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Our Focus on Purchasing, Sourcing and Payments in 2023

Posted by Robert Kugel on 08 March 2023
Digitally transforming core business processes became essential as organizations locked down in early 2020 because of the pandemic and the need to operate remotely presented a set of new challenges that were best addressed by software. Especially in the areas of sourcing, purchasing and payments, software has the ability to streamline processes, shorten process cycles, reduce unnecessary costs,... Read More

Topics: ERP, Office of Finance, continuous supply chain

More Effective Contingency Planning Improves Agility

Posted by Robert Kugel on 28 February 2023
We live in a time of uncertainty, not unpredictability. Managing an organization in uncertain times is always hard, but tools are available to improve the odds for success by making it easier and faster to plan for contingencies and scenarios. Software makes it possible to quickly consider the impact of a range of events or assumptions and devise a set of plans to deal with them. Dedicated... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Data Management, Business Planning, AI and Machine Learning

Cloud ERP is the Path Forward for Manufacturing and Product Companies

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 February 2023
The cloud has come to dominate many business software categories, but until recently, enterprise resource planning for manufacturing and product-focused organizations has been a notable laggard. Cloud-based systems can be less costly to operate, perform better, be more secure and shift maintenance and update chores from the IT department to the vendor, freeing IT teams to concentrate on more... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Operations & Supply Chain, Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, continuous supply chain

insightsoftware Enables a Predictive and Effective Finance Department

Posted by Robert Kugel on 14 February 2023
insightsoftware provides applications for finance departments and other business users in midsize and larger organizations, offering a broad range of functions including analysis, internal and regulatory reporting, planning, consolidation, tax provision and treasury. The software brings together applications that enable business users to maximize data collected in existing systems and streamline... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, embedded analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Trintech Streamlines a Transformed Record-to-Report

Posted by Robert Kugel on 09 February 2023
Trintech provides finance departments in midsize and larger organizations with software to accelerate their accounting close processes. This record-to-report (R2R) cycle is complex because it involves the coordination of numerous people, many systems and multiple sources of data. There are iterative portions that involve cycles of reviews and multiple levels of approvals. These include... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Intercompany Financial Management for Accountability and Accounting

Posted by Robert Kugel on 07 February 2023
Ventana Research coined the term intercompany financial management (IFM) to define a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities designed to maximize staff efficiency and accounting accuracy while optimizing tax exposure, minimizing tax leakage and ensuring consistent tax and regulatory compliance. Technology has advanced to a point... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting

FinancialForce Sharpens Customer Focus in Services Businesses

Posted by Robert Kugel on 31 January 2023
FinancialForce offers cloud-based ERP and professional services automation (PSA) software. The company targets midsize and larger services companies, especially those that provide professional services (such as consultants or field service organizations) as well as those that offer subscription-based or recurring revenue services and products. FinancialForce’s key point of differentiation is that... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Digital Commerce, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Subscription Management

Optimizing Subscription Management for Finance and Accounting

Posted by Robert Kugel on 24 January 2023
The subscription and recurring revenue business models became a significant part of the economy this century with the advent of streaming services for entertainment and software as a service. They have grown in popularity because they enhance customer lifetime value by evolving what had previously been a one-time-sale relationship into a delivery of ongoing services which can create a more loyal... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Office of Finance 2023 Market Agenda: A Brave New World

Posted by Robert Kugel on 19 January 2023
Ventana Research recently announced its 2023 Market Agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we have provided since 2003 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department. Our insights and best practices aim to enable organizations to operate with agility and resiliency, improving performance and delivering greater value as a strategic partner. We craft... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Professional Services Automation Increases Efficiency

Posted by Robert Kugel on 17 January 2023
A professional services automation application marries front- and back-office functions, helping services organizations address core business challenges by ensuring that: Projects are optimally staffed by those with the right skills. Individual professionals are as productive as possible by maximizing their billable time within constraints (such as time required for improving their skills) as... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Epicor Enriches Vertical-Plus Approach for Growth

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 January 2023
Vertical strategies for enterprise resource planning systems are not new. They emerged more than two decades ago as vendors looked for ways to reduce costs and shorten time-to-value in a software category that was notorious for high costs and extended timelines. A vertical-plus strategy – the plus means it’s a platform, not just an application – takes advantage of recently available technology to... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Cloud Computing, ERP and Continuous Accounting, AI and Machine Learning

2023 Market Agenda: Digitalization Evolves for Business Revitalization

Posted by Mark Smith on 06 January 2023
Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2023, continuing a 20-year tradition of credibility and trust in our objective efforts to educate and guide the technology market. Our research and insights are backed by our expertise and independence, as we do not share our Market Agenda or our market research – including analyst and market perspectives – with any external party before it is... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Human Capital Management, Marketing, Office of Finance, Analytics, Data, Digital Technology, Operations & Supply Chain, Office of Revenue

Workiva Simplifies ESG Reporting

Posted by Robert Kugel on 28 December 2022
Workiva offers an environmental, social and governance application that enables organizations to manage the highly distributed tasks necessary for reporting to regulators and stakeholders on ESG matters. ESG issues have grown increasingly pressing over the past few years as investors and government entities urge organizations to measure and disclose relevant metrics. I’ve already covered the... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management

The Planning Center of Excellence

Posted by Robert Kugel on 20 December 2022
In the face of a very uncertain future, companies have been discovering the value of rapid planning and budgeting cycles. As events unfold, they’re changing expectations for the future significantly on a daily or weekly basis. However, even when the world returns to a steadier state, companies will benefit from making their planning and budgeting processes faster, easier, more relevant, more... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, IBP, Business Planning, CFO, Integrated Business Planning

Virtual Audits Improve Financial Statement Quality, Work-Life Balance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 December 2022
After decades of overpromising and underdelivering, technology has now evolved to the point where it is fundamentally changing how accountants work – for the better. The pandemic and resulting support of remote work set the stage for a transformation of how accounting efforts are structured and performed, all for the better. Remote audits that became routine during lockdowns are evolving into... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting

The Business and Technology Trends for 2023 and Beyond

Posted by Mark Smith on 13 December 2022
The technology industry has established itself as a pivotal force in its ability to help organizations become more intelligent and automated. But doing so has required a journey of epic proportions for most organizations that have had to endure a transition of competencies and skills that was, in many places, transitioned to consulting firms who were hired appropriately to manage changes.... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Human Capital Management, Marketing, Office of Finance, Analytics, Data, Digital Technology, Operations & Supply Chain, Office of Revenue

Manage Your Spending Purse with Emburse

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 December 2022
Emburse offers a single platform that enables organizations — small, midsize and larger —to manage their travel and related expenses, pay invoices and handle their corporate spend. Today, technology has the ability to significantly increase the efficiency with which organizations handle expenditures while simultaneously containing costs, increasing controls and improving visibility into where the... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Accelerate Closing with a Faster Tax Provision Process

Posted by Robert Kugel on 07 December 2022
Managing corporate income taxes is a challenge for chief financial officers and their tax department professionals. 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 significant workloads for the tax department. The provision for income tax expense and, for public companies,... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management

Vena Provides Practical Support for Integrated Business Planning

Posted by Robert Kugel on 30 November 2022
Vena Solutions offers organizations a platform for financial planning, analysis and reporting as well as software to manage accounting consolidation and close processes. From the start, Vena has designed its applications to meet the needs of midsize organizations, which typically have the same requirements as large enterprises but with significantly fewer resources to acquire, manage and maintain... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management

Oracle NetSuite Goes Full Suite Ahead to Deliver Customer Value

Posted by Robert Kugel on 25 November 2022
The theme of this year’s Oracle NetSuite SuiteWorld was “Full Suite Ahead,” with content aimed at demonstrating to customers (and prospective buyers) the value of using more of what NetSuite has to offer. The business logic behind this concept goes beyond the obvious objective of upselling existing customers to increase the average annual recurring revenue. As is often the case with subscription... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Finance Performance Management

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