Perspectives

Finance in a digital world: It’s crunch time for CFOs.

A series on digital transformation in Finance

Rare is the company that doesn’t have some sort of cloud initiative underway. Cloud is rapidly becoming the standard in how technology solutions are developed and delivered, bringing benefits such as reduced time-to-market, scalability, and a pathway to innovation. But that doesn’t mean cloud is easy to implement and manage. This guide shares answers to CFOs’ frequently asked questions about cloud investments anywhere in the enterprise, as well as within Finance. Learn the opportunities and challenges that come with investing in the cloud so you can make more effective cloud decisions.

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Crunch time IX: Tax in a digital world

Organisations plow millions into upgrading their ERP systems. But when it comes to Tax, not a lot changes. Many tax departments have all but missed out on technology modernisation—leaving the entire organisation facing operational, fiscal, and managerial disadvantages.

When Tax is modernised, it shifts from being mostly a compliance function to a high-value planning and reporting function. The result? CFOs may find that they can have it all – a high-performing, efficient tax department that’s tightly integrated with Finance and the rest of the organisation.

Crunch time IX: Tax in a digital world

Crunch time VIII: The CFO guide to Cloud

At just about every organization across every industry, the cloud is top-of-mind in the C-suite.

With 93 percent of organizations either adopting or considering the cloud, it is essential for CFOs to determine its value proposition and its implications for accounting, contracting, security/risk, and other areas of the business.

As CFO, you know cloud will be part of the future, whether driven by the need for innovation, cost reduction, or both. By making more effective cloud decisions, you may get a jump on competitors in terms of innovation, agility, and cost.

Crunch time VIII: The CFO guide to Cloud

Crunch time VII: Reporting in a digital world

Imagine a future where executives no longer rely on binders of static data to inform their decisions, and where reporting – both external and internal – is intelligent, interactive, and real-time. This guide looks at how companies are using today’s digital tools to upgrade their reporting processes to get better information distributed faster – and at a substantially lower cost.

Crunch time VII: Reporting in a digital world

Crunch time VI: Forecasting in a digital world

Organisations are shifting to forecasting processes that involve people working symbiotically with data-fuelled, predictive algorithms. It’s all made possible by new technologies—advanced analytics platforms, in-memory computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including machine learning. Today, these technologies in the hands of expert forecasting talent give companies the ability to discover things they’ve always wanted to know—as well as things they didn’t know they didn’t know—with more confidence and speed.

Crunch time VI: Forecasting in a digital world

Crunch time V: Finance 2025

Whether it’s phone apps, home automation, or cashless commerce, digital disruption is the new normal for consumers today. It’s changing what we do – and how we get things done – in countless ways.

What does this have to do with the future of Finance? Everything. 

The technologies needed to reimagine Finance are here and will only get better. Plus, we can learn a lot from other business functions. Modern factories give us a glimpse of what automation can deliver. Smart contracts show us new ways of tracking assets. The lessons are out there, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can focus instead on adapting and adopting.

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Crunch time IV: Blockchain for Finance – what CFOs need to know

Ten minutes into a discussion with a group of blockchain professionals, one CFO shook his head. “This is ridiculously ambiguous,” he complained. And it didn’t take long for others to agree. In response, we set out to demystify blockchain for CFOs, focusing on how finance organisations can apply blockchains to streamline processes, improve controls, and transform finance operations.

Blockchain for Finance is a practical guide for finance organisations that want to understand options for blockchain and make effective decisions about moving forward. It features more than a dozen Frequently Asked Questions finance teams can use to make sense of blockchain technology, as well as a high-level roadmap for adoption. It also includes a seven-point checklist for CFOs who are thinking about embarking on the blockchain journey.
 

Additional Crunch Time Reports

Crunch time: Finance in a digital world
Deloitte's original point of view, Crunch time: Finance in a digital world - based on extensive research with finance executives, including in-depth interviews with CFOs of global businesses - explores the various digital disruptors and may be the quickest way to understand what's in store for finance organisations as they hurtle toward the future.

Crunch time, too: CFOs talk off the record about finance in a digital world
In the follow-up report, Crunch time, too: CFOs talk off the record about finance in a digital world, 30 CFOs share their unfiltered thoughts and experiences around a broader discussion of finance and what it means to make the digital journey. Deloitte knows that one way to stay abreast of new developments is to join in focused conversations with other finance leaders, across multiple industries and geographies, so this is a good place to start.

Crunch time III: The CFO’s guide to cognitive technology
In the third instalment of the Crunch time series, Crunch time III: The CFO’s guide to cognitive technology, gain insight into how Finance organisations are deploying new cognitive technologies to help create a more efficient, insightful, and controlled Finance function, all without sacrificing service and quality.

 

Crunch time IV: Blockchain for finance

Digital tools for CFOs

Some of the new digital tools available to finance focus specifically on updating core systems and existing capabilities. Other tools, "exponentials", are designed to deliver new and different capabilities. Together, they form a toolset finance can use to improve its own performance and serve the business more effectively, especially when they are used together. 

Our research suggest that seven technologies have growing interaction and relevance for how the work of finance get done:

                              
 Cloud
Cloud is a kind of computing that uses scalable, elastic technology to deliver services over the internet. Instead making large investments up front, finance can get the full stack of finance functionality “as-a-service,” delivered through public, private, or hybrid clouds.
                                Process robotics
Process robotics automates transaction processing and communication across multiple technology systems. Robots perform recurring processes just like humans, but with less risk of errors and fatigue.
                                Visualisation
Visualisation refers to the innovative use of images and interactive technology to explore large, high-density data sets. Visualisation suites complement business intelligence and analytics platforms, offering rich graphics, interactivity, and usability on par with leading consumer experiences.
                          Advanced analytics
Analytics has long been part of the finance arsenal, but new techniques are helping business people tackle the crunchy questions with insightful answers. Often that means combing through big data to see patterns that suggest future opportunities.
                                  Cognitive computing
Cognitive computing and artificial intelligence (AI) simulate human thinking. This technology includes machine learning, natural language processing, speech recognition, and computer vision.
                            In-memory computing
In-memory computing refers to storing data in main memory to get faster response times. And because the data is compressed, storage requirements are reduced. The result? Speed and access to quantities of data that were previously unimaginable.
                          Blockchain
Blockchain is a digital distributed ledger, where transactions are verified and securely stored on a network of distributed and connected nodes, without a governing central authority.

Talent essentials for digital transformation

The growth of digital business is already reshaping the talent marketplace, far beyond finance. As organisations seek to upgrade their workforces in all areas, they are placing a premium on people with relationship and analytical skills, who can also understand the business. Talent essentials for digital transformation includes:

  • Leadership: A sharp view into the future and a clear roadmap for              getting there
  • Culture: Less predictability, more experimentation and innovation
  • New skills: Technology savviness combined with business understanding
  • Engagement: An opportunity to learn, grow, and innovate for digital natives or Millennials

“Digital transformation is fundamentally human-centric because it’s about imagining new ways of value creation. For that to happen, people have to be digital enablers as well as users of new digital capabilities.”

Framing the future

Which path makes sense for you? What kind of roadmap will you need to realise the benefits of digital transformation? In the end, organisations will need to chart their own courses. But no matter which future you envision, the leaders will likely be those who figure out how to make digital work for finance—and for the whole business, too.

“Not having a roadmap would be really dangerous these days because the pace of transformation is speeding up in every industry. Be on the lookout for quick wins and use them to validate your direction.”

The Deloitte Finance in a Digital World Lab

The digital world is here. The question is, how will your finance function respond?

Digital disruption is already the new normal for consumers. Now those same technologies that are making our personal lives better and easier are coming to organisations – with the promise of making Finance better, faster and probably less expensive. The work we do and how we do it is up for grabs.

Deloitte’s Finance in a Digital World lab immerses Finance leaders in the realities of digital disruption to help them capitalise on the opportunities that will define success in the future. Throughout the lab, you will be led through a series of exercises to help unpack your aspirations, discover Finance in a Digital World, begin exploring possible applications, and inspire you to change the way you think about digital finance.

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