The Ledger

Simplifying Cost Control In Real-World Complexity

“Spending decisions are best made with collaboration and guidance.”

Now more than ever, employees expect more freedom to spend capital much in the same way they buy their personal items. And while most finance organizations are finding ways to eliminate paperwork, streamline processing, and provide mobile access, CFOs are only chipping away at what they need the most- total spend management. With the system of checks and balances that total spend management delivers, employees are given the tools and insights they need to purchase quickly, appropriately, and, above all else, intelligently

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

The Value of Collaboration Between Humans and Technology

“Through collaborative intelligence, humans and AI actively enhance each other’s complementary strengths: the leadership, teamwork, creativity, and social skills of the former, and the speed, scalability, and quantitative capabilities of the latter. What comes naturally to people (making a joke, for example) can be tricky for machines, and what’s straightforward for machines (analyzing gigabytes of data) remains virtually impossible for humans. Business requires both kinds of capabilities.”

Read More at The Harvard Business Review >

Gaining Insight Through Data Visualization

 “Visualizations contained in these types of tools dynamically display how cash flows and assets change in value through time using stacked area charts or stream graphs​”  

Data visualization is an integrative field – leveraging art, science, and math, while focusing on the creation and study of the visual representation and display of data. While there are several ways to understand data, visual tools depicting the complex relationships and conditions of data and algorithms have proven to be the most effective. Leading data-driven firms across all industries now rely on data visualization as a means for attracting and retaining customers as well as enabling or enhancing critical decisions.

Read More at The CIO Review >

It’s Time to Bring FP&A to the 21st Century

Planning and budgeting solutions were among the first end-user computer applications for business. Initially, they were single-user applications that were nothing more than adding machines. But as computing progressed along with the development of Internet-based apps, they became multi-user tools that can be accessed anywhere, on any device, and at a fraction of the cost of those original solutions. The strange thing is that many organizations still adopt the same practices enforced by the original planning software that are anything but collaborative. For most, planning typically starts with a simple supposition about the future that is far removed from the complexity of the real world, which is not good in the current volatile business market.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >