Demand for analytic-driven decision making across the business has continuously increased. As more departments build analytic capabilities, finance analytics governance becomes unclear. What role should finance analytics play for the business? How do the best finance teams support analytics?
Download Gartner’s quick guide to help define the scope of finance's analytic support.
Finance analytics reporting and support account for almost one-third of finance function spend. But these investments are failing us: Finance data is not suited to modern decision making, and managers lack the knowledge to use it correctly.
Misuse of finance analytics can cost organizations as much as 1% of revenue per decision, adding up to dramatic business impact over time.
Enforcing standards through tighter policies and controls will not improve finance analytics usage or usefulness. Instead, as a part of finance transformation efforts, business managers and finance staff should collaboratively define, develop and apply finance analytics. Decision teams with clear data governance roles and responsibilities can brainstorm problem economics, co-create more intuitive reporting formats and push one another’s thinking.
Leading organizations embrace a business-centric approach to finance analytics. To enable growth, generate finance analytics that significantly improve decision making.
Despite the significant investment in analytics, few finance organizations have attained a high enough level of maturity to implement advanced analytics.
Business managers and finance staff should co-design finance analytics frameworks for a shared view of performance.
Shift finance analytics from passive, standardized reporting to more engaging, relevant guidance that encourages dialogue and discussion by:
Progressive organizations are reorienting roles for joint finance analytics decision making. To start, focus on business decisions first and finance analytics last. Then improve finance analytics problem-solving processes by anticipating and planning for failure early.
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