No business can survive for long without strong financial management. It is the backbone of well-functioning organizations where every stakeholder is aligned with their business plans and can direct and control their financial resources to steer the company towards future growth.
Sound financial management ensures the business has the right funds to continue its day-to-day activities while providing its investors with sufficient returns. It also informs the board of the essential data it needs to guide its decisions on crucial company investments.
We’ve outlined how proper financial data management can address the everyday data challenges in finance department of every organization.
Improving C-Suite Insights
Running an organization is difficult enough, but not having access to data can make it twice as hard. C-suites need access to insights and analytics so they can make better forecasts and decisions. Many companies who continue to rely on legacy applications often have to deal with disorganized data that can make it challenging to work with.
Solution: Review business plans regularly and use advanced analytics. Working with more advanced FP&A software can give your company executives access to real-time data and reports so they can analyze performance and figure out the next steps quickly.
Business plans should also be reviewed consistently. As your business changes, so do your business plan. Therefore, it’s essential to regularly review your business plan to ensure it still represents your organization’s current needs and goals. However, many organizations make the mistake of thinking a business plan is only done upon launching the business. But as the company develops, your business plan should do too. By working towards a common goal and aligning teams on performance benchmarks using analytics, C-suites are given the flexibility to adapt their strategy to market shifts, changing structures, and evolving customer preferences. It takes stock of the fact that market changes are expected and help drive the company’s growth.
Lack of Collaboration & Automation
The latest technology advancements have streamlined financial management for organizations of all sizes, making what used to be time-consuming tasks more efficient. Given the right software, finance teams can be empowered to complete tasks quickly, focus on data analysis, and share data with other team members.
Solution: Invest in a more advanced FP&A Software that supports automation and team collaboration. Performance Canvas Financial (PCF) is equipped with advanced capabilities that support business intelligence and automation, can enable better collaboration in teams, reduce errors in reports, and simplify complex tasks to streamline how financial processes are done across the entire organization.
A recent report by PwC notes that organizations that use automation can achieve better alignment by as much as 40% in activities that deliver value. Other companies also use automation to get rid of redundant tasks to fast-track financial processes across teams.
Today’s business intelligence tools equip teams with more efficient workflows. It also gives them more room to review and analyze insights to translate them into actionable plans for the organization. Better insights also help identify key opportunities and investment areas that can help companies shape their future.
Lack of Transparency in Data
The lack of transparency in financial reporting has hounded many finance teams. Companies are at risk for fraudulent transactions when there’s no system in place that can assure compliance and the use of the latest financial and accounting best practices.
Solution: Use the latest FP&A software that drives efficiency in financial planning, forecasting, and reporting while being consistently updated and compliant with the latest accounting best practices. Foster a culture that promotes better accountability. This creates a standard in financial data management that drives its road to transformation. Similarly, being more transparent with reports and financial data to all shareholders helps create trust, which ensures investors know exactly where the figures are coming from, so they can connect performing segments to future investments.
Improve Your Organization’s Financial Management With PCF
Effective financial management is essential to business survival and growth. It involves planning, organizing, controlling, and monitoring your financial resources to achieve your business objectives. But it also means making the most of your financial resources to stay competitive and set the business up to navigate through periods of uncertainty comfortably.
If you’re looking for a business intelligence solution that can quickly rise to significant data challenges in finance to improve data gathering, reporting, and forecasting for better decision-making, PCF has what it takes to deliver the results you’re looking for.
See how PCF can work for your business. Book a free demo today.
