In order to help businesses navigate challenges in financial planning during these uncertain times, each week we’re bringing you curated information and materials to help you respond. This week’s articles highlight news in financial planning as well as what experts are saying on the matter:
1. CFO.com:Preparing for an Uncertain Future Requires Agility
Covid-19 forced companies to re-examine their ability to pivot in a crisis, and agility was a factor in being able to adapt to the new normal. Nearly half of CFOs surveyed believed that critical business decisions were delayed by finance not being able to deliver meaningful insights from data, according to the recent CFO Indicator Survey 2020 conducted by Workday in March 2020. Learn how integrated FP&A can accelerate your corporate decision making.
2. Deloitte: Reimagining Operating Models of the Future to Thrive
It’s time to consider the long view of operating in a digitally disrupted, post–COVID-19 pandemic world. It’s time to plan the shift from “defense” to “offense,” with the goal to do more with less, reduce operating costs, and create additional capacity to fuel the mission and business in the midst of shrinking budgets, all while creating an engaged and agile workforce. Here we provide an approach and framework to help begin that reimagination in a holistic and integrated way.
3. Workday Adaptive Planning: 4 Best Practices to Respond to Change with Speed and Agility
Way back when, financial professionals had one objective and one objective only: accurately track past performance and explain why the results turned out as they did. Today, however, businesses are operating in uncharted territory, and the old ways of collecting data and creating reports are essentially useless. That’s because rigid, old-school plans aren’t detailed enough, are tough to translate to actionable goals, and lack a single point of view. Enter active planning. Consider these four active planning best practices that can help FP&A teams respond to change with speed and agility.
4. CFO.com: Reshaping the CFO Role
Surveys conducted before and during the pandemic show the coronavirus crisis may be reshaping the role of the CFO, with senior finance executives shifting their focus to crafting strategy and generating business value. CFO Research (part of Argyle Advisory and Research Services) and Grant Thornton surveyed 631 CFOs and other senior finance executives in February, then followed up with a survey of 174 CFOs and senior finance executives in May, to gauge the effects of the COVID-19 upheaval. Besides the changing focus of CFOs, the surveys revealed widescale delays for innovation projects, a renewed appreciation for business strategy skills, cybersecurity expense increases, and love for advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.
5. CFODIVE: Pandemic Pushing CFOs Further into Strategist Role: Survey
COVID-19 has forced CFOs to become “change agents” and “strategists” while still overseeing their day-to-day finance responsibilities, Grant Thornton’s 2020 CFO Survey Report found. As the role of the CFO changes, it is critical for CFO’s to adapt technology that will provide the flexibility necessary for success.
Thanks for checking in this week! We’ll be back next Thursday with more updates in financial planning. In the meantime, subscribe to our blog to get our posts directly in your inbox.