The Ledger
Curated content foranalytical business leaders
Turn Strategy into Actionable Plans with Next-Level FP&A
“Few processes within the purview of a CFO have so much potential to create—or destroy—business value than FP&A”
A recent study from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) found that in general, top performing organizations take a more rigorous and integrated approach to their FP&A practices by relying on businesses insights to drive results, not just predict them. Unfortunately, many companies are not achieving the full potential of their FP&A activities because they tend to put more focus on forecasting and budgeting, rather than the core principles of planning and execution. Forecasting and budgeting are certainly important, especially in communicating to the organization if it is on track to achieve its business outcomes or to raise warning flags. But forecasting results is not the same as building a plan to actually achieve them. Planning and execution are what will determine success.
The Pivotal Role of the CIO in Digital Transformation
Businesses around the world are under intense pressure to invest in transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and cloud that will help them compete effectively in a world increasingly defined by digital innovation and disruption. This unique situation requires chief information officers (CIOs) to play a larger role in shaping and executing business strategy. Deloitte’s global cost management survey found that while cost management is a top priority for businesses, it is referred to as a “save to transform” initiative because many companies are using their cost savings to help fund investments in growth and transformation. CIOs and technology leaders operate at the intersection of all three save-to-transform aspects: cost reduction, growth and transformation.
Read More at Information Week >
Intelligent Technologies Are Re-shaping the Future of Business
Technology is shaping the future of how businesses operate. Digital transformation and the rise of intelligent technologies are driving business leaders to shift from managing technology to delivering more creative and strategic business outcomes. An organization’s technology vision comprises four components: the future of work, strategic technology investments, risk and resiliency, and technology operating model agility. Its approach to each of these aspects can help create an environment in which innovation grows, encourage collaboration between business and technology functions, and create sustainable competitive advantage.
Read More at The Wall Street Journal >
Modern FP&A Leaders Need to Upgrade Their Playbook
“In a world of digital transformation and constant disruption, analysis must keep pace with queries that will change midstream and anticipate questions that have yet to be asked, but should be.”
The ability to turn around insightful analysis in a timely manner is key to being seen as a modern business. To remain competitive, mature reporting processes must become more of a comprehensive playbook that provides decision makers with actionable insight in real-time. More mature processes rely less on spreadsheets, and favor purpose-built FP&A solutions that provide access to common databases, manage data scenarios and related workflows, and ensure transparency. Immature financial planning capabilities often resemble a shadow budget process, with simplistic reports, scarce analytics and a lack of business-value insights. When it comes to business planning, level of detail used must be appropriate to test a hypothesis “what if” in a way that has business relevance. Successful FP&A organizations often have the ability to provide faster and more predictive analytics, adjustments on the fly, and an emphasis on high performance through leveraging advanced analytics.
Read More at Smarter with Gartner >