Three Steps to Implement New Financial Planning and Analysis Software
Supporting finance leads select and adopt new finance technology for their multinational enterprise company
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, financial digital transformation has become more than just a buzzword – it's a strategic imperative for multinational enterprises (MNEs) looking to stay competitive and agile in an increasingly digital world.
According to the 2023 FP&A Trends Survey, FP&A professionals spend nearly half their time on low-value data-related activities, their outdated or outgrown financial planning and analysis software curtailing strategic analysis opportunities.
Finance leaders are now facing this challenge head on, with CFOs playing a pivotal role in driving this transformation forward, particularly when it comes to implementing new financial planning and analysis software.
Research from Gartner reveals that CFOs are leading digital transformation efforts in the finance function in 2024. Improving finance metrics, insights and storytelling, leading change management efforts, and optimising costs were also identified as priorities for over 70% of CFOs.
This blog walks finance leads through how to go about creating a roadmap to successfully select and adopt new finance planning and analytics tools for their organisation.
Creating a roadmap to a new finance tech future
Gartner identifies the following critical steps for finance leaders to realise their vision of a new finance technology future.
1. Prepare to build the finance technology roadmap.
2. Identify finance’s technology opportunities.
3. Select technologies for investment.
4. Create and communicate the finance technology roadmap.
Working with an experienced consultancy at the planning stage can support the adoption of the technology that’s ultimately chosen (and collaborate on selecting the right solution). If we’re involved at the beginning of an MNEs digital transformation initiative, we typically follow the roadmap outlined above, broken down into three phases, each with defined goals.
Step 1: Define Clear Objectives and Requirements for the financial planning and analysis software
Before embarking on any digital transformation initiative, it's essential to clearly define your objectives and requirements, with the right people onboard.
As Gartner states, “Lay the groundwork for creating the finance technology roadmap, and ensure all participants understand their responsibilities, process timelines and expected outcomes.”
Take the time to assess your current finance processes and identify pain points, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement and engage with key stakeholders across the organisation to understand their needs and expectations from the new software.
Defining finance technology opportunities could look something like this (from Gartner):
Whether it's improving forecasting accuracy, enhancing decision-making capabilities, or streamlining reporting processes, articulating clear objectives will help guide your software selection and implementation efforts.
Step 2: Evaluate and Select the Right Software Solution
With your objectives and requirements in mind, the next step is to evaluate and select the right financial planning and analysis software for your MNE.
Consider factors such as scalability, flexibility, integration capabilities, user-friendliness, and vendor reputation. Look for a solution that aligns with your organisation's unique needs and future growth plans, and potentially take advantage of vendor demos, trials, and customer feedback to gain insights into the software's functionality and suitability for your business.
Remember that the goal is not just to find a software solution but to find the right solution that will enable you to achieve your strategic finance objectives.
Finance teams can struggle to assess the quality of their existing systems and the value of new technologies in a comparable and comprehensive manner.
This is where the finance lead and the transformation team they bring together are instrumental in forming and communicating a clear understanding of the functionality and quality of currently deployed systems, and the market technology landscape to support key finance activities.
Ensure your decision-making is informed and insightful by creating a super-group with 360, cross-departmental vision of your current tech, what it’s lacking - and what’s out there in the market-place.
Our tips:
- Set up a finance technology roadmap ‘tiger team’ to drive this effort. The team should include relevant stakeholders from the finance, IT and procurement teams.
- Create an inventory of current technologies/systems that support various finance activities in your organisation.
With eager vendors keen to make a sale and new trends in the plethora of SaaS solutions, selecting new software is often pressured and complex.
Gartner has identified the following common pitfalls when it comes to selecting new financial planning and analysis software solutions - almost all of which can be avoided either through stakeholder engagement and alignment, or by an IT business partner providing consultative support auditing current technologies and future technology investments.
Gartner’s Common Pitfalls include:
A Focus on Short-Term Gains
Investing in low-effort, low-complexity technology solutions (such as piecemeal automation) to shorten payback periods. This is often at the expense of opportunities (such as setting up an RPA CoE) that can yield long-term business value.
Selection of Technologies Based on Hype and Market Trends
Investing in new technologies that seem to offer quick efficiency gains, risking misalignment of technology investment strategy with finance objectives and diminishing the utility and
effectiveness of these investments.
Identify Technology Opportunities in Silos
Limited visibility into the organisation’s other IT efforts, leading to overlaps and conflicts among different finance teams or with central IT. This creates confusion and leads to a disjointed finance technology roadmap.
Identifying the technology you want is just one phase of a much longer journey - next on the roadmap is to ensure your teams adopt it. This requires a plan.
Step 3: Plan for Successful Implementation and Adoption
Implementing new financial planning and analysis software is not just a technical project – it's a change management initiative that requires careful planning and execution.
- Develop a detailed implementation plan that outlines key milestones, timelines, responsibilities, and resource requirements and consider factors such as data migration, system integration, training, and user adoption.
- Engage with stakeholders early and communicate transparently throughout the implementation process to manage expectations and address any concerns or resistance to change.
- Invest in comprehensive training and support programs to ensure that users are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to maximise the value of the new software.
In summary, successful adoption and implementation of financial planning and analysis software is about more than the software itself: it’s centred on creating the right culture, fostering a strategic, collaborative approach to transformation and supporting teams to adopt new technologies - consultative outside support can help with this.
Insight Models advises on selecting and onboarding new financial planning and analysis software and processes - and our experts’ consultancy does not end when your software is implemented: we stick around to ensure you are getting the optimal from the solution you buy, and the processes you build around it.
Talk to us about how we support finance leads to select the right software solution, plan for successful implementation and adoption, to deliver meaningful digital transformation and position their organisations for long-term success in today's dynamic business environment.