Changing the face of finance – Oracle’s 2015 Finance Year in Review Coffee Break Cut

Copyright © 2015, Oracle. All rights Reserved.

The Changing Face of FinanceThe Year in ReviewOracle Coffee Break Cut


The UK economy has begun to stabilise, and organisations are shifting their focus from cost cutting to concentrate on growth.

Innovative technologies continue to revolutionise the way businesses operate, necessitating new skill sets within finance departments, as well as the hiring of tech-savvy talent.

As companies harness the power required to make sense of all their big data, they’re unlocking new opportunities. But they’re not the only ones – with the new landscape come fresh threats, and smaller disrupters are quickly taking advantage of new tech to become credible competitors.

The role of finance has changed, and with the CFO at the helm they’re instrumental in deciding the future of their organisation more than ever.


#DigitalTransformation


Digital is changing everything

“Digital is arguably the most disruptive force organisations are facing today. It has the power to both revolutionise entire business models and sectors, and transform organisations from market leaders to irrelevance in a frighteningly short time frame.”

– Partnering for performance Part 5: the CFO and the chief executive officer

http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/CEOs_and_CFOs_partner_for_performance/$FILE/EY-CEO-and-CFO-partner-for-performance.pdf


And there’s huge potential in digital transformation

“Digital transformation provides CFOs with a significant opportunity to be leaders and strategists by rebalancing their investment portfolio into intangible assets that can help create more sustainable, valuable business models.”

– David Pleasance, Senior Partner, Deloitte Consulting LLP

https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/s/delivery_production/docs/FY15h1/doc4/ROI.pdf


Businesses built on digital foundations are more efficient

“Digital companies are 7x more productive than traditional ones.”

– Matthew Guest, Head of Digital Strategy, Deloitte

http://www.slideshare.net/OracleEMEAPR/the-new-customer-experience-oracles-modern-business-summit-day-3-coffee-break-cut


Data looks different now

“We can’t look at data the same way we used to. It doesn’t mean the same thing.”

– Chuck Hundt, Chief Accounting Officer, Angie’s List

https://go.oracle.com/LP=17776?elqCampaignID=25076&src1=OW:O:P:FeB&src2=Wsjbanneruk


So embrace new technology to process data

“Improvements in companies’ ability to harness technology and big data are becoming a factor in the divergence between strong corporate performance and the still-mixed economic backdrop.”

– Patrick Winter, Deputy Managing Partner, EY Asia-Pacific

http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Managing-finance/EY-cfo-need-to-know-cfos-confident-despite-uncertainty


Because big data is vital to success

“62 percent of CFOs around the world cited big data as hugely important to the future of business, potentially giving savvy businesses an edge on their competitors.”

– Enterprise Performance Management, Top Trends for 2015

http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/business-intelligence/epm-top-trends-for-2015-2441101.pdf


In-depth insight could be the difference between winning and losing

“The economic downturn gave rise to an intensive focus on cost control. While growth has returned to its position of prominence on the finance agenda, detailed costing practices are needed to stay in the game or get ahead.”




#SkillChange


Data and new systems alone aren’t enough

“Data queries and regression analyses open doors. Talent leads the way through them.”

– Winning the War for Finance Talent: Game plan for the Digital Age



Finance skillsets must evolve

“Problem solvers in the upper echelons of finance management grasp the difference between reporting numbers and conveying their meaning – a traditional accountant doesn’t fit into that.”

– Ivgen Guner, Global Business Finance Senior Vice President, Oracle



And finance departments must learn to think differently

“I like to say it’s an attitude of not just thinking outside the box, but not even seeing the box.”

– Safra Catz, CEO, Oracle

http://www.oracle.com/ocom/groups/systemobject/@mktg_admin/documents/webcontent/videoplayer-ocom.html?bctid=4597258187001&playerType=single-social&size=w01&shareUrl=http://medianetwork.oracle.com/video/player/4597258187001


Making an impact is key to recruiting millennials

“Finance departments engage and nurture the right kind of talent by demonstrating commitment to growth and change rooted in digital transformation. Young professionals want to work for companies where their expertise can make a material difference inside and outside finance departments.”

– Winning the War for Finance Talent: Game Plan for the Digital Age



And new ways of working demand new styles of leadership

“In today’s digital age, finance professionals require new leadership and soft skills that motivate, mobilise and guide bottom-line-driven collaboration across a whole enterprise.”




Finance departments are in a unique position to highlight and act upon opportunities

“Finance sits at the intersection of a tremendous amount of data. They can use these new technologies to sift through the information and identify the most promising path for growth.”

– Gary Apanaschik, Partner at PwC

http://www.pwc.com/us/en/increasing-finance-function-effectiveness/publications/getting-it-right.html


But as technology evolves, so too must CFOs

“The skill sets of future CFOs must add, at least in some measure, the head of a programmer, the body of a statistician, the arms of an exploratory visual data analyst and the tail of a machine-learning expert.”




#TheNewFinance


The role of finance in the organisation has changed

“In the finance world, we used to spend all of our time looking backwards, reporting on what happened. Can I book it? What are the numbers? Now it’s about looking into the future. It’s about planning and integration. The role of finance is now that of a partner in the business.”


http://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2015/11/12/oracles-safra-catz-how-to-thrive-during-disruptive-times/


Now finance departments are expected to lead with strategic insights

“Modern organisations expect their finance departments not just to record, tally and report, but to provide the strategic insights that will improve efficiency, reduce costs and enable the business to take advantage of opportunities to increase revenues and profits.”

– Connect, Control, Innovate with Oracle Cloud for Finance

http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/performance-management/oracle-cloud-for-finance-ebook-2518768.pdf


CFOs are the stewards of this transformation

“The CFO is the glue that brings everything and everyone together. No one else can really touch all the parts of the enterprise the way that the CFO can.”

Keith Kravcik, EVP and CFO, Ovation Brands



And they’re responsible for delivering on it

“You have to act as an entrepreneur who takes accountability for the business success.”

– Roland Sackers, CFO and Managing Director at QIAGEN



And are expected to act quickly

“Leading finance functions are moving fast, and recognising the need to move faster, as market trends dramatically shift. Those that don’t may hold their organisation back in the drive for new markets and business.”

– Breaking away: How leading finance functions are redefining excellence

http://www.pwc.com/us/en/increasing-finance-function-effectiveness/finance-effectiveness-benchmark-study/assets/pwc-global-finance-benchmark-report.pdf


#UpgradeYourTech


So don’t let legacy systems hold you back

“Companies are suffering quite a hangover from their enterprise resource planning customisations, especially when it comes time to update the software. In fact, the headache of re-implementing those customisations is so painful that many opt to just stick with their old software.”

– Margaret Harrist, Director of Content Strategy and Implementation, Oracle

http://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2015/11/04/erp-to-the-cloud-the-hangover-remedy/


Many CFOs have upgraded their tech but the majority haven’t managed to consolidate

“58% of CFOs still have more than five disparate systems for transactional finance processes.”

– How is Modern Technology Helping CFOs Drive Strategic Value?

http://www.oracle.com/us/dm/cfo-ipaper-2329100.pdf


Use technology to empower your people and enable better collaboration

“We’re changing people’s behaviour. It’s like discovering that you’ve been working in the dark when someone switches the light on. The clarity of purpose, empowerment of people and collaboration between teams have transformed the culture and performance of the finance community.”

– Elizabeth Raffle, Head of Finance Community, Lloyds Bank

http://www.pwc.com/us/en/increasing-finance-function-effectiveness/finance-effectiveness-benchmark-study/assets/pwc-global-finance-benchmark-report.pdf


Leverage the power of social media

“As social networks evolve inside organisations, they’ll change the way we work together. For finance, this brings an opportunity to increase visibility and access to our experts.”

– Mark Hulyer, Partner and UK Oracle Practice Partner, Deloitte

http://www.slideshare.net/OracleEMEAPR/modern-business-summit-coffee-break-cut-day-1-finance-final?next_slideshow=1


And mobilise your workforce to enhance productivity and business growth

“While convenience is still the leading driver behind mobile adoption, improved productivity and growth increased in importance over last year’s survey. Nearly half of respondents indicated that mobile technology adoption is providing growth opportunities and competitive advantage.”




Because everyone is mobile now

“90% of CFOs say that the use of mobile devices will be the most important technology for success in the next three years.”

– Mark Hulyer Partner and UK Oracle Practice Partner, Deloitte


If you don’t, the talent will go elsewhere

“If companies want to sell jobs to the best knowledge workers, they need the best technology.”

– Ben Dattner, Adjunct Professor, New York University



#TakeTheLeap


Decide on your strategy for the future

“Enterprise resource planning, whether you love it or hate it, remains the most important business system of our time. We love it because it connects the business with common data and processes. We hate it because it stifles innovation and business agility… ERP users are at a crossroads. They face tough decisions about when they should move to the cloud. Simply put, the question is: Should I stay or do I go now?”

– Rod Johnson, Global VP of go-to-market strategy, Oracle Cloud Applications

http://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2015/09/23/cloud-erp-should-i-stay-or-do-i-go-now/


Assess the value of the cloud – not the cost

“Evaluating the cloud is more than just TCO [total cost of ownership], it should really be about creating business value. Whatever the business driver is, you need to make sure your ERP cloud solution has the capabilities to deliver on it.”

– Mike Brown, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP

https://go.oracle.com/LP=21406?elqCampaignId=29308


Get the basics right and concentrate on the bigger picture

“If we can leverage 80 percent of the best practices and only need to tailor 20 percent, we’ve helped our clients standardise on leading practices and condense the timeline significantly allowing our clients to focus on user adoption.”

– Scott Curry, former CPA and Senior Vice President, Consulting Services, Intelenex

http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/midsize/5-minutes-modern-finance-mid-2256888.pdf


Seize the opportunity to make your business more valuable

“Investors are paying more for companies with business models that embrace and emphasize “intangible assets” – customer, human and intellectual property – and leverage the wisdom of crowds to co-create products and services.

– Modern Finance in the Digital Age: Return on Investment best practices



And save money and resources in the process

“When you have international operations, and you’re dealing with currency conversion, spreadsheets can only get you so far. With everything in the cloud it’s all taken care of for you. Forget the functionality aspect of it, from a purely financial perspective it’s a no brainer.”

– Ed Abell, CFO, Racepoint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2FHIKaXoC8


#TheYearAhead


Four digital priorities for the CFO and CEO

1. Develop a business strategy that is fit for a digital world, and make the disruptive investment calls required.

2. Use data analytics to anticipate digital disruption, measure performance and respond quickly.

3. Create a governance and risk oversight framework that puts digital at the heart of the business.

4. Manage the tax, legal and regulatory risks of digital and support digital growth plans.

– Partnering for performance Part 5: the CFO and the chief executive officer



Big fish have floundered and paid the price

“Since 2000, 52% of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 have either gone bankrupt, been acquired, ceased to exist or dropped out of the Fortune 500. In an environment that is increasingly characterised by on-going disruption, CFOs need to respond with agility and innovation, acting as challengers to the status quo, in order to sustain the value of the enterprise in the long term.”

– Ray Wang, Principal Analyst, Founder & Chairman at Constellation Research, Inc.

https://www.constellationr.com/content/software-ags-innovation-world-2014


Keep innovating or risk being overtaken by competitors

“By 2018, one third of the top 20 market-share leaders will be significantly disrupted by new competitors that use the 3rd platform [a term coined by IDC for systems built around mobile devices, cloud services, social technologies, and big data] to create new services and business models.”

– IDC Predictions, 2014



Cloud isn’t going anywhere

“Cloud computing moves into the mainstream, with IDC Research predicting that public cloud spending will surpass $127 billion by 2018.”




Don’t let your legacy systems stand in the way

“We expect that by 2016, investment in SaaS solutions will more than double, to US$78 billion or more, while investment in traditional ERP systems will decline by more than 30 percent, to less than $15 billion.”

– Beyond ERP: New technology, new options

http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Beyond-ERP.pdf


In the future you’ll have more freedom to customise

Gartner predicts that by 2020, 75 percent of application purchases supporting digital business will be “build,” not “buy.“

– Gartner Says Modernization and Digital Transformation Projects Are Behind Growth in Enterprise Application Software Market

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3119717


But when upgrading, consider the needs of your system as a whole

“Choosing the right applications and stitching together a fully functional ERP-based ecosystem requires robust integration and security capabilities that will likely push many companies to their delivery limits. Evaluate applications carefully in light of your actual needs, and work up detailed business cases that take into account both pros and cons. Only by doing so will you be sure to realise the full value of these offerings.”

– Beyond ERP: New technology, new options

http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Beyond-ERP.pdf


And get to grips with what data protection means for your strategy

“Not many businesses have really understood what EU data protection reform is really about… Businesses should be focusing on the big picture, to reflect on their business and their environment, decide what’s important to them, and come up with a list of priorities. Just as companies are beginning to take a risk-based approach to information security, they need to start taking a risk-based approach to privacy and data protection.”

– Stewart Room, Partner, PwC Legal

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240241128/Businesses-should-not-wait-for-EU-data-protection-law-says-PwC-lawyer


Because the future won’t wait for you to catch up

Gartner predicts that by 2020, more than 75 percent of organisations will deploy advanced analytics as part of a platform or analytics application to improve business decision-making.

– Gartner Says Modernization and Digital Transformation Projects Are Behind Growth in Enterprise Application Software Market

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3119717


“What’s necessary in this transformation more than anything else is courage and a willingness to change.”


http://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2015/11/12/oracles-safra-catz-how-to-thrive-during-disruptive-times/


This is #ModernFinance

Start 2016 with the Modern Finance Experience and get ahead of the pack. Register Here

http://www.modernfinanceexperience.oracle.com/london/?source=WWMK15025623MPP007C004-OW:O:S:RB-FinanceLondonCbcBanner1

Leadership & Management

Changing the face of finance – Oracle’s 2015 Finance Year in Review Coffee Break Cut