Today’s complex digital environment has urged every organization to move faster to digitization, make better business decisions, accelerate stronger business outcomes while making the most of their data. However, the sheer volume of data has been increasing multiple challenges for companies around the world. As companies measure wider metrics that include factors such as employee satisfaction, corporate social responsibilities, operational data, social and governance data, etc., the pressure looks deeper for the CIOs and the responsible teams to handle. The big data, operational silos, emerging new technologies, and hybrid work environments result in further delays for the finance departments to provide data to the stakeholders and attain their own goals.
Now let us look at some of the practices that can help accelerate innovation while keeping yourself on track with new technologies and solutions.
Integrate data for smarter functional operations
Effective data administration and analysis require a centralized, integrated data system. You can acquire insights and make decisions that promote business success by gathering all the pertinent data in one location.
You can get a complete and accurate picture of the business using the right solution for a single source of truth for financial and operational data. This makes sure that everyone is using the same data and helps to reduce errors and inefficiencies.
An advanced solution can help secure connections and guarantee that private information is safeguarded and that only authorized users can access it. As a result, the danger of data breaches is decreased while sensitive information is kept private and discreet.
Automate business reporting and analytics
It is critical to have quick and simple access to the appropriate data in the fast-paced and constantly changing corporate environment of today. Users can easily access the data they require to make educated decisions and react to changing conditions thanks to unified platforms and solutions.
Users are given the freedom to take charge of their data analysis and insights because of self-service dashboards, reports, and ad hoc analysis tools. This makes it possible to make decisions quickly and efficiently based on the most accurate and up-to-date information.
Improve the quality of planning
Since all departments have access to the same information thanks to a shared and integrated system for financial planning analysis and accounting, there is less chance of miscommunication or conflicts between their respective projections and reports. Additionally, by ensuring that the data utilized for decision-making is correct and current, this integration contributes to increasing the trustworthiness of the financial information provided to stakeholders.
When FP&A and accounting use the same data, accounting spends less time analyzing discrepancies and has more time to devote to more strategic tasks like continuous forecasting and scenario modeling. Effective financial planning and analysis depend on current and precise actuals.