How the CFO will navigate the shift to a digital and automated world

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Introduction

There is no doubt that the digital evolution of finance and accounting is in an interesting phase. With cloud, automation, real-time analysis and AI having a major impact on the role. Finance and accounting are facing a paradigm shift with more efficiency, collaboration and transparency coming into play as a result of technology usage.

Automation

Automation is a key part of the digital evolution of finance and accounting. But what does automation mean for this industry? You might be surprised at how many areas in finance and accounting are already being automated!

When you look at the impact that automation has on this field, it's easy to see why so many companies are interested in making the switch. Automation saves time, money, and resources — three things we all want more of! It can also help make life easier by streamlining your workflow so that you're not wasting precious moments trying to complete menial tasks like reconciling accounts or sending invoices out manually.

Real-time analysis

Real-time analysis is a big part of the digital shift. It's the ability to analyze data in real time, meaning that as soon as your system or process generates new information, you can use it to make decisions without waiting for manual processing and reporting. Real-time analysis allows for continuous improvements, which is critical for organizations looking to stay competitive in today’s business environment. With this approach, all of your teams can access data from anywhere at any time—and make decisions from a single source of truth.

In addition to faster decision making and better insights into what’s happening with your customers and suppliers, real-time analysis also provides new ways for senior leaders across different departments within an organization to collaborate on projects that require collaboration between teams working together towards common goals.

Cloud

The cloud is a buzzword in the tech industry. It's become a new normal and is used by different people to mean very different things. But we'll define it here as a shared infrastructure, where resources can be allocated dynamically on demand. Cloud computing allows users to access programs, data storage and other services via the internet instead of storing them on their own computers or servers. The term “cloud computing” emerged around 2005–06 when analysts began to use it as a synonym for “on-demand software” or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Cloud computing is now synonymous with being able to access applications and data remotely through the internet—whether that access is necessary for just one person at once or several thousand people at once—without having to invest in everything needed yourself such as server hardware/software licenses etcetera...

Collaborative mindset

If you want to be a successful accountant or finance professional, it's important to adopt a collaborative mindset. Collaboration is key to success when solving problems and making decisions. As individuals, we can be very productive on our own but we often need the input of others to help us come up with better solutions than what we would have been able to come up with alone. This is why companies invest so much into hiring team members who are good at collaborating with others—they know that this will help them achieve more in their business operations than they could do without the right team members on board.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a computer technology that enables computers to learn, adapt and make decisions based on experience. It is also a broad term that encompasses many technologies, but at its core AI refers to machines that can be programmed or trained to perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages. The term AI has often been used interchangeably with machine learning and deep learning; however there are important differences between them (see the section below).

The concept of AI has existed since the 1950s when it was imagined as an “electronic brain” able to offer advice on various subjects based on information stored in its memory banks. In reality this early vision never came true due to limitations in processing power at the time; however engineers have achieved far more realistic versions of this dream over time thanks mainly due advances made by scientists working in fields like cognitive psychology who have understood how humans think about problems so well that their insights can now be programmed into computers called “neural networks” which approximate human brain activity patterns when solving problems logically or making decisions about what action should be taken next!

The digital evolution of finance and accounting is in an interesting phase. With cloud, automation, real-time analysis and AI having a major impact on the role.

The finance and accounting industry is changing. The role of the finance and accounting professional has changed. And this is only the beginning.

The finance and accounting industry is moving towards a more digital and automated world, where processes are streamlined, data more easily accessible, insights can be uncovered in real-time, collaboration becomes easier between departments, and everyone can make better decisions faster than ever before.

The future of finance may look very different from today's workflows as they become automated or even eliminated altogether; however, at its core lies one thing that will never change: people's need to solve problems with tools like spreadsheets (to help them make better decisions) or software products (to automate processes).

Conclusion

The digital revolution has changed the way we communicate, conduct business and live our lives. And it’s no different in finance and accounting, as advances in cloud technology help companies manage their finances more effectively. Automation is another key factor that’s changing how these fields operate and will continue doing so as AI systems get even smarter.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Leon Gordon 

Leon Gordon, is a leader in data analytics. A current Microsoft Data Platform MVP based in the UK and partner at Pomerol Partners. During the last decade, he has helped organizations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data. 

Leon is a Thought Leader at the Forbes Tech Council and also an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine, a Thought Leader in Data Science for the Global AI Hub, chair for the Microsoft Power BI – UK community group and the DataDNA data visualization community as well as an international speaker and advisor.