Why Black Boxes and Spreadsheets Are Not Crystal Balls in Finance -gtnews FP&A Technology Survey
PR Newswire Association LLC |
Findings from the gtnews
Among companies that do use more sophisticated technology, most rely on a few very large systems. Due to the expense and complexity of customizing and maintaining these systems, however, FP&A models are often being used as 'black boxes' primarily for consolidating data rather than for planning purposes. Finance teams are forced to build ad hoc spreadsheets to meet specific needs.
"We're seeing a tendency among companies to put off investment in FP&A support even when they know it's not enough to merely collect data. Companies must interpret data, understand what future variations may mean, and then be able to act," said
Half of those surveyed reported budgetary constraints as the main barrier to adopting FP&A systems. Another 40 percent reported the lack of IT support as an obstacle.
"A small, but rapidly growing number of forward-looking companies are using new cloud-based technologies to free their FP&A teams from the continued housing and consolidating of ad-hoc data in Excel spreadsheets, as reported in the gtnews survey," said
KEY SURVEY FINDINGS
- 53% - Do not use systems specifically designed to provide analytical support to the FP&A function.
- 53% - Spreadsheets are the main FP&A tool for analytical support.
- 22% - Displeased with the effectiveness of spreadsheets for the FP&A function
- 53% - Find their FP&A system (if they have one) to be effective in meeting organisation's analytical needs, indicating room for improvement.
- 64% - Consider the time spent identifying and correcting reporting errors a reporting challenge
- 58% - Use Excel for FP&A-related reporting needs
About the Survey
In
Download the research on www.gtnews.com/research
About gtnews
gtnews, part of the
SOURCE gtnews
Wordcount: | 545 |
Leverage PR Increases Team Value by Adding Financial and Technology Communications Industry Veterans
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News