ZERO BASED BUDGETING IS A MARKER OF AGILITY IS ZERO-BASED-BUDGETING (ZBB) THE WAY TO GREATER FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ANALYSIS ACCURACY? If you want to improve accuracy, then FSN’s latest research, “Agility in Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting” highlights that ZBB is the way to go. The question is why? The idea that a budget is recalibrated … Continued
It’s official – CFOs are now putting their full weight behind the cloud. The findings of FSN’s “Future of Finance Systems” research, released this month, finds that a resounding 80% of senior finance professionals expect to have all or the majority of their finance systems in the cloud within the next 5 years. Only 8% … Continued
Despite the huge interest in innovation and the thousands of column inches written in the media every day, innovation is one of those terms that defies precise definition. So rather than attempt to define it, FSN’s 2018 Innovation in the Finance Function research invited the global finance community to offer examples of what it thought … Continued
The boardroom is the nucleus of an organisation where senior executives make (hopefully profitable) strategic decisions. But as technology has spawned disruptors and new, agile business models, the competitive landscape has changed. These days boardrooms need different information to make critical decisions. Senior executives need breadth of data, from market analysis to operational scrutiny, but … Continued
1.Set aside more time for finance process innovation Few finance functions plan for innovation and process improvement or set aside funding, time and resources. 11% of finance functions never discuss innovation and a further 54% say they would “if only they could spare the time”. Given this data, it is perhaps not surprising that only 12% … Continued
In business, start-ups are envied and feared in equal measure. Incumbents watch as these nimble disruptors tear up traditional business models and steal their customers with ruthless efficiency. The start-up mentality has become a by-word for innovation, agility, focus and intensity. So how can CFOs tip the balance in favour of innovation? 1 Understanding the … Continued
Innovation is constantly on the lips of business leaders. We live in an environment where costs have been cut to the bone, price control is slipping from everyone’s grasp and growth rates are in low single digits. Against this backdrop, innovation offers a way of breaking out of the pack, delivering superior returns and gaining market … Continued
2017 has been a particularly busy year for FSN, marked by the conclusion of three global research projects designed to assess the status and progress of the modern finance function. As we approach the end of the calendar year, I wanted to offer 5 stand-out observations arising from the research that have the potential to … Continued
The Modern Finance Forum’s most recent research reveals a healthy degree of scepticism about the prospects for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in the finance function. In a September 2017 survey of more than 850 senior finance professionals, 56% of respondents expected to become more dependent on machine learning to drive more accurate forecasts, but only … Continued
In an interview this week with Bill Gates, he suggested that the use of robots should be taxed more or less equivalently to the humans they replace. The logic is at first sight appealing and irrefutable. Robots displace jobs that would have been done by humans who pay income taxes, social security taxes and insurances, (depending … Continued