CFOs, if your current financial analysis secretly feels like it’s based on a leap of faith, you’re not alone.
A recent global survey of C-suite executives and finance and accounting professionals[i], commissioned by Nasdaq-listed BlackLine, found that less than a third (29%) of respondents were confident that the financial data they used for financial analysis and forecasting was accurate.
Only about half (56%) of the C-level executives surveyed said they were completely confident in the accuracy of their company’s financial data. This compared with seven in 10 (71%) C-suite respondents in an earlier 2018 survey.
The main reason respondents did not completely trust the accuracy of their organisation’s data was a continued reliance on clunky spreadsheets and outdated processes, according to the latest survey.
It’s also a common concern in the C-suite at budding mining companies, according to informal market research by Ramesys Global.
CFOs typically lament the slow end of month reporting, often due to a lack of human resources, inadequate financial systems and processes, plus hiccups caused by multiple authors on shared Excel documents.
Sometimes stuck between a rock and a hard place, CFOs can be berated by operations managers for not providing useful reports and tools to help better manage their costs – while CEOs are on their case for not better managing the costs of the operations teams.
Another prevalent stressor is the pressure of regulatory reporting requirements and the need to file timely, accurate information.
If presented with a simple solution, many fear the cost and time that might be needed for a financial system upgrade.
However, transforming your financial system does not have to break the bank or be a two-year process.
With Ramesys Global, a transition to an automated budgeting, forecasting, and reporting system can occur within weeks.
With these obligations in hand, you’ll be better equipped to unleash your financial analysis capability.
The impact of changes to commodity prices or adjusting maintenance cycles, for example, can be easily calculated.
Variable external market forces and the potential impacts and solutions can be examined.
Running optimisations and your improved forecasting capability will be based on up-to-date, accurate information, which can be shared quickly and easily.
It could be time to turn your leap of faith into a confident step up to the next level.
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[i] https://www.blackline.com/about/press-releases/2021/70-global-business-leaders-and-finance-professionals-lack-confidence-in-data/