How Analytics Empowers the Finance Organisations of the Future
The pace of change has outgrown every possible thing that we can imagine.
88% organisations are going through some type of transformation today driven by new market entrants, business models, changing workforce and more demanding consumers. This is greater than their existing ability to respond. Organisations that have failed to adapt are facing big challenges.
Because of new ways of doing business, new business models and new market entrants, existing players are finding it difficult to compete or even survive. The average longevity of a corporation from 61 years in 1958 has declined to 18 years in 2010. At this current rate the 75% of S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027
Finance organisation are no longer just custodians of company financials, but are looked upon to guide the organisation in strategy and direction. Despite the pressure from the business, finance is still under pressure to deliver more with less. Finance needs to address efficiency and productivity issues in their day to day operation before they can deliver deeper insights to the business. As a finance function you seriously need to consider how you can move towards being an Extreme Finance organisation.
To be an Extreme finance organisation, you need to recognise that there are extreme changes in technology and realise that technology can have a profound impact on your work. As an extreme finance professional, you need to understand and embrace the potential these new technologies have to make you thrive. There are 3 ways technology can help you be an extreme finance professional
Extreme finance professionals use technology to help them work SMARTER. Are your still doing the same thing while everyone else is adapting? You should discover how technology can help you work smarter.
You have to think about how you can act FASTER. Pace of business has increased dramatically, and we need to act faster to stay ahead and remain in the driving seat
And finally drive RICHER analysis. It is no use having your decision making processes constrained by only considering the data in your finance systems. You need to consider all data in the organisation
Essentially Extreme Finance is about being SMARTER, working FASTER and RICHER insights.
Yesterday's ERP applications, budgeting tools and business intelligence got you this far but we need to explore what’s ahead that will take you forward.
Consider Machine Learning. It is a buzz word today but also associated with so many negative connotations. But it is not a scary black box application to be intimidated by. In fact machine learning is everywhere. It is being embedded in to your applications and you are using it without realising it. It is being embedded in Supply Chain applications, Procurement Applications, Planning and consolidation Applications, Analytic platforms and even databases.
As a finance professional, you don’t need to be a data scientist to use machine learning, nor do you need to hire a data scientist. You just need to understand and consider how machine learning and analytics can help you be Smarter, Faster and Richer.
I will drill down in to this a little more how and why you need to be SMARTER, work FASTER and drive RICHER insights in the next 3 parts of this weekly blog series.