Financial solutions: the non-disruptive path
Continuous monitoring and analysis
It is well known that implementing an ERP system takes time, costs money and requires specific skills that not all organizations have. How to avoid major failures is therefore an important issue for company management when making the decision to invest in such an expensive technology.
But it’s an equally important challenge for the CTO who, in any case, even if he or she didn’t choose the solution, will still be responsible for its performance. When a software or platform is chosen for its ability to improve processes, it is indeed unimaginable that it will do exactly the opposite once integrated into the organization’s IT system. Unfortunately, this happens, and more often than you might think!
Best-of-breed
When looking at technology solutions dedicated to the many areas of finance, the disruptive risks associated with their implementation may not be immediately apparent. Certainly not in the same way as those associated with the integration of solutions dedicated to, for example, critical production processes.
This is one of the reasons why it is strongly recommended to make sure, upfront, that a solution is chosen by an organization for what it can do and not for what you think it should or could do. ERPs are great products, but they cannot integrate all aspects of finance, certainly not in its subtleties in terms of, to name a few, banking communication, lettering, adequate anti-fraud capabilities, accurate credit collection…
Traditional ERP’s can also have serious limitations when it comes to advanced finance workflow automation processes that are increasingly proven to greatly benefit an organization’s agility, speed and strategic vision, and provide it with options to better drive the business.
Simple, efficient & immediate
Beyond these functional considerations, it is also essential that the CFO and CTO work closely together. First, to understand the day-to-day challenges of each department and ensure that the chosen solution addresses the indentified business issues. Second, to guarantee that the new solution fits into an overall business transformation project, in its culture and in its ability to assimilate change and progress.
While there are many dedicated – and versatile – finance solutions on the market, not all of them combine best-of-breed technology and the broad capabilities that organizations urgently need. To make a real difference with traditional ERPs and provide a tangible competitive advantage, the solutions finance professionals should consider must offer specific capabilities for each business function, but also cross-functional capabilities to improve all processes. For example, advanced TMS options that allow the treasurer to adapt to all exceptional and routine situations, or automation at as many levels as possible with modern tools, including lettering and proactive credit collection management.
These platforms are best suited for business transformation projects because, unlike an ERP implementation, they are easy to deploy. The best of these next-generation solutions do not take finance professionals away form their work. They are very familiar in terms of interface and drastically reduce the adoption and learning process for individuals who, ideally, will have more time to spend on value-added tasks.