Say it with me: Spreadsheets can't meet today's financial reporting needs. They simply can't. And if you're like 99% of the population, you are utilizing them in some capacity in your financial reporting. And it's costing you money. Likely, more than you think. Organizations can no longer rely on old tools to manage their finances and make good decisions. Time is money and money is lost when unnecessary functions are consuming your time. To understand more about just how much spreadsheets are costing you in time and money, see: What You Need to know About Spreadsheets: The Corporate Secret Killer. Studies show that successful businesses should only spend 10% of their time on getting to their data and 90% of their time analyzing it. Therefore, if you're using spreadsheets, and older technology in general, in any of your financial reporting, there's simply not enough hours left in the day to spend the time necessary to interpret your data. Most businesses are spending at least half of their time just getting to their data. You've heard it before: Work on your business, not in your business. Your decisions can only be as good as the availability and visibility of your data. Data and analytics are becoming increasingly crucial to the operations of any business, not just in terms of finding new markets and new segments in order to achieve revenue generation, but also for understanding, analyzing, and controlling costs. The most successful businesses are utilizing innovative technology to capture, report, and maximize the insights into the story behind their numbers. We are in a new era. We must utilize technology to look at new systems and formats – to make financial reporting easier, more accurate, and provide a better return on investment. Now that we've established adapting technology must be a priority within your organization, the next step is ensuring you implement the right technology. While there are many financial reporting software tools on the market today, there are few which hit the top two needs of every business:
Financial reporting solutions aren't all created equal. Simply put, some are better than others. And what defines “better” depends on your company's specific needs and desires. Before diving into the sea of technology options, I'd encourage you to take a few moments and review Take Control of Your Data: How To Choose The Best Reporting Analytics Solution For Your Organization. Many companies have invested in new technologies to improve their financial reporting over the last decade. However, most have learned that no matter how many cool features a software system may seem to have, if your team has a hard time understanding how to use it, they won't use it, and then it'll simply be just another drain on potential profits and added expenses in consulting fees.
Ease of use is an absolute priority for CFO's and the entire business office. A corporate financial reporting software solution must be easy to learn and use for the finance teams to lessen the number of disruptions in their operations. Also, the easier it is to use, the lesser the pushback within the business office and the higher the chances of adoption.
Another absolute necessity with any financial reporting tool is it needs to be able to generate reports which are easy to understand for all of your key leaders and decision-makers. You need financial reports which are accurate, concise, relevant, and provide valuable insights to drive decision-making across the board. The better the insights, the better the decisions. Don't waste time trying to find your data, spend your time managing it.
