Resistance to change and slow transformations are common barriers; adopting a phased approach to modernization, including user-friendly solutions, can empower finance teams and minimize disruption.
Finance teams are facing a common challenge – outdated systems and processes that fail to meet the demands of a fast-paced, digital world. Years of technical debt have left many organizations struggling to keep up. Unfortunately, initiatives aimed to tackle such problems are not always successful: “They are often slower than anticipated, primarily due to difficulty identifying dependencies across different areas and stakeholders,” Carly King, enterprise account manager at insightsoftware, said.
Modernizing financial reporting is about more than just implementing new software – its demands include transforming the entire finance ecosystem, which includes technology, people and processes. However, the strategic shift requires a fresh roadmap that focuses on technologies with high ROI, including advanced data analytics, AI and machine learning.
One of the biggest obstacles finance leaders face is the complexity of existing systems, particularly ERPs like Oracle. While ERP is integral to every aspect of the business, the evolution towards cloud-based solutions is shifting tools and workflows off-premise and into the hands of users. This transition can empower finance teams to access data seamlessly and automate manual processes while maintaining data security and governance.
The modern role of the CFO is also changing. Once limited to historical financial analysis, today’s finance leaders are becoming strategic partners, helping drive data-driven decisions across the organization.“This is now more than just looking back and doing analytical data on the financial performance, but is really collecting, storing and then delivering all the data for all the key drivers of success across the business,” John Miller, director of product management and operational reporting at insightsoftware, said.
To support this shift, ERP systems must integrate with a broader range of data sources beyond just traditional financial data. In fact, 98 percent of non-ERP data is now seen as essential for a complete view of the business – calling for a more unified user experience, to enable all stakeholders to access and analyze data effectively.
Despite the benefits, many transformations are slow-moving. Gartner reports that 45 percent of finance managers cite resistance to change as a barrier, while 70 percent of finance leaders find transformations less impactful or slower than anticipated. To overcome these obstacles, a phased approach to modernization can minimize disruption and build confidence. This involves automating tasks gradually, providing finance teams with better tools and democratizing data access.
To help with this, user-friendly solutions, like insightsoftware’s Wands for Oracle tool, can empower finance professionals to generate reports and perform analyses without deep technical expertise.
“Tools that you have available from insightsoftware not only help with that overall transition to the new environments and the new tool sets, but do so in a way that doesn’t leave anyone behind or leave users disengaged or even worse, unable to perform the jobs that they’re doing in their business,” Miller added.
These examples demonstrate how by choosing the most fitting strategy, organizations’ finance teams can move from reactive to proactive steps, from data dumping to in-depth analysis, while supporting the broader goals of the business.
