A key takeaway for finance executives during any difficult period is that departments that can utilize IT systems to operate in a virtual mode – and especially those that have already automated routine tasks – will be better able to adapt to circumstances and overcome obstacles. Organizations can be overwhelmed by financial stress while simultaneously having to deal with unexpected operational constraints (for instance, employees working remotely during the quarterly accounting close). An important point to take from experiences like these is that finance and accounting organizations that can operate in a virtual mode are better able to adapt to circumstances and overcome obstacles. Having systems that can be readily accessed remotely and having the ability to collaborate and execute processes virtually makes it easier for departments to meet their commitments with confidence. Periods of crisis can serve as a gentle wake-up call to CFOs and controllers that the department must be resilient as well as efficient. Technology has demonstrated that it’s a necessary ingredient to achieving resiliency without increasing costs.
Organizations must accelerate their efforts to achieve what’s often called “digital transformation.” That’s a bit of a cliché so I prefer to call it making full use of proven, practical and affordable information technology to improve departmental performance. This means using information technology to substantially reduce the need for people to do low-value work that computers can do faster and more accurately. For instance, using technology to spread accounting workloads more evenly over the month or quarter. Or managing process and data flows continuously in any end-to-end process such as order-to-cash or requisition-to-pay to ensure data quality and eliminate the need for unproductive checks and reconciliations. Companies that have started their Finance Transformation should continue. Those that haven’t should make it a top priority for the development.
Effective management is always a matter of appropriately balancing tactical and strategic considerations. During periods of duress, the focus must be on making it through the challenging times. But that focus shouldn’t paralyze the organization, especially as conditions stabilize. Challenging periods are a perfect time for the CFO to ask: What can we learn from this experience? Where are the vulnerabilities in how we’ve been operating and how can we address them in a systematic and measured way? That’s a department-wide conversation and having the discussion now can prepare the team for needed change when it’s time for action.
During any time of acute challenge, the immediate short-term goal for these departments must be getting through the crisis and dealing with any financial consequences for the business. From a technology standpoint, although you have to “dance with the one that brought you” and utilize the tools you already have, it’s important to identify what you can quickly put in place to promote continuity. I’d also make it a priority to begin formally identifying and cataloging the processes where better technology would have reduced workloads, improved collaboration and coordination, shortened the time to complete tasks and improved accuracy. I’d use experiences like this to understand the business value of technology investments in promoting operational efficiency and business continuity.
For the longer term, I’ve observed that technology limitations are central to many of the barriers that prevent finance and accounting from playing a more strategic, advisory role to the rest of the organization. A failure to automate easily automatable processes and insufficient attention given to designing processes and systems that maintain data quality are the root cause of wasted staff time. Just as companies are learning that technology can support virtual meetings and collaboration, they should also have systems that allow the accounting and finance organization to access systems remotely, significantly reduce manual processes like reconciliations, automate close processes and simplify the administration of the close.
Leadership is essential. The ability to communicate clearly is important. CFOs and other leaders within the department must lead by example and demonstrate integrity. They should display empathy, have a positive attitude and show trust in their colleagues. Those CFOs who showing resilience and confidence during difficult times can build trust. That helps a lot when you ask people to stretch themselves during times of crisis or ask them to change how they do their work when the crisis has passed.
Using technology to streamline audit compliance is a recent addition to my research agenda. Rather than reacting to a long list of provided-by-client data, records and documents, a company would adopt what I’m calling an “open book” approach that is proactive. For instance, the organization can make relevant systems available to the external audit team on a read-only basis and can provide electronic access to a secure document facility so the external audit team can retrieve them in digital form. This cuts down on time the accounting staff needs to spend preparing materials and dealing with the auditors, which means less disruption to their work. The open book approach can also significantly reduce the time auditors spend on site, which can reduce direct audit costs and make the process more resilient, especially in times of crisis.