CFOs play a critical role in shaping the strategic direction of their organizations, and their ability to leverage modern financial analytics is becoming increasingly essential. In today’s fast-paced business environment, financial leaders are turning to advanced analytics to drive data-informed decision-making, enhance operational efficiency, and unlock growth opportunities. By adopting cutting-edge technologies, CFOs are not only improving financial visibility but also fostering a culture of continuous improvement that supports long-term business success.
Broader Challenges Facing Finance Teams With Data Collection and Technology
The sheer volume, variety and velocity of data has increased exponentially at organizations, and the number of systems that data sits within can make pulling together the right data, for the right analysis, challenging. Whether your organization is using one platform for your ERP needs, another for payroll, another to track P&L, and another to cover expense reporting, the challenge always is always this: How do we extract the right data to compel action, find efficiencies in processes and help drive change that can improve operations?
The Right Type of Data
Current data is currency; outdated data is potential debt. The right type of data is data that is updated in real-time. It provides you with current views into financial performance, and helps you pinpoint areas for improvement and pivot when necessary. The wrong data is data that is affected by the latency that comes from legacy BI practices, which often involves asking the IT department to prepare financial reports. By the time the report is built and delivered, the information in it is out-of-date. And, out-of-date data can lead to poor decision making, suboptimal outcomes and an inability to respond to unexpected market conditions or competitive opportunities.
Taking a Modern Financial Analytics approach
Too often, data is siloed in different operational systems and can’t be automatically accessed in real-time for analysis. But through a modern approach, data from different sources can be combined and made available through analytics, where the data is up to date and the analytics and create insights and meaningful actions.
When you can get to that level of analytics, when you’re reacting in real-time to insights triggered within a single system, that unifies core financial processes – particularly in a cloud-based environment – you’ve achieved Active Intelligence for your finance team.
Active Intelligence™ and Positively Impacting the Business
Qlik’s Active Intelligence Platform® provides CFOs and their teams the ability to access and transform raw data from any system in real-time into information that compels action. Powered by AI, automation and augmented analytics capabilities, Qlik’s unique platform enables CFOs to modernize their use of data and better positions finance leaders to positively impact the business when it matters most.
And, positively impacting the business is no mean feat, as financial leaders’ responsibilities are vast. From everything from basic financial reporting to integrated business planning, M&A activity, data is the foundation for successful business performance and growth. By taking a more active approach to data and leveraging modern analytics capabilities, CFOs and their teams can drive more successful outcomes and competitive advantage for their organizations.
