Are your top priorities for this year the same as your peers in Finance?
The Hackett Group surveyed Finance execs to find out which issues are shaping their agenda for 2022 and beyond.
Top 10 priorities
From the survey data, 10 key issues emerged as the biggest priorities Finance is concerned with right now. The top 10 priorities are:
- Invest in and speed up digital transformation in Finance.
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the company.
- Obtain financial data and turn it into business insights.
- Retain talent and grow employees’ skillsets during the Great Resignation.
- Cultivate more agility in Finance.
- Control and reduce costs while boosting and maintaining value.
- Optimize working capital.
- Boost diversity and inclusion in Finance.
- Incorporate remote/hybrid work arrangements into Finance’s workflow.
- Tighten controls and improve compliance.
Out of these 10 areas, your peers are most concerned with their abilities to meet their company’s expectations when it comes to digitization, employee retention and agility.
Importance of digital automation
Automating Finance operations with digital tools became essential during the pandemic. And it’s only becoming more important to the future of Finance. Making processes more automated not only saves your team time, it’s also essential to decision-making in the current economic climate.
Most of your peers are in the midst of initiatives designed to improve Finance’s capabilities for analysis, modeling and reporting.
Data analytics has become more necessary for Finance functions such as budgeting and forecasting. Better data gives you better insight into the steps you need to take to boost the bottom line.
New Finance technologies are also a key part of companies’ digital transformation priorities this year. Self-service tech is on the agenda for about half of your peers, while two-thirds are focusing on process automation.
Types of tech initiatives
The most common new technology your peers in Finance are working to adopt this year falls into the following categories:
- Advanced data analytics (with 87% planning pilot projects/small deployments and 10% doing large-scale deployments)
- Data visualization tools (with 52% planning pilot projects/small deployments and 38% doing large-scale deployments)
- Business process management/workflow tools (with 63% planning pilot projects/small deployments and 23% doing large-scale deployments)
- Digital workforce enablement tools (with 55% planning pilot projects/small deployments and 29% doing large-scale deployments), and
- Cloud-based core finance application software (with 45% planning pilot projects/small deployments and 36% doing large-scale deployments).
The cloud is becoming more important to Finance as digitization initiatives move forward. With all the applications and software solutions needed to conduct business nowadays, it’s become more difficult to host tech on-premise due to the storage and processing capabilities required.
Because the cloud offers unlimited storage and unprecedented processing power, coupled with increased security measures in response to breaches over the years, companies are currently moving Finance tools and applications to the cloud at an accelerated pace.
To make sure these initiatives scale appropriately and are as cost-effective as possible, CFOs need to work closely with CIOs and their IT departments to make sure digitization efforts are as seamless as possible – and that any new tools and software enhance your Finance team’s performance instead of being a hindrance.
Retaining Finance employees
Even with the latest and greatest in tech at your disposal, your biggest asset is still your people. That’s why so many Finance pros are so focused on growing and developing their teams to combat the Great Resignation.
The only way that Finance can play a strategic role in the business is if there are talented people ready to interpret data and crunch numbers to figure out the smartest ways to proceed.
To achieve this goal, close to half of your peers surveyed plan to acquire and develop new skills and talent this year, whether it’s by recruiting new hires or investing in training for the current workforce.
One significant area related to talent management that Finance is trying to navigate is remote work. More companies are resuming operations in their offices this year. And while execs are mostly eager to get back, many employees aren’t as excited. So, as a compromise to keep teams happy and motivated, hybrid work arrangements will likely become the norm by the end of the year.
Allowing hybrid work and other flexible arrangements may be a key part of your retention strategy in Finance this year. The Great Resignation shows no signs of slowing just yet, and managing its effects is a big priority for your peers this year.
To make sure your company doesn’t lose top Finance employees for better pastures, you’ll need to work with HR to develop retention strategies specific to your company, industry and department. This may include any combination of training, succession planning, employee development initiatives, pay-scale evaluations and reviews of your benefits package.
Elements of agile Finance teams
When looking at improving Finance’s agility and adaptability to business changes, it can be tough to know where to place your focus.
Along with working to quickly implement digital initiatives, The Hackett Group said creating a more agile Finance team involves:
- Reducing complexity in processes
- Strengthening partnerships with other departments
- Providing better insight into vital business areas with Finance data
- Defining the top skills Finance needs for the future, and
- Planning to develop and cultivate those skills in your people.
