We know that manual or incorrectly calibrated financial processes eat your time, and we know that an integrated and consistent reporting structure can help you to optimise your finance department’s use of their workday (and nights, in some cases). However, no matter how much we sell the solution’s benefits, the decision can only be made once a full cost vs benefit analysis has been carried out, and the restructuring of your finance team makes sense in the bigger picture.
Taking a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of reporting alternatives will establish the viability of the solution in your business.
We’ve discussed the benefits you can expect from a great FPM solution:
- Keep money in the business by ensuring your stakeholders are engaged with the right data.
- Save your employees time by taking out the manual repetitions that dominate reporting.
- Engage your employees with analytical thinking, rather than grunt-work.
- Streamline your internal processes.
These outcomes should, at the very least, balance your additional costs.
We look at the process through which you establish whether the cost of the solution will be balanced by the outcome benefits:
Keeping this checklist handy will help you to cover all your bases in the event that you choose to automate and upgrade your financial reporting software or processes.
If you have queries about Financial Performance Management that you would like us to cover in this series, let us know by emailing dmcwilliam@cortell.co.za