The finance function, an actor of change in the digital transformation of the company

Visit corporate digitalization impacts the finance function. The finance function today goes far beyond the strict performance of accounting operations. It now participates in the decision-making process and provides advice on investment matters. The digital transformation from the finance department helps optimize business performance, by automating routine management tasks and leveraging reliable, real-time data.

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The cloud as a tool for modernizing the finance function

A few years ago, investing in new IT tools could legitimately raise some questions. ERP users used to buy software on premise, with a view to installing it on in-house servers.

At each version change, adding functionalities, they had to pay again an operating license without benefiting from notable evolutions. In addition, there was a substantial budget to devote to initial installation and maintenance operations.

Today, technology and, consequently, CFOs ‘ receptiveness to the need for digital transformation have evolved considerably.

With the advent of the cloud, more and more companies are choosing to migrate all or part of their ERP systems to the cloud, well aware of the strong potential of this technological innovation in terms of added value:

• First, the cloud is an effective way to reduce costs and get rid of recurring updates. Thanks to the development of digitization and process automation that the cloud fosters, the finance department is freed from low-value-added tasks, enabling it to refocus on its core business.
• In addition, with the cloud, companies have a totally isolated and secure environment that can be made permanently accessible to all employees concerned. Data encryption, two-factor authentication and password control devices guarantee users enhanced security for their data in the cloud, while complying with the most stringent regulations in force.
• Finally, the availability of this data facilitates the conduct of periodic inspections. The uniqueness and reliability of the data also enhances the accuracy of forecasts and other cost anticipations.

Oracle’s NETSUITE ERP solution, ranked No. 1 among Cloud ERP solutions, thanks to its broad functional coverage and its architecture based natively on a Business Intelligence platform, makes it possible to manage the entire enterprise via a single 100% Cloud platform, and to provide real-time indicators, reports and dashboards for faster management and decision-making.

Its particularity of being a SAAS Cloud solution significantly reduces IT maintenance and update costs. It also allows you to have access to the evolutions and new functionalities as they become available. NetSuite provides two major updates per year. When the NetSuite solution evolves and grows, so does your ERP.

CFOs must become technology champions to strengthen analytics

Due to the nature of their business, CFOs have a particular interest in accelerating digital transformation projects. As such, they are fully entitled to participate in the management of “Corporate Data”.

The CFO plays a key role in anticipating and controlling risks. The implementation of a unified financial information system, via the cloud, can considerably reduce the time spent collecting information and complying with diverse and sometimes illegible security procedures.

Such a system provides reliable data that is updated in real time. It also significantly reduces the risk of errors and fraud. Finally, a unified information system makes audit and Council assignments easier and more precise.

In this way, the CFO will be able to deliver an objective, relevant analysis of the situation, with graphical data visualization for faster decision-making.

It can also prescribe the implementation of measures and inform the choices made by general management, prior to the undertaking of major investments or strategic decisions: mergers & acquisitions, disposals, creation of organizational entities or branches…

Kyriba’s SaaS solution offers companies a true cloud-based cash management solution. With predictive intelligence capabilities, it helps CFOs find the best balance between growth and risk to achieve better financial results.

Make the circulation of the company’s financial data reliable and secure

Cloud ERP is particularly well suited to international companies, as it does not require the same software to be installed on different servers around the world.

While the cloud facilitates the flow of information between the parent company and foreign-based branches, it also improves collaboration between the finance department and other group departments. The finance department must interact with most other departments: purchasing, customer service, HR, marketing…

The circulation of financial data between the various divisions is therefore a key issue. With reliable, up-to-date data at their fingertips, each department is better equipped to develop its strategy, engage in negotiations, or identify a potential risk or non-compliance.

The flow of information to operational departments needs to be intensified, so that connectivity and the sharing of experience reinforce the coherence of the entire organization at company or group level.

As far as data security is concerned, the company is exempt from backup and update operations, which are entrusted to its software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider.

The level of security achieved today is prompting many companies to migrate virtually all their data to their “public” cloud, to boost connectivity and thus improve reporting quality.

With Axway’s My GL Cloud Migration solution, the CFO is able to address more than just technical migration to the cloud. This complete solution offers customers a certain degree of agility, enabling them to reduce costs and lead times by automating the tedious tasks involved in “classic” data recovery, but also to control the integrity of their data at all times (audit trail, balance queries, reconciliations between legacy and new GL).

Cloud My GL will handle the transformation of source data to enrich the new target GL via its 200 standard connectors. This allows it to adapt quickly to any ERP in the cloud. In addition, the existing back-offices will be able to continue to feed the old and new GL, without compromising data loss and ensuring test quality (notably via a double run). Axway’s solution also gives customers the ability to modify the granularity of their accounting key before integrating their data into the target ERP. This avoids him to treat this project separately. A real cost reduction for the company, but also flexibility and the guarantee, via the controls put in place, of the integrity of the data between the source and target systems.

SQORUS supports its key account customers in the digitization of their finance functions. With functional and technical expertise in the main market solutions dedicated to the finance professions, we implement and support our customers in all phases of their projects.
With consultants certified on solutions such as Oracle, Netsuite, PeopleSoft, Kyriba and Axway, SQORUS is the preferred integrator of finance solutions on the market.

If you’d like advice on digitizing your Finance functions, contact our Finance team for an audit of your situation and needs!

Also read about the digital transformation of finance functions

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• Electronic invoicing reform: what you need to know
• What is the role of the finance department today?
• 5 obstacles to the digital transformation of finance functions
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• What changes does dematerialisation bring to the finance function?
• The finance function, an actor of change in the digital transformation of the company
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• Advanced financial analysis to improve decision support
• Identify the business processes in the finance function that would benefit most from digitization
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• What are the key challenges facing finance managers today?
• What are the key regulatory issues for CFOs in 2023?
• Digitization of the finance function: what should we expect in the future?
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