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After a decade of limited technology innovation, the office of finance computing landscape now is experiencing significant transformation. This shift can be seen in areas including ERP, accounting and financial performance management applications like budgeting, closing and planning applications that now are readily available for licensing through subscription and in the cloud. In-memory computing and big data infrastructure make it easier to process larger volumes of data as well as identify risk and opportunities to improve results. “We’ve always done it this way” won’t do anymore. Finance organizations must adapt to the expanding potential from what technology is making practical.
Ventana Research offers fact-based strategic advisory services to the Office of Finance that are designed to resolve process and people issues by addressing the underlying defects in technology (software) and information (data). Through its understanding of the vendor landscape and technology trends, Ventana Research enables it clients to maximize their substantial investment in technology for ERP, financial consolidation and reporting, budgeting and planning, price and revenue management, subscription management and finance analytics.
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The number of days it takes it to close the company�s books � that is; the number of days into the following month required to completed all the activities associated with the financial close � is a reliable way to gauge the effectiveness of a finan
There is longstanding agreement on the importance of a company closing its books as quickly as possible. A short close becomes all the more important during periods of business disruption and uncertainty because it allows an organization to accelerat
Still using spreadsheets for SOX404 and 302 compliance? Organizations need software, not spreadsheets, to achieve sustainable and efficient compliance
Over the next ten years, technology will do more to change the nature of the work done in the finance and accounting organization than it has over the past 50. A range of technology advances affecting databases, data processing, analytics, user exper
A central aspect of continuous accounting is controlling accounting and other data that affects financial statements continuously, from start to finish. This form of control, known as “straight-through processing,” addresses the significant issue of
The electronic spreadsheet is among the top five most important advances in business management to come along in the last 100 years. It has revolutionized almost all aspects of finance and accounting.
The basic concepts used for measuring, analyzing and managing profitability are well established. The challenge has been to translate the concepts into practical methods and processes. Technology now enables organizations to address those challenges.
CIOs face the constant challenge of having resources available for strategic projects while still performing essential “keep-the-lights-on” activities. IT organizations can shed non-essential workloads, especially as they forge a relationship with th
There are times when organizations can be overwhelmed by financial stress while simultaneously embracing distributed working environments and other operational constraints they weren’t prepared for. Finance and accounting departments that can utilize
Finance executives need to rethink their planning and budgeting processes to make them faster, more agile and more predictive to achieve their objectives under any circumstances.
I like Louis Pasteur’s observation that “fortune favors the prepared mind.” So-called black swan events happen regularly and can have a very negative effect on a business.
Sometimes it takes a while for technology to fundamentally change how work is done. That’s because several innovations usually have to come together before a transformation can occur.
The global pandemic crisis was, in effect, an unrehearsed stress test measuring the resiliency of the department. The crisis highlighted the importance of sustaining confidence in the accuracy and control of accounting processes, not just efficiency.
Dedicated software is the most effective tool for organizations seeking to plan for business continuity, sustainability and success
The Chief Financial Officer can enable her or his finance department play a more strategic role in company operations by adopting what I call profitability management.
For decades I’ve heard people talk about cutting audit costs to reduce administrative overhead but based on my observations, I was skeptical — mostly because, until recently, the documented success stories haven’t been about going from good to great
I like Louis Pasteur’s observation that “fortune favors the prepared mind.” So-called black swan events happen regularly and can have a very negative effect on a business.
I like Louis Pasteur’s observation that “fortune favors the prepared mind.” So-called black swan events happen regularly and can have a very negative effect on a business.
We find in our recent Change in the Office of Finance benchmark research an indication of the value of using automation to execute finance department functions.
In late February I attended Spark, the Scout annual user group meeting. This was the third and likely the last such meeting, as Scout was recently acquired by Workday.
One of the objectives of our recent Change in the Office of Finance benchmark research was to assess the technological capabilities of finance and accounting departments.
I was invited to sit on a panel at CFO 3.0 events held in San Francisco and New York hosted by Sage Intacct.
Yes, it’s an easy metaphor, but a worthwhile one to consider. For the Office of Finance, figures are its raw material.
Host Analytics recently announced it will now go by the name Planful.
I’ve written before about blockchain’s significant potential. A lot of the current discussion on the topic centers on cryptocurrencies and financial trading platforms, both of which are already in operation.
Pricing is an eternally vexing issue in business. Over the years, organizations have used different strategies to establish prices for their products, depending on custom, the nature of the business and the degree of competitiveness in the market.
In a recent note on virtualizing the close, I observed that finance and accounting organizations that can operate in a virtual mode are better able to adapt to changing circumstances and overcome obstacles.
“Virtualizing” the accounting close involves applying software automation, substantially reducing manual and paper-based processes and incorporating electronic collaboration. Virtualization enables finance and accounting departments to achieve speed
Virtual accounting enables the department to achieve speed and resilience without sacrificing accuracy and control. Start by virtualizing the close.
Recent events are forcing corporations to adopt dedicated software for tax provision, transfer pricing and tax analysis.
Dedicated planning and budgeting software improves public sector finance department efficiency and enables responsive, high-quality service.
FP&A and business analysts can make reporting more effective by reimagining how, what and when their company does its reporting.
Workiva recently introduced Chains, a visual workflow tool for the Workiva platform.
Dedicated planning and budgeting software will help government organizations build the ability to maintain business continuity.
Midsize organizations face a unique set of challenges. Software can help enable growth without adding administrative overhead, and close automation is a great place to start.
One of the challenges of being a practically minded technology analyst is squaring the importance of “the next big thing” with the reality of what most organizations are doing.
A great deal has changed in how finance and accounting departments operate since the start of 2020.
In this Analyst Perspective from Robert Kugel, learn how FP&A can redefine its mission to achieve the long-stated goal of making it more of a strategic partner with the rest of the organization.
An important recent development in software designed for the Office of Finance is the addition of what we’re calling a data aggregation device (DAD) for analytical applications.
A couple of years ago, I started talking about a “New Era of Trade.” Its starting point was the world financial crisis in 2007, but the evidence that we were experiencing a shift only became obvious years later.
What business continuity lessons have public sector organizations learned during recent challenging times? How can planning and budgeting software contribute to agility that helps promote business continuity? How can the accounting and finance depart
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are central to nearly every organization’s management of operational and financial business processes.
In preparing this research note I took the precaution of searching “value-based planning” to see what came up. Over the years, the term has been used in several contexts each with different shadings.
The critical lesson learned from any crisis is the importance of resiliency to cope with sometimes rapidly changing circumstances. Technology has demonstrated that it provides the essential ingredient to achieving this resiliency.
One of the oddities of corporate management is that, as a rule, nobody oversees managing profitability.
Charles Darwin never said evolution was a matter of the survival of the fittest. On the contrary, he said: It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.
Can you imagine a more arcane and boring topic than accounts receivable? Unless you are the CFO, controller, chief accounting officer or treasurer of an organization, maybe not.
Effective financial management requires the ability to understand an organization’s current condition while having visibility into its potential future state.
The purpose of planning is to enable executives and managers to make better-informed decisions more consistently. Planning within an organization requires setting objectives and weighing the alternative methods of achieving those objectives, because
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a core digital technology for increasing productivity and efficiency, speeding the completion of work, and increasing its quality and controllability.
Information technology will have a greater impact on how the finance department operates over the next 10 years than it has over the past 50. The cumulative impact of a decade of steady technology evolution along with the demographic shift to digital
In the context of planning, budgeting and benchmarking, external data includes information about the world outside an organization such as economic and market statistics, competitors and customers.
BlackLine recently held its first virtual user conference, Beyond the Black, where it detailed numerous additions and enhancements to its applications.
Finance executives have come to value contingency planning and adaptability in the face of uncertainty, whether it is caused by a worldwide crisis or simply the variance of day-today business.
The post-pandemic world will see much returned to normal, but there will also be change. For businesses that faced shutdowns, these changes will include higher taxes to pay for the costs of mitigating the economic impact, and the loss of tax revenue.
Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2021, continuing the tradition of transparency in our efforts to educate and guide the technology market but also our independence as we do not share our market agenda or analyst perspectives with
Profitability management produces a sustainable competitive advantage but by 2025 only one-third of companies will have implemented a profitability management initiative, explains Ventana Research SVP and Research Director Robert Kugel.
Ventana Research recently announced its 2021 market agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we’ve offered since 2003 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a core digital technology for finance and accounting organizations. It can drive significant gains in productivity and efficiency by automating mechanical, repetitive accounting processes in a continuou
Irked by the need to account for every penny of his college expenses, poet Robert Frost penned the lines:
The challenges of the pandemic prevented auditors from visiting client offices, which led to widespread adoption of remote audit processes.
Organizations have long sought ways to achieve a fast but “clean” (accurate) financial close. The most widely accepted benchmark is to be able to close within one business week.
IBM Planning Analytics, formerly known as TM1, is a comprehensive planning and analytics application designed to integrate and streamline an organization’s planning processes. It can support multiple planning use cases on a single platform, including
Ventana Research defines intercompany financial management (IFM) as a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities that is designed to maximize staff efficiency and accounting accuracy while
Small business owners are fortunate to have a choice of feature-rich, flexible, and affordable entry-level accounting packages. Eventually, though, successful businesses grow and will often find that the very accounting software that once made things
The ERP system is at the core of nearly every organization’s record keeping and business process management. Its smooth and uninterrupted functioning is essential to an organization’s accounting and finance functions.
FourQ is an intercompany financial management (IFM) Solution-as-a-Service provider. IFM is a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities, and is designed to maximize staff efficiency and ac
Ventana Research defines intercompany financial management (IFM) as a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities that is designed to maximize staff efficiency and accounting accuracy while
Financial consolidation software assists companies in executing their accounting close process - especially those that use multiple ERP systems or have multiple legal entities - and with other characteristics that can complicate the process such as k
Unit4’s Financial Planning and Analysis (formerly Prevero) is a planning and budgeting application designed for the requirements of midsize corporations and the public sector.
The objectives of zero-based budgeting are well aligned with what I call integrated business planning, a technology-enabled approach to managing the forward-looking activities of a corporation including forecasting, planning and budgeting.
Ventana Research defines intercompany financial management as a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities.
Corporations continually confront profitability issues and opportunities caused by competitors’ actions, shifts in demand, as well as changes in commodity prices and other factor costs.
Business process reengineering (BPR) was a consulting fashion in the early 1990s that spurred many companies to purchase their first ERP systems. BPR proposes a fundamental redesign of core business processes to achieve substantial improvements in ma
Business continuity is the ability of an organization to maintain normal operations without compromise, regardless of external conditions. Because they provide emergency and other critical services, government organizations must be able to maintain b
A business crisis alerts finance leaders to their organization’s vulnerabilities. When lockdowns prevented people from being in their offices in 2020, organizations with the right technology and processes demonstrated their ability to adapt, overcome
Darwin never claimed that evolutionary success came down to survival of the fittest. To the contrary, he stated, “it is not the strongest that survives; but…the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds i
These days it strikes me that the motto of successful salespeople – "ABC: Always Be Closing!" – should apply equally to corporate controllers, albeit in the accounting sense.
The purpose of planning is not planning; it is decision making. And the purpose of reimagining operational planning as a continuous, connected process is to deliver business value, making these processes faster, more agile and more intelligent so tha
A year of business uncertainty, lockdowns and operational disruptions forced finance and accounting organizations to adapt and change in many ways that are proving to be permanent.
The annual Ventana Research Digital Innovation Awards showcase advances in the productivity and potential of business applications, as well as technology that contributes significantly to the improved processes and performance of an organization.
This episode features [Rob Kugel], [SVP & Research Director, Office of Finance] at Ventana Research, talking about the mission for a truly strategic financial planning and analysis group in the 2020s, and an approach to achieving that mission, someth
Standard planning software helps executives achieve profitability objectives by establishing top-level revenue targets and setting aggregated expense limitations. On the other hand, profitability management is designed to achieve consistently higher
Environmental, social and governance reporting by public corporations has become a top-of-mind issue for senior executives and boards of directors as countries increasingly consider or mandate its implementation in some form.
As a result of the rapidly changing business landscape in 2020 and the need to quickly – and intelligently – change business plans and budgets, many more companies have been deciding to adopt a continuous planning approach to be able to add speed and
An important and durable lesson of recent massive disruptions is that organizations need to forecast and plan with agility so they can quickly adapt to evolving economic, market, legal, regulatory and behavioral conditions. Organizations that have in
Any crisis, whether worldwide or impacting a single organization, tests an executive team’s ability to seize a fleeting opportunity, address an existential problem or mitigate future risks. Global turmoil highlights the need for the financial plannin
A looming challenge for companies in the developed world is price inflation, an issue periodically fretted over – but not experienced at a macroeconomic level in most developed economies – over the past four decades.
Any crisis, whether a global pandemic or one confined to a single company, tests the ability of an organization (and especially its executives and managers) to quickly respond to events by seizing opportunities, addressing problems or mitigating risk
Everyone running a business knows that the bottom line is the bottom line. But how does your company manage profitability? There’s an important distinction between managing to profit objectives and what Ventana Research calls “profitability managemen
Digital transformation is achieved by using digital technologies to create new (or modify existing) processes and methods to meet evolving business and market requirements. For finance departments the term is associated with, among other changes, usi
Managing corporate income taxes is a challenge for chief financial officers. Tax codes are often complex, so tax accounting as well as the data required for tax provisions and tax compliance are different enough from statutory accounting to create si
Organizations have traditionally handled the multiple components of payments and spend management in a scattershot manner due to the legacy of paper-based systems used by individual business units.
Digital transformation of the Office of Finance has been a recurring theme for several years, but adoption accelerated when offices were locked down and organizations had to collaborate remotely
Continuous Planning is a high participation, collaborative approach that connects and aligns operational and financial forecasts to support action-oriented planning. This method promotes agility that is valuable both in times of crises and in a stead
Over the past decade, how organizations manage processes and record data related to transactional events captured by an enterprise resource planning system has undergone a significant evolution. Some of the more recent changes have been the result of
For decades, sourcing and supply chain management was focused almost exclusively on achieving the lowest cost, and the world’s trade environment supported this approach. However, I observed that the new era of trade, supply chain planning and executi
In today’s fluid operating environment, organizations must be agile and resilient to deal successfully with unpredictable events and rapid changes in their operating environment.
How will digital transformation affect the role of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)?
Profitability management is especially valuable as corporations confront cost-price pressures, shifting demand and supply conditions, and structural changes in markets and economies. Having the right tool along with the right data is the first step t
The idea that finance organizations should play a more strategic role in company operations isn’t new. For some time, there's been general agreement that finance departments must evolve. They must provide better insights on what just happened, guidan
Robert Kugel discusses the reality, predictions, considerations and benefits about Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) reporting for organizations.
A digital finance and accounting organization is one that uses software to enhance efficiency by eliminating manual operations and automating workflows, improving financial data quality. This is especially relevant to small to midsize organizations t
Power ON is software designed for organizations to streamline their business planning, budgeting, forecasting, reviewing and reporting, in order to make these processes more effective and accurate.
Over the past decade, close-management software has evolved to enable even midsize organizations to streamline department processes, operate in a virtual mode, accelerate the accounting close and reduce staff stress. It’s one step toward continuous a
The annual Ventana Research Digital Leadership Awards recognize organizations and individuals that utilize technology to advance business and IT. The Digital Leadership Awards showcase the professional leadership and their use of business application
Pricing is an issue that almost every for-profit company confronts – and usually agonizes over. Chief financial officers must play a part in setting the strategic direction of pricing in their organization. They should not be involved in tactical pri
Historically, it’s been difficult to convince chief financial officers to invest in technology that makes it easier to spend money. That’s probably because before digital technologies, the natural impediments to spending stood as crude but effective
The annual Ventana Research Digital Leadership Awards recognize organizations and individuals that utilize technology to advance business and IT. The Digital Leadership Awards showcase the professional leadership and their use of business application
As with many IT innovations, augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR) and the related topic of spatial computing had been discussed to death long before they became a practical reality. As a user interface, AR is already well understood in terms
Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2022, continuing the tradition of reliability in our efforts to educate and guide the technology market. Our assessments are backed by our expertise and independence, as we do not share our market
Ventana Research recently announced its 2022 Market Agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we have offered since 2003 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department.
I am happy to share insights gleaned from our latest Value Index research, an assessment of how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Having just completed the 2022 Ventana Research Value Index for Business Planning, I want to share some of my observations about the business planning software market and how it has advanced as an important part of our market coverage for almost two
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) using machine learning (ML) will be the single most important trend in business software this decade because it can multiply the investment value of such applications and provide vendors an important source of
Ventana Research is sharing insights about IBM, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about SAP, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Oracle, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Board, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Reconciling accounts at the end of a period is one of those mundane finance department tasks that are ripe for automation. Reconciliation is the process of comparing account data (at the balance or item level) that exists either in two accounting sys
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Anaplan, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Wolters Kluwer, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about OneStream Software, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Workday, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Software that automates the full scope of the accounting close, including reconciliations, consolidation and reporting, has grown more capable and affordable over the past five years. By enabling consistent process management that captures best pract
Ventana Research is sharing insights about insightsoftware, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Vena Solutions, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Join analyst Robert Kugel and Zuora’s Yash Mahajani to learn about key opportunities and challenges associated with recurring revenue for accounting and finance teams.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Prophix, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Planful, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Unit4, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
I recently attended an analyst conference held by Unit4, an enterprise resource planning vendor focused on midsize organizations in people-centric industries. The conference was intended to communicate the company’s strategy, product updates and road
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Infor, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Financial consolidation is the process of combining financial data (notably assets, liabilities, income and expenses) from multiple subsidiaries’ general ledgers across an organization for the purpose of creating a parent company report. The current
Value-added tax is a type of levy that is applied at each step of a transaction chain, from basic inputs to the final good or service. The amount assessed is based on the value added by an organization (hence the name) when a transaction occurs. VAT
Indirect taxes — known variously as sales-and-use, value-added or goods-and-services tax — can get complicated, particularly in countries that have overly complex tax regimes such as Brazil, India and the United States. For example, in the U.S., stat
Ventana Research recently published the results of our Business Planning Value Index Research and I commented on its connection to our emphasis on using software to unify planning processes across an enterprise to improve performance. Since 2007, we
The term "corporate spend" usually refers to the incidental but still significant outlays organizations make to support operations. Especially in nonmanufacturing industries, purchases of indirect goods and business services – such as computers, offi
How payments are effected is an afterthought to many involved in a transaction, but flaws in this process can be a source of pain and frustration for those in the back office, especially in accounting and treasury. To improve the way payments are han
I first wrote about a new era of trade a few years ago to make the point that the period of optimizing supply chains for the lowest cost was over, and that companies needed to redesign them to achieve greater resiliency. That observation proved corre
Sage recently announced that it is expanding its Sage Intacct software offering to support discrete manufacturing, with its initial foray into this competitive market centered in France. The move supports the company’s strategy of building out the sc
Organizations need to use external data in planning and budgeting, both data and third-party forecasts. This need also extends to external data in training artificial intelligence systems to assist in planning and for predictive analytics.
Artificial intelligence using machine learning has passed through the bright, shiny object stage and software vendors are well into the process of making the concept a reality in their offerings.
A few years ago – somewhat tongue in cheek – I began using the term “data pantry” to describe a type of data store that’s part of a business application platform, created for a specific set of users and use cases. It’s a data pantry because, unlike a
OneStream offers a platform designed to serve the needs of accounting and financial planning and analysis organizations. The software handles financial close and consolidation, planning and budgeting, analysis and reporting. For me, the most signific
We conducted our recent Smart Close Dynamic Insights Research in part to assess to what extent the substantial disruptions of the pandemic have impacted the accounting close. When office lockdowns began in the first quarter of 2020, many finance depa
Since its inception 20 years ago, Ventana Research has advocated for a shorter accounting close because it can improve the performance of the entire organization, not just finance and accounting. An important benefit of a shorter close is increased s
To gain full advantage of technology, finance and accounting organizations must become “fast followers,” avoiding the bleeding edge but breaking the habit of waiting until the last possible moment before adopting proven advances.
Close automation software designed for midsize companies is relatively new. Successful midsize companies may find they need to automate their close when it takes longer to close, when mistakes, dropped balls and preventable delays increase, or if err
It can be hard to spot deterioration in software. Performance degradation happens subtly over time in all software, including finance department software such as performance management and ERP systems. However, our research finds a correlation betwee
Environmental, social and governance issues have grown increasingly pressing over the past few years as investors and government entities urge organizations to measure and disclose ESG metrics. I’ve already covered the broader topic as it relates to
Technology is important to planning and sales performance management. The right technology will give executives and managers a clear picture of the current sales situation and provide the tools needed to make reliable forecasts for the future. This a
More effective management of pricing usually is the biggest profitability lever available to corporations.
The tax provision and tax reporting processes are getting greater attention from CFOs and audit committees for three reasons.
As organizational spend continues to evolve, key expenses such as business travel and employee spend are becoming increasingly difficult to control. Organizations that have deployed separate manual processes to manage aspects of spending often contin
Companies routinely collaborate in creating, editing, updating, proofreading, and approving composite documents.
Ventana Research uses the term “continuous accounting” to describe an approach to managing the finance and accounting function to boost its performance. Using technology, departments can spread workloads continuously over a fiscal period to shorten t
The number of days it takes it to close the company’s books—that is, the number of days into the following month required to complete all the activities associated with the financial close—is a reliable way to gauge the effectiveness of a finance dep
There is longstanding agreement on the importance of a company closing its books as quickly as possible. A short close becomes all the more important during periods of business disruption and uncertainty because it allows an organization to accelerat
Consolidating and closing the accounting books is an essential core process for the Office of Finance. Efficient and reliable consolidation—the process of combining financial results from multiple legal entities and subsidiary companies—is essential
The critical lesson learned from any crisis is the importance of resiliency to cope with sometimes rapidly changing circumstances. Technology has demonstrated that it provides the essential ingredient to achieving this resiliency.
As finance and accounting departments seek to improve performance, virtualization of processes will play an important role. Virtual accounting uses software to eliminate manual processes as much as possible, and it is marked by a substantial reductio
Traditional workforce planning is a set of processes performed by the Human Resources (HR) function, working with business units and departments to address short- and long- term staffing needs. In this model, HR provides guidelines on pay rates per l
Digital finance transformation is a way to improve the performance of the finance department by using digital technologies to integrate and automate business processes. Improving performance isn’t just about efficiency and cost savings, though.
Futurists and software vendors have been pointing to a day when artificial intelligence (AI) using machine learning (ML) will perform miracles such as providing life-saving diagnoses and recommending treatments for even rare diseases in seconds.
Organizations have traditionally handled the multiple components of payments and spend management in a scattershot manner due to the legacy of paper-based systems used by individual business units. As a result, even when they switch from paper to sof
The purpose of planning is not planning; it is decision making. And the purpose of reimagining operational planning as a continuous, connected process is to deliver business value, making these processes faster, more agile and more intelligent so tha
Over the next 10 years, technology will do more to change the finance and accounting organization than it has over the past 50. A spate of advances in databases, data processing, analytics and tools addressing the user experience as well as the appli
Digitally native organizations are those that have existed from their inception primarily in the digital world, and that typically engage with customers and deliver their products or services via a digital interaction. Well-known examples include Net
The tax provision and tax reporting processes being used by organizations are receiving greater attention from CFOs and audit committees for two important reasons. One is an intensified determination to shorten the accounting close. The other is to a
Business continuity is the ability of an organization to maintain normal operations without compromise, regardless of external conditions. Because they provide emergency and other critical services, government organizations must be able to maintain b
Corporations continually confront profitability issues and opportunities caused by competitors’ actions, shifts in demand, as well as changes in commodity prices and other factor costs.
CIOs face a constant challenge as they deploy resources: they must find the balance between focusing on strategic projects while still performing essential “keep the lights on” activities like user support and applications maintenance. To increase re
Finance executives have come to value contingency planning and adaptability in the face of uncertainty, whether it is caused by a worldwide crisis or simply the variance of day-today business.
People have been complaining about budgeting forever. Technology helps the CFO and finance organization produce a detailed budget and analyze “the numbers” with less effort than was required in the past. Dissatisfaction remains, however, because tech
Business analytics today involves far more than reports and spreadsheets. But despite significant investments in business intelligence (BI) software, many midsize banks continue to operate with a limited set of analytic capabilities, focused largely
Ventana Research uses the term “continuous accounting” to describe how recent advances in information technology can help finance organizations to fundamentally restructure their departmental operations to transform their function. Whereas most past
Profitability management is an analytics-driven business discipline designed to enable organizations to achieve their market share and profitability objectives.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) that harnesses machine learning (ML) will be the single most important trend in business software this decade because it can multiply the investment value of such applications and provide software companies an
Midsize organizations and their finance and accounting departments face a different set of challenges than those faced by small businesses or large enterprises. They’ve outgrown the often-informal systems and processes that worked when they were smal
Many senior finance executives want their department to play a more strategic role in the management and operations of their company.
The annual Ventana Research Digital Innovation Awards showcase advances in the productivity and potential of business applications as well as technology that contributes significantly to the improved processes and performance of an organization. Our
Information technology will have a greater impact on how the finance department operates over the next 10 years than it has over the past 50. The cumulative impact of a decade of steady technology evolution along with the demographic shift to digital
The subscription or recurring revenue business model has grown in popularity over the past decade because it can create a tighter relationship between sellers and customers and establish a regular, more predictable revenue stream.
Any crisis, whether a global pandemic or one confined to a single company, tests the ability of an organization (and especially its executives and managers) to quickly respond to events by seizing opportunities, addressing problems or mitigating risk
A business crisis alerts finance leaders to their organization’s vulnerabilities. When lockdowns prevented people from being in their offices in 2020, organizations with the right technology and processes demonstrated their ability to adapt, overcome
In today’s fluid operating environment, organizations must be agile and resilient to deal with shifts in how and where people work, ever-changing regulations and mounting competition to attract and retain top talent. However, while addressing these c
Ventana Research defines intercompany financial management (IFM) as a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities that is designed to maximize staff efficiency and accounting accuracy while
Dedicated planning and budgeting software improves public sector finance department efficiency and enables responsive, high-quality service. Read the Q&A.
New standards for lease accounting and revenue recognition are challenging finance departments. Robert Kugel sheds light on how the complexity of the new standards, the cross-functional processes for managing them, require software systems – not spre
How will digital transformation affect the role of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)? How will AI affect these FP&A organizations? Robert Kugel sheds light on how FP&A is evolving.
How do you close the books when faced with a distributed working environment and other operational constraints? Robert Kugel sheds light on the value of virtualizing the accounting close to make the process more efficient and resilient.
To reach the best possible outcomes, sales leaders must be able to govern and optimize the processes they rely on; meeting this challenge is the essence of sales performance. However, those leading and working in sales must cope with myriad often dis
Anaplan offers a cloud-based business planning platform that incorporates a modeling and calculation engine. The tool makes it relatively easy to add or expand the scope of plans that can be connected and monitored on a single platform. This Integrat
Profitability management is designed to achieve consistently higher financial returns compared to this standard approach by performing profitability analysis at a more granular level to produce a clearer picture of economic costs and cost drivers. Re
Software can become functionally obsolete even if it still operates. This makes it difficult to know when it’s time to replace a legacy system. Finance organizations should assess replacing existing software when it limits departmental efficiency, fl
In this exclusive Q&A, Robert Kugel, SVP & Research Director at Ventana Research, answers questions about why new standards are getting so much attention, what the associated costs to companies will be due to the new standards, why standard ERP syst
Being able to determine a company's true economic costs is one of the values of profitability management and analytics-driven business discipline designed to help organizations maximize market share and profitability. Watch and listen to Robert Kugel
Everyone running a business knows that the bottom line is the bottom line. But how does your company manage profitability? There’s an important distinction between managing to profit objectives and what Ventana Research calls “profitability managemen
The ability of the finance department to execute rapid planning, forecasting and budgeting cycles is a major factor that determines a company’s adaptability to change because the planning process enables executives to guide the organization on the pa
Profitability management is especially valuable as corporations confront cost-price pressures, shifting demand and supply conditions, and structural changes in markets and economies. Having the right tool along with the right data is the first step t
Continuous Planning is a high participation, collaborative approach that connects and aligns operational and financial forecasts to support action-oriented planning. This method promotes agility that is valuable both in times of crises and in a stead
The idea that finance organizations should play a more strategic role in company operations isn’t new. For some time, there's been general agreement that finance departments must evolve.
Subscription and recurring revenue models are proving to be the way forward for many of today’s organizations. But what challenges arise for the Office of Finance as companies shift toward this way of doing business? How can organizations harness the
What business continuity lessons have public sector organizations learned during recent challenging times?
The mission for a truly strategic financial planning and analysis group in the 2020s, and an approach to achieving that mission, something that Ventana Research calls “continuous planning.”
Pricing determines not just revenue, but also margin. And margin is vital to ensuring profitability. So pricing both serves to generate volume, and hence revenue. Given the importance of pricing, it is surprising how few companies use data and purpos
Well-executed Intercompany Financial Management (IFM) can have a significant impact on the bottom line for large multinational organizations. IFM is a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal ent
The term “continuous planning” may conjure up images of never-ending meetings in which nothing gets accomplished, but Ventana Research uses it to describe a highly collaborative, action-oriented approach to corporate planning built on frequent, short
The challenges facing tax departments are mounting. Governments worldwide are scrutinizing companies’ reporting more closely in an attempt to raise revenue.
For the past few years, organizations the world over have been forced to deal with volatile markets and rapidly changing environments caused by an ongoing series of unexpected events. The only certainty facing executives in these times is persistent
“Digital finance transformation” became an even more important topic over the past two years as finance and accounting departments have had to cope with an unrelenting set of new challenges that have had a profound impact on business operations, fina
Especially in the United States, baby boomer retirements and fewer graduates with accounting degrees is posing a growing challenge to finance department executives in attracting and retaining the best accounting talent. The solution, which may not se
The lockdowns of 2020 forced accounting departments to adapt to managing their close-to-report cycle without face-to-face contact, prompting many to adopt digital technologies to facilitate the process. It gave further impetus to the digital transfor
General Omar Bradley is credited with saying, “Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics.” This is a battlefield commander’s perspective on the often-overlooked importance of mastering the nitty-gritty in achieving military objectives. I
Organizations do not live in a vacuum and things happening outside their walls have a direct impact on how they perform. So, it is essential for them to incorporate external data in their forecasting, planning and budgeting, especially for predictive
Workday held its first in-person Rising user group meeting since 2019 in Orlando. Three topics are worth commenting on: Workday’s Extend offering, its industry accelerators and its progress with the Workday Adaptive Planning offering.
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