Are you mastering your organisation’s data? Is your organisation ready for action?
If one single factor characterises modern business it is change, and the speed at which it happens. The lifespan of products and services, ideas and systems is just shorter now. That doesn’t mean you can’t build a sustainably successful business. It just means that you have to be adaptable in order to do so. As former Cisco CEO John Chambers put it: “Companies fail because they keep doing the right thing too long.”
The accelerated pace of change means that many threats and opportunities appear on the ‘near horizon’, where there is little time to plan a response. This puts huge emphasis on the ability of an organisation to be ready for change at all times.
Finance plays a huge role in this. In the past, so much of the role of finance has been about time-bound processes. Producing a report? A time-bound process. Preparing for an audit? A time-bound process. Gearing up for M&A? A time-bound process.
Imagine if you could replace these processes with ‘states’. If the preparation of reports, audits, M&A documents was so automated as to be ready at any time, on demand. Not requiring human labour to prepare. On every front, finance could be in a constant state of readiness.
Imagine what that does to your ability to respond to new threats and opportunities. Knowing your position at all times gives you a starting point for analysis. It gives you the ability to respond to inquiries instantly. And gives management the ability to act faster, to avert threats or grasp opportunities.
The truly modern finance function is one that has a real-time handle on the most important data. But most organisations are not there yet. As revealed in a recent report published by Prophix and FSN, 81% of senior finance professionals believe CFOs ultimately will be responsible for corporate data. But almost two thirds believe an inability to master the variety and volume of new business data is a serious threat to the future finance function.
Are you mastering your organisation’s data? Is your organisation ready for action?