The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken each one of us and the world today is witnessing one of the most uncertain times. Halting businesses and industries to stand still, this unforeseen crisis has changed the global dynamics completely over the last few months. People across the globe have been restricted inside their homes, while being digitally connected to each other, personally and professionally. Technology has been the only effective armor that we have against this pandemic, propelling us into the new normal. Technology is helping us design the ways of the new normal and driving the world through this crisis.
Even though we may be sitting in the safety and comfort at our homes, it is imperative that the work must go on. Momentum must be maintained, even if remotely, to ensure business continuity. In the new world order, where remote working is becoming the new normal, every department in a corporate must rethink and redesign their working strategies to avoid any work stoppages and service disruptions.
Each division in an organization has its own pertinent role to play, be it the IT department, the finance team, all verticals within the organizations have been juggling ways to find the most appropriate conducts to deal with this crisis and to come up with the best solutions for business recovery and attuning to the new way of life and work. Moreover, if we look at the finance department which plays a key role in enabling larger functions in any given organization, it certainly carries the most important burden of successful business recovery by effectively optimizing costs, conserving resources and ensuring adequate cash flow is available to restart the business after normalcy is restored.
Technology: The real savior
Technology has been the key enabler for businesses to function, albeit at a limited capacity during the lockdown. It has aided constant internal and external communications and relay of critical tasks across sectors and more so for service / IT industry. Today’s trailblazing technology has worked wonders for the finance teams, who have ensured all financial processes continue despite physical absence of the employees. Integration of enterprise systems have empowered the finance department to quickly process and analyze data and provide actionable insights, for efficient decision-making.
In fact, finance plays the most pivotal role when it comes to creating purpose-built solutions for every business process within the organization. All these processes when seamlessly connected for end-to-end alignment – within finance and with operational Line of Business (LoB), including (to name a few) Human Resources, Supply Chain and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – increase agility across the organization. Additionally, while the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate different processes, the availability of real time information in the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world is equally important where “DATA” is the new Gold. This can be achieved through “everywhere ERP” (Mobile, Cloud, Social Media) which provides as faster, scalable and reliable solution enabling faster decision making and optimizing costs.
Within finance as well, all verticals should adopt one common platform to enable decision-making at diverse levels, addressing all needs in one go, across financial and operational planning, consolidation, reporting, and analysis of processes. This platform should enable best practices that can be constructed and are well-suited for organization specific needs.
More disruptive yet innovative technologies such as Artificial intelligence and machine learning tend to play even greater roles in redefining finance function in the organisations. These proficiencies will enhance organisational capabilities to drive better decision-making through analytical insights and automating current manual processes. Varied financial chores rely deeply on digital workflows and databases; hence the financial function becomes the perfect front-runner in incorporating and getting maximum benefit from advance technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and RPA (Robotics Process Automation). Especially if we look at today’s business landscapes, these technologies are here to stay.
Future: Deeper technology penetration in Finance
As per a report by Ernst and Young (April 2019), it has been seen that about 58% of CFOs believe that combining state-of-the-art technology with process improvement will be a major focus for the future of finance function.
In fact, the contribution of finance department in reducing the uncertainty for the organization due to the current or future crisis is directly proportional to relevant, timely and comprehensive analysis results. Technology integration, scale up and real-time analytics will play a key role in functioning of the finance vertical to ensure a smooth run, especially but not limited to, times of crisis. This pandemic has brought to the forefront the fundamental role that existing technology has been playing in our lives and has unleashed the potential for evolution, to lead us into the new normal.
Jay Samit, the popular American author and the Independent Vice Chairman of Deloitte has rightly said, “Disruptors don’t have to discover something new; they just have to discover a practical use for new discoveries.”
Article authored by – Shray Mehandiratta – Director Finance, IPM India Wholesale Trading Private Limited, (country affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc.)
