Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.
Sage Live

Real-time data: changing the future of business

by
19th Apr 2016
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

This is the first in a series of two articles on the future of the finance department in association with Sage Live.

In recent years constant technological change has joined death and taxes as one of the few certainties in life. The arrival of always-on internet access and mobile applications has been accompanied by vast growth in data that is changing the way we do business.

If you close your eyes to the implications, this transformation could be a major threat, but equally it presents a great opportunity for finance managers who are willing to embrace it. This article looks at some of the ways accountants are responding to the information revolution in finance.

Technology alone cannot change things; it also requires behavioural changes. The amount of data residing within most businesses has expanded massively, but in many cases it remains locked within unwieldy, non-integrated systems. The resulting lack of insight about what is happening within the business can often prevent managers from taking opportunities to grow or leave them vulnerable to unseen risks.

By identifying these disconnected pockets of information and applying the disciplines learned from managing financial systems, finance managers can become influential change agents within their organisations.

Instead of conforming to the beancounter stereotype, FDs can become strategic partners for their colleagues, offering support and advice with up-to-date figures that give new insights into where the business is heading, and what managers can do to boost their performance.

Actionable insights

Real-time data presented in simplified, graphical charts and tables can open managers’ eyes to lucrative opportunities or highlight potential risks before they become major problems for the business. On a more operational level, showing colleagues where particular sales and expense patterns come together can identify where and how money can be saved or raised if cashflow becomes tight.

Technology can help the finance function work in a more agile way, by giving the business a single source of information and allowing the finance director to present a clear picture to owners, executives or board members of what is happening in the business right there and then.

Because less time is spent on low-value areas such as data collection and preparation, more emphasis can be placed on analysis and action, for example around cash and working capital management.

Within the finance department, if managers have access to daily sales and cash summaries, they can monitor specific lines within their P&Ls and compare them against budget to isolate and investigate variances before they become unmanageable.

If revenue and margins are declining on a particular product or sector, for example, they can alert the relevant managers and work with them to rectify any issues before they become a more significant problem.

Put simply, real-time data allows finance directors and CFOs to react faster to opportunities and better anticipate potential problems, saving time and working smarter.

Collaborative, multi-view platforms

Simultaneous access to real-time financial data through cloud applications also allows for multiple views across departments and locations, with all users looking at the same numbers.

This multiple viewpoint can be a valuable tool for presenting data, reviewing targets or budgets and making real-time adjustments. For example processes such as budgeting and planning can become more interactive and collaborative, speeding up decision-making, eliminating some of the unnecessary gaming tactics and allowing the business to get on with the job of producing and selling goods and services.

All these factors testify to the transformative power of real-time data for business. By understanding the future of their business through real-time data, the modern, switched-on finance director can gain a better understanding of their role within it.

Technological change is sweeping across industries and transforming how we do business today. The cloud, for instance, enables companies to quickly and easily harness real-time market data from any location, and to pick the actionable signal from the noise. Sage Live, our cloud accounting solution, is our response to this ever-changing landscape.
Tags:

Replies (2)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

By mwngiol
20th Apr 2016 13:58

Advert?

Is this an article by Tom Herbert or an advert from Sage?

Until the final sentence I thought it was the former. Can't help feeling it's misleading not to state at the beginning that this is a Sage marketing piece.

Thanks (0)
Tom Herbert
By Tom Herbert
21st Apr 2016 16:25

Yes

Fair point mwngiol. An earlier version of the article without the clarifying paragraph at the top was posted in error. Hope that has cleared things up.

Thanks (0)