Workday Global CFO Survey: Finance Chiefs Shed Light on Data Gaps and Digital Priorities Post-Pandemic
July 28 2021 - 9:00AM
Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud
applications for finance and human resources, today announced the
results of its chief financial officer (CFO) survey exploring the
impacts of COVID-19 on the finance function, CFOs’ digital
investment plans, and the role of data. The survey reveals that
data management and analysis was the biggest area of concern for
CFOs throughout the pandemic and the lack of data insights
challenged organizations to make informed, fast decisions in the
face of ongoing uncertainty.
In Mar. 2021, one year after many organizations were forced to
remotely close the books for the first time due to stay-at-home
orders for employees, Workday surveyed more than 260 global CFOs to
better understand the challenges they faced during the pandemic. In
addition, the study looked at how they are adapting their finance
digital strategy to better prepare for future change.
The survey findings showed that only 19% of CFOs have automated
nearly all their finance processes and are currently handling
financial reporting digitally. With the majority of organizations
in the midst of digital transformation, CFOs also reported gaps in
their data, ultimately affecting performance over the past year.
The lack of data to make critical business decisions impacted
product launches, according to 28% of CFOs, with 24% citing missed
financial forecasts, and 17% citing misaligned resource
investments.
Additionally, key survey findings show:
- Execution during COVID-19 was significantly impacted
due to lack of accurate data. Nearly half of CFOs (49%)
say their organization’s biggest gap over the past year was the
ability to execute with accurate, timely data that drives quick,
informed decisions.
- As a result, over the past year CFOs prioritized
investments to close the data gap. When looking at
investments, 50% of CFOs said they made the most progress over the
past 12 months closing the data gap by prioritizing intelligent
data foundations (creating a single source of truth for finance,
worker, and operational data) and advanced analytics for better
decision making.
- Looking ahead, CFOs are prioritizing cloud and machine
learning investments over the next one to three years.
Nearly two-thirds of CFOs (60%) are investing in reimagining
finance operations in the cloud and deploying artificial
intelligence and machine learning solutions to address finance
digital transformation.
- Beyond technology investments, environmental, social,
and corporate governance (ESG) as well as diversity and inclusion
(D&I) are emerging as business priorities. ESG (29%)
and D&I issues (26%) are listed as the emerging topics that
businesses are most focused on prioritizing beyond technology —
ranking higher than cybersecurity and cryptocurrency.
Comment on the News"It's clear that a lack of
insights during the pandemic resulted in missed opportunities for
companies to drive top and bottom line growth across a variety of
areas," said Barbara Larson, senior vice president, Accounting,
Tax, and Treasury, Workday. “And the real gap CFOs identified was
not just data — but timely, decision-ready data. With Workday,
organizations can adopt a cloud-first intelligent data platform
that brings financial, people, and operational information together
in a single system. This not only fills the gaps but provides the
foundation required to help deliver actionable insights and
competitive advantage.”
For more information:
- Read the blog “Where CFOs Are Prioritizing Resources to Enable
a Frictionless Finance Future”
- Download the report, “CFO Indicator Report: Frictionless
Finance”
- See previous CFO survey data from Workday
About the SurveyWorkday surveyed more than 260
CFOs in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the U.S., France,
Germany, and the UK, online in Mar. 2021, focused on private and
public organizations with 500-5,000+ employees.
About WorkdayWorkday is a leading provider of
enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources,
helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday
applications for financial management, human resources, planning,
spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of
organizations around the world and across industries—from
medium-sized businesses to more than 45% of the Fortune 500. For
more information about Workday, visit workday.com.
© 2021. Workday, Inc. All rights reserved. Workday and the
Workday logo are registered trademarks of Workday, Inc. All other
brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders.
Forward Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements including, among other things,
statements regarding the expected performance and benefits of
Workday’s offerings. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,”
“estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “seek,”
“plan,” “project,” and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If the risks
materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could
differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking
statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described
in Workday’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”), including our Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April
30, 2021 and future reports that may be filed with the SEC from
time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from
expectations. Workday assumes no obligation to, and does not
currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements
after the date of this release.
Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in
this document, our website, or other press releases or public
statements that are not currently available are subject to change
at Workday’s discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at
all. Customers who purchase Workday services should make their
purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions
that are currently available.
Media Contact:Diane Orrmedia@workday.com
Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024