Transformation challenges in finance

This report draws on the expertise of senior finance executives from some of the world’s leading organisations to consider the challenges CFOs face by finance transformation. It suggests a number of good practices that organisations can follow in transforming their finance operations.

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With continuing challenge from businesses for the finance function to prove its corporate value, today’s finance leaders are tasked with ensuring that it operates in a smarter, essentially more efficient and more effective way. They must run their finance operations as cost effectively as possible, bring high quality stewardship and controllership to the organisation, and generate the critical financial and data insights that help the CEO and the business make the right commercial decisions in what is an increasingly complex and volatile environment. 

In their ambitions to become to become smarter, transformation of the finance function is a key priority for today’s finance executives. This report, part of a series of global research activities into today’s smart finance function, shares insights from some of the world’s leading businesses on the challenges finance executives face when they seek to make significant changes to the finance organisation. 

The report identifies the most common obstacles facing finance leaders, and considers what the catalyst for finance change is. It also discusses how finance chiefs can achieve broader business support for these change initiatives, the advantages and disadvantages of different transformation scale and speeds, the importance of sequencing in the change process, and the benefits of different sourcing strategies.