The Ledger

Curated content for
analytical business leaders

Data Operations: A New Approach

Data is now mainstream and finance leaders have realized that it can be a competitive advantage and the perception of the need to democratize it. Thought leaders of digital transformation and disruption already understand the value of proper business process modeling. Accepting that everyone wants to be data-driven, we should all recognize that data flows are nothing else but business workflows without structure. That is why it is important to bring in data operations experts for effective collaboration between product management, data engineering, data science, and business operations.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

 

Rethinking Finance Processes With Advanced Analytics

Most CFOs are locked in a battle of trying to get away from a past of data in silos, single-perspective spreadsheets, limited insights, and multiple versions of data in order to steadily rebuild the foundation to strengthen its credibility with actionable intelligence across the business. Finance leaders are realizing that transparent, limitless, and thorough data is always a highly valued asset, but this data alone cannot deliver the level of intelligence CFOs want. The finance organization needs to weed out data assets and practices that may be getting in the way of the advanced analytics capability and noise-resistant information required to drive more intelligent decisions with reliable data.

 Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

 

Traditional Data Analysis Won’t Cut It Anymore

Donald Allan, CFO of Fortune 500 toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker, discusses his thoughts on the increased use of advanced analytics in the manufacturing industry in a recent CFO Magazine article. Traditional data analysis is still often used, but finance professionals need to add analytics into the mix for there to be any real value extracted from the analysis process. It requires looking at competitor pricing, costs, and at manufacturing-cost alternatives from vendors and things like that. With that data, using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, insights can easily be developed for evaluating your business model.

Read More at CFO Magazine >

 

The Long-Awaited Benefits of AI Are Finally Being Realized

“After years of hope and promise, 2018 may be the year when artificial intelligence (AI) gains meaningful traction within Fortune 1000 corporations. This is a key finding of NewVantage Partners’ annual executive survey, first published in 2012. The 2018 survey, published on January 8, represented nearly 60 Fortune 1000 or industry-leading companies, with 93.1% of survey respondents identifying themselves as C-level executive decision-makers. The main finding of the 2018 survey is that an overwhelming 97.2% of executives report that their companies are investing in building or launching big data and AI initiatives.”

Read More at The Sloan Review >