The Chief Financial Officer of a midsize organization is challenged because their requirements are similar to large enterprises, yet they have fewer resources available. IT innovation enables midsize finance departments with the potential to be more productive. However, achieving the full benefit from these investments requires that CFOs assess the department’s existing processes to identify opportunities where using technology can improve performance. A key objective is to scale the business without having to increase administrative headcount in the finance department so that resources can be instead focused on accelerating growth via investments in sales, logistics, R&D or customer support.
A core function of the department is providing timely and accurate reports and analyses so the leadership team and managers have the information and insights they need to make better informed decisions. The Office of Finance is like a numbers factory, one that transforms data into analyses and reports. The quality of the factory’s output depends on the accuracy and timeliness of the data as well as the tools used to transform that data into actionable information. Today, midsize departments are more like an artisanal workshop than a factory, handcrafting the necessities. As a result, they lag in analytics: Our Office of Finance Benchmark Research found that 45% of larger organizations perform analyses very well, compared to just 28% of midsize ones. Similarly, 40% of the larger group do budgeting and fiscal control well compared to 27% of midsize ones. And 59% of larger entities are able to complete their quarterly close within six business days while only 41% of midsize ones can.
