Executive Summary

In an extensive survey of nearly 500 senior finance executives in large businesses and organizations across the USA and Canada, Oracle and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) came together to answer one central question: How can the finance function evolve to support operational agility and contribute to improved business performance?

The digital age and turbulent market conditions present opportunities and threats to everyone's business model – and no organization is immune. CFOs are increasingly tasked with transforming their companies into digital businesses, but they can't lead the way forward using legacy systems, disconnected, decentralized processes, or outdated skill sets. A new finance operating model is needed that empowers finance to be more agile and strategic, from machine learning and robotic process automation to digitize end-to-end processes, to artificial intelligence and big data analytics to see the future and act on it.

Surveying senior finance executives across five key industries, Agile Finance Revealed defines the characteristics of the new operating model. The report also highlights the traits of agile finance leaders who were adopting the key elements of that model, from centralized processes and subject-matter expertise; to cross-functional teams with new skill sets across disciplines, from data analysis and visualization to business partnering and c-suite communications.

Equipped with new cloud-based systems, structures, and skill sets, CFOs and their finance teams are empowered to successfully guide the organization through today's uncertain times, while strengthening their strategic role as co-pilot to the business.

Enabling Business Agility

To be agile, organizations must be strategically alert; flexible enough to implement change quickly; and adaptive in the pursuit of greater performance and stakeholder value. Unlock the interactive report to explore how an agile finance function can help you to achieve these key business goals.

Internet-enabled business models and disruptive technologies will continue to radically alter the basis of competition in many sectors. Businesses must grasp these developments in technology and drive the agility they need to develop and then implement new strategies promptly, whenever threats or opportunities arise.

The challenge for organizations is that traditional accounting practices and systems often limit insight, innovation, and flexibility. As a result, it becomes difficult or impossible to make data-driven decisions, to embrace emerging opportunities, or to deliver the new digital and mobile services customers want.

To overcome these challenges, many agile finance leaders are implementing a new finance operating model in their organizations, underpinned by scalable cloud technologies. The model is based on a series of innovative practices that speed up implementation and increase ROI, including efficient accounting operations, subject matter expertise, self-service data analytics, decision support, and performance management.

Already, many agile finance leaders have consolidated these attributes into shared service centers that lower the cost of finance functions and raise accounting standards.