Digital technologies like financial planning software have the potential to transform the finance department. According to a survey from Grant Thornton and CFO Research, over 40% of finance leaders looked to advanced or automated tools to streamline tasks like budgeting and forecasting.
In 2019, finance leaders started turning to the cloud, a pivot that marks the entrance of cloud-based finance applications into the corporate finance world. There are many benefits to cloud-based software, from dynamic flexibility to easy access to data.
How can FP&A analysts improve the quality of financial analysis?
According to Gartner, FP&A analysts should take three key considerations into account:
1. Financial data management- This involves creating a high-quality data environment. Data integrity lies at the forefront of improved decision making
2. Finance analytics- This refers to applying analytics to get a better look at the data.
3. Metrics and management reporting- This refers to ensuring efficiency and applying standards to underlying data.
Gartner also points out that spending on analytics has increased 50% from 2015 to 2017, and now makes up more than 7% of corporate finance team budgets. And as per their 2018 Gartner Finance Leader Analytics poll, the number of finance departments deploying advanced analytics will double within the next three years.
FP&A analysts have much to gain from FP&A software
FP&A software can greatly boost the way FP&A analysts currently work.
Today, while valuable data may exist, it’s often inaccessible given that it is stored in different parts of the company, held in different non-comparable formats, or not properly shared. When you have data silos, the free flow of information across the company is hampered as repositories of data remain within a single department’s control and are isolated from the rest of the organization.
Siloed information leads to company fragmentation, which will ultimately prevent executives from seeing the big picture clearly. The more data your organization can share, the better able it is to make plans and to move forward with its goals. To optimize decision-making, effective collaboration and distribution of valuable data are necessary. Centralization thanks to FP&A software allows workers to spend less time on data production, and more time analyzing the data.
Raw data such as customer retention rates, sales figures, and supply costs are of limited value on their own. It is only once they have been integrated with other data and transformed into information that they can guide decision-making. Given a greater context, they suddenly have meaning.
Centralizing data sources across your entity can ensure that each division of your organization has access to a common source of trusted data allowing for increased productivity, optimized collaboration, and more confident decision-making.
The best financial planning software is here.
DataRails is a CPM solution that allow employees to maintain current methods of work while simultaneously benefiting from a cloud-based planning platform that elevates the finance function tremendously.
What sets DataRails apart from other cloud-based planning platforms is its hallmark feature- the fact that it’s Excel-based, meaning employees continue to work on their native spreadsheets. It doesn’t change the way FP&A analysts currently work and requires little to no organizational culture change. DataRails is an adaptive tool that brings much needed agility and flexibility to financial management, particularly during these turbulent times.
Financial planning & budgeting software can significantly elevate the finance department. By automating financial processes, FP&A analysts can save plentiful time and direct their focus to value added activities.
