Digital transformation is less about technology in F&A functions

In Q1 and Q2 of 2020, HFS conducted a survey across 250 global finance executives across industries to understand the future of finance (see Re-inventing finance as an integral part of the Digital OneOffice). Our findings and insights reinforce our view that digital advancement as a stand-alone achievement does not mean much if people and process don’t embrace this innovation. In our survey, 55% of finance executives stated that it takes strong collaboration between the finance and IT/digital functions to adopt and keep pace with digital innovation. Today, it is interesting to see finance leaders participating and influencing technology buying decisions along with their IT counterparts. Finance leaders need to stay well informed about the strides and advancements in digital revolution and identify and align the latest “must-have” technologies to their processes.

• 47% of survey participants have recommended setting up a Centers of Excellence (CoE) within finance to stay abreast with the latest technological changes. These focused-driven efforts by F&A departments to lean on a CoE to self-direct, self-motivate and turn ideas into actions can accelerate productivity and efficiency for the department. The natural progression with building these digital future-focused CoE teams within F&A, will lead to reshaping of skill balance and establishing a wider range of capabilities and methodologies. One such great example of CoE within F&A is Cardinal Health, through their partnership with Genpact they were able to setup AAA hubs for their FP&A work (see Leap on new F&A priorities and expectations). Core finance functions working along with data scientists, programmers, and software engineers building an environment for innovation to thrive.
• 42% of survey participants have recommended IT/digital reporting into finance. How will this play out? Today, processes in the finance function are designed to harness the collective expertise and core knowledge of people in the team. The temptation for managers as they implement a digital program is to follow the same pattern, retrofitting the latest tool into existing processes. Even if IT leads technology initiatives. In both scenarios, companies end up with a patchwork of conflicting technology tools that work on separate and distinct parts of the process. To unlock full potential, IT and finance leaders need to become critical partners to help F&A functions on their change journey.

The Bottom Line: Keeping pace with digital innovation and identifying those initiatives that can have a transformative impact to your finance processes requires self-motivation and strong collaboration with IT/digital. It is like a puzzle where all the pieces need to fit. Between finance and IT/digital teams there should be a strong partnership, understanding each other’s domain, open knowledge sharing and appreciation for each other’s expertise.