Why today’s finance leaders can’t rely on yesterday's systems

32% businesses said their finance function lacks the technology needed to be effective, and only 34% of finance professionals feel they’re equipped to be productive at all times, according to a survey conducted by OneAdvanced [1]. And those numbers likely underrepresent the true scope of the problem since many finance teams facing these challenges weren’t captured in the survey.  

This indicates that a substantial portion of finance teams are not fulfilling their potential. Not because of a lack of skills, but because of outdated systems that are holding them back.

This challenge is all too familiar amongst finance leaders striving to modernize, especially as their roles continue to be redefined. In the past, finance leaders were expected to crunch numbers in spreadsheets, primarily looking at historical data as a road map. Today, the expectations have changed. Modern finance leaders are now responsible not only for understanding the past but also for forecasting the future to identify trends, anticipate roadblocks and drive strategy.

As expectations of finance leaders change, it’s important to ask yourself if your financial management software is helping you meet the level of leadership you’re expected to deliver. In today’s evolving finance landscape, utilizing cutting-edge technology can make or break your modernization as a finance leader, making financial management software modernization crucial. Read on to learn why yesterday’s systems can’t support the new demands of modern finance leaders.

How data silos and poor integration block finance visibility

Systems that lack integration capabilities negatively impact finance leaders by requiring low-impact work that sucks up time that could be spent on strategic tasks. According to research conducted by insightsoftware, 58% of finance leaders spend at least five hours per week transferring data between systems, and 49% say that financial planning and forecasting are the areas most affected by poor data quality [2]. That time spent trying to move data around where it needs to be and making sense of low-quality data could be spent on strategic initiatives.

If your financial management software doesn’t allow for streamlined integration with other systems like your CRM, ERP and operational systems, it will exacerbate data siloes and reduce your ability to make timely, data-driven decisions. For today’s modern finance leaders, this is harmful. Without a single source of truth, you can’t fully trust that your numbers are accurate or interpret them quickly enough.