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5 Big Things to Expect in the Finance World in 2023  

insightsoftware -
December 2, 2022

insightsoftware is a global provider of reporting, analytics, and performance management solutions, empowering organizations to unlock business data and transform the way finance and data teams operate.

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If we have learned nothing else from the 2020s so far, it’s that there’s no such thing as “normal” anymore. Disruption is the name of the game, and for finance leaders to stay competitive in this turbulent new era, they’ll need a clear vision for how to move forward. By investing in proper technologies and resources now, executives and CFOs can put plans in action to ensure financial success in 2023.

Modern CFOs are increasingly expected to lead their organizations in digital advancements, increasing customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue through in-depth analysis of financial data. Continuing technology investments should focus on automation and inflation mitigation. Increasing efficiency through reporting automation can help decrease resource overheads and contribute to reducing the impact of inflation.

1. Cloud Integration Will Change Resource Needs

A recent Gartner study found that nearly 80% of CFOs plan to maintain or increase their enterprise digital investments through 2023 regardless of inflation, and with good reason. As ERPs continue to integrate with cloud technologies, innovative tech stacks will significantly simplify business operations and free up resources within reporting, planning, budgeting, and tax teams. As resource needs change, so too will priorities for budget allocation among teams. For instance, organizations may direct more budget toward planning and forecasting as a recession becomes more probable.

2. Timely Business Insights Will Be Ever More Important

The additional resources freed up by cloud adoption will be particularly useful as finance teams will be expected to provide crucial business insights in a more timely and accurate manner. Many organizations work with multiple ERPs and data sources, and if they don’t have a single source of truth to house and process their data, their financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams will struggle to supply the swift and insightful analyses needed to navigate during volatile times.

3. Real-Time Reporting Will Begin To Supersede Periodic Reporting

Cyclical reporting schedules have long been the norm, but as cloud technology makes real-time reporting more feasible, it will become the preferred reporting method. Cloud-compatible reporting tools will allow finance teams to shrink reporting cycles and deliver faster results. As finance teams become more able to produce forecasts and actuals on demand, the month-end close process will become obsolete in favor of real-time financial reporting.

4. The Ability To Be Agile Will Be Necessary

As measures to cool inflation worldwide have met with limited success, recession has become more likely. Businesses must have plans and technology in place to respond if an economic downturn occurs. With agile tech solutions in place, organizations can begin running what-if scenarios now, planning and budgeting for the best- and worst-case scenarios so they’re better able to withstand economic volatility in the coming year.

5. Investors Will Prefer Established Organizations Over Risky Startups

The combination of ongoing inflation and potential recession are making venture capitalists and private equity firms a lot less willing to invest in startup companies that pose a high financial risk. Investors will instead prefer to back already established companies that have moved out of their unprofitable years and proven themselves to be a good financial risk. For organizations to ensure they are competitive when seeking outside investors, they’ll need to be able to furnish rock-solid financial reports to prove their financial health and worthiness as an investment.

Start Prepping for the New Year Now

As the disruptive nature of the 2020s remains characteristically volatile, many business leaders have concerns about the future of their organizations. Trends toward advancement in cloud technology and agile reporting present an opportunity for innovation and better use of resources, while looming recession fears and the need for inflation mitigation make accurate budgeting and planning more important than ever. Whatever 2023 ultimately brings, CFOs and business leaders will need technology tools that deliver an accurate, timely, and transparent view of relevant data, together with insights into what that data means for their organization.

If you’d like to see how insightsoftware solutions can ensure your success in 2023, you can access an instant demo here:

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