REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., March 20,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- To help management accountants and
finance professionals successfully navigate the business and
technology changes that are transforming the finance function,
Oracle and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) today released a
new report that details the blueprint for modern finance. The
report, Agile Finance Revealed: The New Operating Model for
Modern Finance, identifies the traits of agile finance leaders
and benchmarks their success in creating a dynamic new operating
model that is resilient, responsive, and predictive, helping CFOs
and their finance teams to shape the future of the
business.
"With so much data at their disposal, CFOs must embrace a new
operating model for modern finance," said John Windle, FCMA, CGMA, chief financial officer
at the Association of International Certified Professional
Accountants. "This means they must effectively use cloud and
digital technologies as well as ensure that their finance staff
develops a broader skill set that includes strong analytical and
business partnering skills."
Based on an extensive survey of senior finance executives and
in-depth interviews with CFOs who have already embraced new
operating models, the report found that the finance function must
be transformed in order to remain relevant in a business
environment that is increasingly defined by rapid, unpredictable,
and constant change. According to the report findings, only 38
percent of respondents are currently agile finance leaders. To help
CFOs and their teams meet the demands of this rapidly changing
business environment, the report outlines the key attributes
necessary for the successful implementation of a new operating
model for finance:
- Cross-functional, integrated teams: Centralized shared
services or centers of excellence that are empowered by cloud and
digital technologies like robotic process automation and machine
learning to drive efficiency in accounting services and improve
overall business performance.
- Expertise in digital technologies: Use of new
technologies such as big data analytics and artificial intelligence
(AI) expand the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) role
to be more predictive and enable it to generate the insights
organizations need to develop innovative strategies that will drive
higher performance.
- New non-traditional finance skillsets: Expertise in
statistics, data analysis, data visualization, and business
partnering to support rapid decision-making and new performance
management models.
"At Oracle, we believe that digital transformation brings
companies into the future, and it enables them to be more
competitive," said Ivgen Guner, senior vice president, Global
Business Finance, Oracle. "We also believe that the cloud gives
CFOs an opportunity to restructure their current operating models
to support new business models and more agile ways of working. The
scale of these changes can be daunting and that's why we worked
closely with the American Institute of CPAs to develop a clear and
actionable blueprint for modern finance that enables CFOs and their
finance teams to lead digital transformation – not just react to
it."
The report found that while some major organizations have
already made the transformation to the new operating model for
modern finance, more than 80 percent of organizations are still in
the process of implementing the required initiatives. The report
also revealed that more than a third (36 percent) of finance
leaders believe the current skill set of the finance function is
too narrow and nearly a half (42 percent) said they need more data
analytics skills if they are to deliver more forward-looking
analysis for the business. To identify what sets agile finance
leaders apart, the report examined how these leaders differ from
those who are less advanced in their transformation journey in
terms of structure, systems, and skills.
- Implementing New Organizational Structures: Agile
finance leaders significantly outstrip others in fully implementing
the structural and systems elements of the new operating model.
They are more likely to have migrated their end-to-end processes to
shared service centers (41 percent vs. 13 percent) and to have a
fully implemented cloud ERP (45 percent vs. 17 percent).
- Technology Centralization: These leaders are also much
more likely to have set up centers of excellence to handle areas
that are most important for modern finance like FP&A (81
percent vs. 56 percent) and financial skills development (54
percent vs. 32 percent).
- New Skills for the Finance Function: Agile finance
leaders are also more likely to rate the skills of their finance
function as 'excellent', particularly when it comes to newer, less
traditional finance skills like data visualization (60 percent vs.
24 percent), big data expertise (60 percent vs. 21 percent), and
influencing skills (55 percent vs. 23 percent).
The report includes insights from 483 senior finance executives
in large businesses or other organizations across the U.S. and
Canada, including five key
industries: financial services, manufacturing, retail, healthcare
and finance. It also includes insights from CFOs from a range of
organizations including GE Digital, Arby's, HSBC Global Services
Companies, Vanderbilt University,
Rutgers University, and Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center.
About the Research
AICPA conducted a North
American survey, sponsored by Oracle, of senior finance
professionals and other managers across different industries. In
addition, AICPA conducted interviews with senior finance
professionals to inform its interpretation of the survey
results.
The survey was answered by 483 senior finance professionals from
the USA (76 percent) and
Canada (24 percent) and
represented organizations with revenue of over $200 million with a spread across the turnover
bands $200 million - $1 billion (31
percent), $1 billion- $5 billion (23
percent), $5 billion -$20 billion (26
percent) and $20 billion plus (20
percent).
The financial services, higher education, healthcare and life
sciences, manufacturing, and retail sectors were each represented
by robust samples of over 80 respondents, which allowed findings to
be presented by sector.
About the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world's largest
member association representing the accounting profession, with
more than 412,000 members in 144 countries, and a history of
serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent
many areas of practice, including business and industry, public
practice, government, education and consulting.
The AICPA sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S.
auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations,
federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the
Uniform CPA Examination, and offers specialty credentials for CPAs
who concentrate on personal financial planning; forensic
accounting; business valuation; and information management and
technology assurance. Through a joint venture with the Chartered
Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), it has established the
Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation, which
sets a new standard for global recognition of management
accounting.
The AICPA maintains offices in New
York, Washington, DC,
Durham, NC, and Ewing, NJ.
Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Press Center
at aicpa.org/press.
About the Association of International Certified Professional
Accountants
The Association of International Certified
Professional Accountants (the Association) is the most influential
body of professional accountants, combining the strengths of the
American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and The Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants (CIMA) to power opportunity, trust and
prosperity for people, businesses and economies worldwide. It
represents 650,000 members and students in public and management
accounting and advocates for the public interest and business
sustainability on current and emerging issues. With broad reach,
rigor and resources, the Association advances the reputation,
employability and quality of CPAs, CGMAs and accounting and finance
professionals globally.
About Oracle
Oracle offers a comprehensive and
fully integrated stack of cloud applications and platform services.
For more information about Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), visit
oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered
trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be
trademarks of their respective owners.
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SOURCE Oracle