Ventana Research’s previous research shows finance usually trails behind other business segments in adopting new technology. Because long-standing analytic techniques are so established, finance professionals have had little incentive to broaden their palette even as the opportunities available to them have proliferated. As a result, many Finance organizations fail to take a more strategic role in leadership functions.

Software vendors have begun to introduce new, more advanced analytic applications that are more accessible and no longer require a trained statistician. This next-generation of finance analytics capabilities may make it possible to access and analyze new forms of data, including large-scale data. Implementing such initiative holds great promise but requires an in-depth understanding of options, functional requirements and best practices. Few finance organizations have done the evaluations necessary for selecting the right analytic methods and tools and using them properly.

This benchmark research will examine current adoption of next generation finance analytics and the processes, people and information used to support them. It will investigate the opportunities and issues that accompany have with these new capabilities and the impact they have on the overall financial performance. The research will also determine what steps companies can take to formulate a successful internal business case for adoption of these applications.