Bring on the new year

In January of 2020, I wrote an article about the promise of the new year. We had just welcomed a new baby, I was officially named CEO of Aptitude, and we were starting a new year and a new decade. Such promise!

Of course, 2020 didn’t quite go how we thought it would. From the serious – Covid, the economic crisis, the fires in Australia and California - to the strange - disappearing stars and murder hornets – many of us will be happy to see 2020 end and a new year begin.

First things, first

As I sat down to consider how to wrap up the year it was easy to see where to start.

With a huge thank you. 

Thank you to our clients who trusted our products to keep their business running and embraced new working arrangements with our implementation teams.

Thank you to our partners who invested in our first ever virtual conference, kicked off new relationships with us in the midst of a challenging year, and never stopped working on behalf of our clients and prospects.

But the biggest thank you has to be to our employees for their patience as we navigated a new normal, their diligence in pushing the company forward, and their clear and continual embrace of our values: ‘Be the Guru,’ ‘Be One Think Ahead’ and ‘Be the Difference.’

Our story

Even in a strange year - especially in a strange year - we have recognized we have a story that resonates. Our mission of empowering the CFO to contribute strategically to the business is one that has taken on significant importance as companies emerge from 2020 looking to support digital transformation, finance automation and a new level of efficiency - all with a workforce that will remain at home for some time.

This year we significantly broadened our portfolio and our routes to market. New products and offerings like our SaaS-based, IFRS 17 Comply offering, Aptitude Calculate to support allocation and calculation requirements, and a SaaS version of our flagship Aptitude Accounting Hub are meeting new needs. 

This year we also saw our Industry leading Revenue Management product, RevStream, truly come of age as the entire world seems to have moved to a subscription or service business model.

2021

One of my favorite parts about the end of the year is reading the many prediction articles that try and guess what the next year will look like - good luck with that this year. However, I'll share one that caught my eye…

Many of the 2020 surveys report that CFOs expect to recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 with only 17% expecting it will stretch to 2022 (source). 

This is positive news. However, to quote Warren Buffet, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.” So I expect CFO trends for next year to include significant acceleration in digital and automation efforts, exploring different recovery scenarios but with a keen eye on potential growth or acquisition opportunities (and the liquidity and financing options to support), and building a finance organization with the tech and analytics skills needed to thrive in the future. 

It’s been a long year, but one filled with lessons learned and opportunities pursued. I truly hope that when I sit down to write my December 2021 article it’s in one of our offices, working alongside our teams and celebrating our ability to be together again. Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2021!