“When you’re through changing, you’re through” is solid advice for anyone. But it’s especially applicable for a CFO in today’s business climate. Emerging trends such as generative AI and automation mean CFOs and their teams are no longer needed to churn more and more data, but to transform those numbers into actionable insights.
Thoughtfully using technologies like multi-entity accounting software and keeping in touch with the latest digital finance trends can help your team – and your business – maintain financial stability and thrive this year. Here are five trends that will have an impact for years to come.
Real-time financial data drives decision-making
CFOs no longer have the option of waiting for quarterly or annual reports before making financial decisions. They must stay ahead of potential challenges to their enterprise's financial stability and assess risk as it presents itself – not after the damage is already done.
Domestic economic factors such as monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and fluctuating interest rates, along with geopolitical tensions and environmental factors such as climate change can have a huge impact on companies. And those market circumstances can change without warning, impacting capital markets and financial institutions.
While an increasing percentage of CFOs (28%) are deploying AI to assist with forecasting, according to PwC’s most recent Pulse Survey, almost all – 92% of those surveyed – still say accurate forecasting is a challenge.
Digital tools require human interpretation
In recent years, the role of the CFO has become less focused on compiling data. Technology is increasingly able to handle that aspect of the job. The new focus is on nimbly analyzing company metrics against the backdrop of market forces to drive up-to-the-moment decision-making.
“The continued goal of the CFO is to rank as a strategic partner to the CEO, defining and delivering on the business vision,” states a report on PwC’s 2024 Finance Effectiveness Benchmarking Study.
Stakeholders want on-demand financial reporting and self-service
Real-time or near real-time financial information isn't just for CFOs. Transparency is an expected component of the customer experience.
A world where investors, C-suite executives and general consumers are willing to wait a year, or even three months, for a CFO and their team to dole out financial reports is a world of the past. Stakeholders want companies' financial information the same way they get any other information: whenever they want it, in the palms of their hands, and on their mobile devices.
“Leading organizations will be operating with a new mantra: There is no close,” says a recent Deloitte Perspective piece. “You’re not forecasting once a month or quarterly. It’s all happening in real-time.”
Multi-entity accounting software plays a key role in sustainable finance
In this climate, multi-entity accounting software becomes even more essential. If your organization consists of multiple companies, branch locations or subsidiaries, legacy and entry-level accounting software houses each of those entities’ finances in a separate database. Compiling reports for the whole enterprise requires manually copying numbers from each of those databases into a separate reporting program or spreadsheet.
How can your team make snap decisions based on abrupt changes to your firm's financial picture when being able to view that picture requires hours of effort? What should be an agile pivot to adapt to a rapidly evolving economic climate ends up more like a slow rotation on a creaky old carousel.
Gravity Software is an accounting solution specifically designed for multi-entity businesses, providing real-time visibility across entities. It’s built on the Microsoft Power Platform and integrates natively with Microsoft Power BI, giving you dashboards that are easy to personalize for all key stakeholders without needing a designer or a developer.
Distilling that information and disbursing it to your stakeholders also becomes significantly easier with Gravity. Here are a few ways Gravity increases stakeholder access to your organization’s financial progress.
Cloud-based accounting software
Because Gravity is a true cloud accounting tool, high-level stakeholders such as C-suite executives and board members can be set up as limited or read-only users and can view your organization’s finances from any location with an internet connection. Dashboards provide them with the metrics most relevant to their position with the company. Giving direct access to all stakeholders, which could include hundreds of low-level investors, clients and even the public, is unlikely to be an appropriate move. Thanks to its Jet Reports integration, Gravity makes it easy to publish financial reports using Excel, one of the most widely-used spreadsheet applications available today.
Even those without Office 365 can open Excel files using an app like Google Sheets, creating a level of transparency and accessibility certain to foster trust in your company and assure stakeholders they've made a wise investment decision.
Simply publishing spreadsheets is unlikely to help your stakeholders truly understand your enterprise’s financial situation. Gravity’s integration with Microsoft Power BI provides colorful visualizations that will give stakeholders, even those without a rigorous financial background, a true picture of your firm’s funds and whether it’s meeting KPI benchmarks.
Data visualizations aren’t only for finance novices. They’ll help your team of professionals make better decisions as well. PwC’s finance benchmarking report reveals finance is spending more than 30% of its time focusing on business insight, while the relative time spent on transaction processing has decreased.
Enhanced security and compliance
According to PWC’s Pulse Survey, 81% of CFOs cite cyber-attacks as a moderate or serious risk, likely because they realize just how much financial and personal information is in their firm’s care. Companies with poor cyber security risk both funds and consumer trust.
The current regulatory landscape promises any data breach will carry consequences even more tangible than lost customers, disruption of operations and a diminished reputation.
Worldwide, laws including the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the California Consumer Privacy Act and the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Privacy Rule place heavy fines on companies that misuse their clients’ data, fail to take measures to protect it or fail to carry out the proper notification protocols when a breach does occur.
Securing customer data can be a tall order for a company without the resources for an in-house IT team. Fortunately, Gravity’s accounting solution, as part of the Microsoft ecosystem, takes advantage of the software enterprise’s rigorous cyber security measures, which include:
- Role-based user access, complete audit trails for every transaction to guard against fraud, and data encryption both in transit and at rest.
- The Azure Security Center, which provides robust threat detection capabilities.
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365, which provides advanced protection for communication and collaboration tools including Outlook and Teams.
- Defense measures such as strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
- Automatic security updates based on the latest risk information
Technology helps teams innovate to improve standard processes
According to a 2023 Goldman Sachs report, about two-thirds of jobs are expected to be affected by AI and automation.
That doesn't mean the finance profession doesn’t have a future. AI is expected to provide financial teams with a more in-depth way to support the companies they serve.
Using automation to improve standard processes facilitates a focal shift to the new mandates of the accounting field, namely analysis, scenario planning and strategic decision-making. As with tech rollouts in any field, the more thoughtful the deployment, the smoother the transition and the more useful the new technology will be from the outset. A significant factor in thoughtful implementation is choosing the processes that best lend themselves to innovation, which in the financial sector include:
- Accounts payable
- Month-end closing processes
- Financial reporting and analysis
Gravity Software offers automated processes for all of these tasks, freeing up team members to provide critical insights on investment decisions or deals while reducing the risk of errors and ensuring information is accurate and up-to-date.
Learn more about how Gravity can help firms stay ahead of the latest digital finance trends. Schedule a demo today.
Gravity Software
Better. Smarter. Accounting.
