There exists a trend for simply opting for a new digital finance tool, but not adopting older, more successful ones. This is harmful to businesses as some digital finance tools have already delivered much success. One such technology to have tasted success is Robotic Process Automation (RPA). It automates financial processes such as monthly financial closure or reconciling cash accounts. In a study conducted by management consulting giant Bain, it was understood that a staggering 55% of those surveyed aren’t yet using online invoice approval systems or optical character recognition tools. About two-thirds of these laggards though are expected to adopt them over the next two years. Another 43% are not yet using customer self-service portals or e-invoicing. More than two-thirds are bereft of any tax classification tool. The corresponding figure for electronic work papers remains a mere third of the total. Increasingly those not adopting are expected to do so in the next two years.

Source:https://www.bain.com/insights/youre-still-not-using-these-digital-finance-tools-snapchart/

Uploaded Date:13 September 2018

Thanks to digital disruption and increasing business complexity, activist investors are pressurizing the finance teams at various organizations to revamp their processes. This rejigged system will have greater scope for utilizing the now easily available digital tools. These tools will be based for functions such as artificial intelligence and business analytics. Bain and Company conducted a study titled “What CFOs say?” to understand the key gap areas. What emerged was that most CFOs craved more time to work on planning and then implementing a sound corporate strategy. Three key challenges came to the surface. The first of them is knowing the areas where one needed to excel, while also separating the non-priority areas. The next challenge is to understand where does one stand at present. Once this is done, the last challenge is to close this gap identified.

Source:https://www.bain.com/insights/when-the-finance-department-becomes-a-companys-secret-weapon-brief/

Uploaded Date:04 September 2018

The field of finance has started using digital tools in a mega way. This includes a suite of functions such as machine learning, robotics, business analytics and natural language processing. A study anchored by Bain and Company has revealed that three-fourths of respondents expect to use robotics over the next two years. To cite an example, Fed Ex uses digital tools to process tax, payroll, treasury and credit card reconciliations. While few claim that digital tools are limited, the bigger question is about integrating a disparate and poorly integrated set of these tools. This leads to a poor user experience. Such problems abound across functional sub-areas such as tax, accounting and financial planning. Some suggestions have emerged out of this study to rectify the same. The first such learning is that tried-and-tested tools that have been successful must not be dumped. The cost must never be the deciding factor. The final goal must be clarified around which the company has to test, iterate and learn. A cloud-first strategy could work very well especially for data warehousing which will later have multiple business benefits. The entire system, process and data management has to be eased out.

Source:https://www.bain.com/insights/rethinking-how-finance-uses-digital-tools

Uploaded Date:04 September 2018

With China leading the global manufacturing index, certain transformative imperatives are emerging. Industry 4.0 as the present movement is popularly termed as includes heavy focus on robotics, autonomous vehicles, business analytics and even the new concept of cobots which are collaborative robots. This analytics is being fueled due to the enormous amount of data warehousing now taking place across varying touch points. With time, manufacturing will see an 85% improvement on forecasting accuracy. Likewise, the design engineering and inventory holding costs will come down. To execute all this, companies will need to ensure the top team is convinced about such efforts. A proper roadmap needs to be strategized for this. The workforce will need to be proactively engaged so the people remain onside. IT needs have to be well-understood across the org. Strong vendor partnerships will be needed at each stage. And finally, some critical skills will need to be built in from the outset.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/operations-blog/imperatives-for-chinas-factories-of-the-future?cid=other-soc-twi-mip-mck-oth-1808&kui=ZjMQhFk7wTx1MHiW2kt2bQ

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018