, knowledge, strategy and approach.

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How Mill Companies Use Cost Visibility to Fuel Process Optimization

The rise of digital transformation has shaken the foundation of even the most stable businesses. Like most industries, success for mill products businesses comes down to data. From manufacturing and production to finance and procurement, decision-makers must evaluate all transactional and related data to truly understand what’s going on. However, few ever truly understand how deeply the business will be affected by changes or future events as long as their accounts receivable and payable requests, shop floor and manufacturing transactions, and sales orders remain in disparate applications and organizational silos. Without an accurate view of changes in supply chain costs, raw material inventory, and order rates, decision-makers cannot safeguard top priorities such as revenue growth, optimization of operating margins, and cost reduction. Throughout mill operations, there’s always a variety of things occurring, transpiring, and transferring simultaneously. And for this reason alone, acquiring immediate insight to sense, analyze, and respond to emerging shifts should always be a priority.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

CFOs Can Work Smarter, Not Harder with Intelligent Technologies

“To achieve better collaboration across the business, financial leaders acknowledge the value of new technologies such as cloud-based applications, data analytics, and machine learning. These intelligent technologies have the potential to automate back-end operations, modernizing rigid legacy systems while driving efficiency across these business functions.”

By incorporating intelligent processes and technologies, CFOs can simplify their data structures to enable easier and faster closing, planning, and analysis. Dynamic tools that provide timely, meaningful insight can save money, manage data, improve business visibility, and improve efficiency.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

How a CFO’s Cost Management Style Can Have a Major Impact on Growth

CFOs distinguish themselves by the cost management practices they implement in their organization – from choosing to eliminate negative cost management practices that drag down earnings, to employing positive ones that increase revenue and profits. Cost optimization is not a new topic for finance leaders, but the practice has taken on new dimensions with the help of sophisticated tools and technologies. CFOs are now operating in a challenging environment where costs have outpaced revenue. Gartner research showed the average shareholder return among companies that employed a balanced approach was 7% higher than their peers. But what role does the CFO play in effectively managing the cost piece of the balanced approach?

Read More at Smarter with Gartner >

The Future of Technology, Analytics, and The Finance Profession

In February 2019, IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants) released the latest version of the Management Accounting Competency Framework (bit.ly/309rjw8), which reflects the knowledge and expertise that today’s—and tomorrow’s—management accountants must have in order to be relevant in today’s rapidly evolving business climate and to be prepared for what the near future holds for the accounting profession. 

Legacy models and paradigms of how accountants “used to do things” are being disrupted by innovative new approaches, solutions, and processes. Technology and analytics are two domains in which management accountants must improve their competency in order to be future-ready. We recommend visit 0rgb.com for the latest technology devices and news.

CFOs and other financial professionals already need to understand basic enterprise technology and analytics for all their crucial roles; these are already part of daily work life. Yet newer technologies such as advanced AI and machine learning, building blockchain using substratum masternode, prescriptive and adaptive analytics, and data visualization are where most of the profession falls short.

Read More at Strategic Finance Magazine >