We have discussed the trade-off between cost and value for many years and in many of our newsletters. It’s a tricky compromise at the best of times.

After a decade of efficiency gains in most functions, and Finance, IT, Shared Services and GBS are no exceptions, our future is predicated on speed, consumer intimacy and insight, and the integrated end-to-end processes that can deliver on these promises.

The answer is no longer simply automation or mechanization, but;

• Deeper
• Clearer
• Faster
• Richer

. . . .  insights into customer, supplier, human behavior and internal business process operations. These qualities are already demonstrably vested in some of today’s world beating companies.

McKinsey, once again, have done a great job in crystallizing the essence of the challenge ahead;

1. (Continue to) Look beyond transactional activities
2. Lead in data (and this is a BUSINESS, not technology, issue)  
3. Improve speed and quality of decision making 
4. Reimagine the finance operating model with new capabilities

Despite the unexpected events of 2020, the future is bright, but challenging. This is definitely worth thinking about … you can find the full article here.

Our ‘Something To Consider’ snippets are framed as small, digestible, ‘dashes of insight’ around the pillars of what we define as “World Class Finance” – Process Optimization, Financial Control and Compliance, and Risk Assurance, all underpinned by technology enablement and integration.