Leading Digital Transformation with a focus on People First

A few weeks ago, the Gartner Top 5 Finance Trends and Priorities for CFOs in 2024 report was released. Like many, I have an interest in these reports not necessarily as a practitioner of corporate finance, but as someone who supports the business objectives of said practitioners. When I popped open the report itself, I was a little surprised by what I found in the survey results. In their survey of 185 CFOs around 33 defined priorities for 2024, I expected to see the same buzzwords and trends that dominate technology news coverage. Instead, there was zero mention of Artificial Intelligence, Chat GPT, or Robotic Process Automation. Sure, there was discussion about technology platforms, but I went into the report fully expecting feedback on how to utilize Generative AI, where to apply bots in the digital workforce, and how best to unleash the power of Chat GPT in a financial organization. There was no buzzword bingo to be played at all!

In hindsight, I should not have been surprised in the least by the top five priorities that were called out in the report. They are, in order:?

1. Leading transformation efforts
2. Evaluating or improving the finance function’s strategy and design
3. Improving finance metrics, insights, and storytelling
4. Leading change management efforts
5. Optimizing costs

These priorities are topics that have been around for my 10-year career in the Content Services space in some form or another. There has always been a need for optimizing costs and improving the function of a business unit. The terminology may be different, but it certainly rhymes, so to speak.?

So why not focus on Artificial Intelligence? Why not the dialogue around bots taking over the workforce or how best to leverage all of these new platforms? Are CFOs not obsessed, like the rest of us, about how AI and RPA will revolutionize the world we live in? It doesn’t appear that way and it shouldn’t be a surprise. Often overlooked in the conversations about cutting-edge technology and emerging toolsets are the people who are engaged in the process these platforms are meant to enhance. In any business process, workflow, or automation, there is a person impacted by the value the software is meant to bring. The technology itself is never enough on its own. Otherwise, the SkyNet jokes write themselves.?

The Gartner CFO survey further reinforces this point, with the number one priority identified as leading transformation efforts. In their detail around how this landed near the top, soft skill related challenges were identified. An example of this, is the need for collaboration between IT and Finance, balancing current roles while deploying new technologies, and managing the leadership responsibilities that come with delivering a successful project. Gartner further calls out that the more a CxO owns the delivery of a digital initiative, the more likely it is to succeed. This is even more important in the context that Gartner identifies that 70% of finance transformations are either less impactful or moving slower than expected.

No one is stating that the technology itself doesn’t matter in how a CxO can take the lead and deliver a successful project. After all, there is a reason that Content Services platforms, ERP’s, and automation tools exist. But further reinforcing that soft skill priorities are the impact of what Gartner calls Change Fatigue has on the teams involved in delivery projects. A tool itself does not overcome poor delivery, coordination, and goal setting. Those issues threaten the transformation plans identified as priority one, regardless of the technology at play. Change Management is hard and is arguably the next biggest driver of the success of project delivery after CxO ownership. Negative outcomes, such as a reduction in effort, responsiveness, and trust are all highlighted in the report. I am sure we all have those stories to share from our own experiences. The biggest impact, however, is in an employee's stated intent to stay with the organization. Change fatigue can reduce a team member’s intent to stay, or how willing that person is to endure the fatigue and stay with the organization, by a startling 42%.?

This potential turnover comes at a time when accountants are already hard to find and harder to keep employed. According to a recent INSIDE Public Account report, CPA firms are losing on average 15% of their professionals, with 84% of that turnover being voluntary. The top stated reasons? Burnout (49%) and a lack of work/life balance (48%).? On the recruiting side, Caseware International surveyed 6,400 professionals and found that 90% of them indicated that retaining talent was somewhat or extremely challenging, 35% of which stated that finding the right talent ranked in the top three challenges. In the context of the aforementioned delivery challenges, the through line is poor delivery equaling change fatigue, equaling a compounding talent retention problem.?

None of the issues stated above are solved by technology alone. No automation or technology platform is the cure-all for a lack of leadership or change management. Yes, technology is woven into all of the top five CFO priorities. Insights, improving the finance function, and cost optimization are all positively impacted by having the right platforms in place to enhance the people and processes involved in running a business. What is clear though is that where something like Artificial Intelligence can improve access to data and the consolidation of meaningful insights, the technology alone lacks the Emotional Intelligence only found in the people leading transformation projects, managing organizational change, and contributing on the front lines. Neither AI, RPA, nor any other technology platform can settle disputes, coach your teams, or support your people the way invested leadership can.?

In order to truly embrace a digital future, organizations cannot lose sight of the purpose of why they are evaluating Digital Transformation efforts in the first place. If the tools were enough on their own, Gartner’s findings would be very different. Instead, it simply reinforces that the value of these tools is only recognized by how they enhance the productivity and success of the people utilizing them.

Joe Russo is an Intelligent Information Management Account Executive with Konica Minolta, a Hyland Software Premier Solution Provider Partner and a Tungsten Automation (Formerly Kofax) Partner of the Year. Joe has previously contributed to the The OnBase Blog and The Hyland Blog. His work has also appeared on Mic.com, The Fraternity Advisor, and Factory of Sadness, a Cleveland sports website operated by Fansided