The CFO Wish-List
Over the last few weeks, we have joined our friends at salesforce.com playing host at a series of events for financial executives looking to know more about the cloud and how it can help their businesses.
We have been truly inspired by their enthusiasm and their willingness to implement new processes that are supported by the cloud.
Here's an overview of what we've learned and why we believe CFOs are getting into the cloud:
- CFO’s are getting more involved with cloud strategies at their companies
- We’ve turned the corner on the cloud’s value proposition. Most now see the cloud as a strategic way forward and not just a way to reduce costs
- Some companies will inhale the whole cloud (small and midsized companies), while larger companies are looking for ways to step into the cloud incrementally by joining up specific functions with existing cloud apps
- Choosing a cloud platform is one of the most strategic decisions a company can make. Cloud platforms are a foundation and source for all of a company’s business apps, operations automation and competitive differentiation going forward
- Companies are tired of the barriers between departments, especially between sales and finance
It is on this last point that I am going to focus on in this blog.
From our discussions, it is clear that there is an overwhelming readiness to break down old stereotypes and departmental business silos and connect finance in real-time to the rest of the organisation.
There is a seriousness about building an operational foundation on which the company can easily scale and adapt, which is very different from the historic ‘stove piped’ approach, which organises people according to their skill set and frequently restricts the free flow of information between one business area and another.
This way of thinking is being replaced with a process that flows seamlessly through the ‘quote to cash cycle’ and that allows a 360 degree view of a customer relationship at any point in time.
Central to this approach is the seamless integration of customer relationship management (CRM) capability with sales order processing and billing capability in a unified environment supported in the cloud.
Cloud computing confers the additional advantages of scalability and collaboration (social) tools, which connect all of the participants in the process.
The advantage of such an environment is that it binds all of the individuals to the process as well as to each other and crucially seals the link between sales, finance and marketing to maximize opportunities, enhance business efficiency, protect slender margins and prevent profit leakage.
The automatic conversion of prospects into customers and quotes into orders eliminates the duplication of data entry; added to which the ability for finance to see the sales pipeline improves the accuracy of profit forecasts. But the ability for the sales function and the finance function to collaborate very closely using social tools benefits the customer as well through the timely resolution of queries e.g. invoice disputes and the authorization of increased credit limits.
Connecting finance in real-time to the rest of the organization places this new generation of smart CFOs in an increasingly powerful position so that they are better able to influence growth prospects, organizational responsiveness and profitability.
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Contributions from the AccountingWEB.co.uk editorial team.
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Wow how insightful
Statements of the bleeding obvious wrapped in business jargon