Gartner asserts that “data and analytics are the primary catalysts for an organization’s digitalization and transformation activities.” Numerous finance and accounting systems and multiple other business tools are beginning to embrace the advantages of real-time data.
Why? It has a significant influence on the performance of an organization. Finance teams and management may monitor their organization’s performance at any point in time. They can make better-educated judgments faster when they have a high level of financial transparency, making them a more significant threat in a competitive setting.
Now is the time to examine how your financial information is kept and reported. Could real-time data be beneficial to you? Here are some benefits to consider.
Manage fraud and inaccuracies more quickly
Because transactions are promptly posted, you can identify errors and questionable activities more quickly. You’ll notice when account balances are out of sync or if cash payments have been made incorrectly, so you can address them quickly.
Perhaps it’s identifying fraudulent conduct to mitigate harm and improve internal controls. With the majority of your data streaming real-time into your system, you may be able to accelerate bank reconciliations and monthly closures.
You may notice fewer data entry mistakes — such as overlooking purchases or translating numbers. If problems do occur, you can identify and correct them immediately.
Enhance the accuracy of your business projections and objectives
When you have reliable, current data, you may utilize it to establish company objectives based on past data. You may begin to gain confidence in the degree of detail provided by your financial system.
And utilize this data to establish reasonable – or ambitious – organizational goals. Facts guide your plan.
Are you looking to enhance your revenue? Which income streams are underperforming and require assistance? Do you wish to establish a new branch? Do you want to improve the productivity of your initiatives or the delivery of your products?
You may examine your company’s success in the past, observe trends, and develop a feasible growth strategy. Additionally, you may make adjustments based on the real-time data you view on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Get up-to-date reporting
Each financial system has unique reporting capabilities. However, with real-time data, your financial documents will accurately reflect your business’s actual state. You don’t need to mark a set date to retrieve your reports. Alternatively, wait for specific information to complete the report or insert asterisks to indicate the report’s accuracy. You can streamline the reporting process and save time when it comes to communicating with essential stakeholders.
Real-time data eliminates the need for human data input. Additionally, you may profit from more accurate reporting.
Make sound business decisions
The benefits of real-time data are based on the premise that more data results in meaningful insights. Insights result in an increased capacity to make decisions that benefit and develop your business.
What is your data conveying about your business, and what adjustments are needed to help you move forward? Is it taking too much time, or is it not profitable? How are things going?
Because you can access the data in a matter of seconds, you can alter the course of your organization. Based on last year’s data, you are not making an educated estimate about what you should do this year.
You’re making forward-thinking judgments based on real-time financials that are built on a foundation of past data. You can anticipate the future and compare your knowledge of your business to the external world.
It might be a highly effective strategy for navigating your firm and its people through an increasingly competitive environment.
Recognize business performance
Real-time data provides both a detailed and a broad perspective of your business’s performance at any time. Depending on the degree of depth and tracking in your system, you may be able to dig down into criteria such as location, division, project, customers, and vendor. You can assess how all of these components are doing and how they contribute to your organization’s overall performance.
Get a clear overview of your business, including its cash flow, assets, revenue, costs, and net revenue. For example, how does this year’s performance compare to last year’s? What are your fiscal year objectives? You obtain a better grasp of the current state of your firm.
Improve Business Results with PCF
Performance Canvas Financials is one of the best budgeting, planning, and analysis software today that can streamline the financial aspect of your business while helping you monitor performance. This single platform simplifies your FP&A process by automating financial reporting, budgeting, planning, and consolidation.
CFOs can benefit from PCF’s ability to access reliable real-time data to help them make informed business decisions.
Aside from boosting business performance, PCF’s integrated financial planning and financial reporting & analysis capabilities can automate error-prone financial processes, so you never have to worry about data integrity or accuracy issues again.
Book a free demo today and see how PCF answers the need for innovation with automation.
