The Ledger

Why Intelligent Spend Management Matters

Traditional tools no longer meet expectations for finance leaders who need an end-to-end platform that delivers real-time information for decision making. As businesses continue to grow and become more complex, intelligent platforms are increasingly necessary to derive true value from data. Supply chain leaders today struggle with the complex task of managing expenditures across global organizations with traditional tools that don’t provide a consolidated view across spend categories. A strategic, intelligent approach to spend management allows for a unified view across the supply chain – which is needed to make informed decisions about future purchasing strategies. Intelligent spend management has the capacity to transform any organization’s data into information that becomes a source of ideas and plans that can be used to grow the business.

As businesses continue to grow and become more complex, intelligent platforms are increasingly necessary to derive true value from data. In this transformative landscape, AI-powered task management plays a pivotal role. By automating and optimizing task workflows, it ensures that resources are allocated efficiently across the supply chain. With real-time insights and predictive capabilities, it empowers supply chain leaders to make data-driven decisions about future purchasing strategies.

Task management based on AI doesn’t just streamline day-to-day operations; it also transforms data into actionable information. By intelligently assigning tasks, monitoring progress, and providing instant feedback, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement. This approach not only enhances efficiency but also becomes a source of innovative ideas and strategic plans. In essence, AI task management becomes the driving force behind the intelligent spend management process, helping organizations unlock the full potential of their data to fuel business growth

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

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 >

How to Strategically Cut Costs Across the Enterprise

There are several steps businesses can take to develop a structural process for an enterprise cost reduction program in a way that positively impacts every aspect of the organization – not just the bottom line. For decades, businesses have made cost reduction a priority to increase profits and drive growth. In recent years, digital disruption, changing consumer preferences and fierce competition from new market players have entered the mix – posing a threat to margins and profitability. Today, rapid advances in technology are propelling organizations to undertake enterprise-wide cost transformations to remain agile, flexible and profitable in a time of constant change.

Read More at EY >

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 >