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The survey of 1,060 finance and IT leaders found a positive correlation between the level of alignment of a company ' s finance and IT teams and digital finance transformation progress . However , it also revealed only 44 % of those surveyed are fully confident in the integrity and usability of their data . This lack of confidence impacts decision making , with more than half of the finance leaders ( 51 %) saying they are forced to make gut instinct decisions where finance is concerned , despite having the data they need , because it is siloed , not in the right format or not readily available .

Barriers to building data confidence The ability to make data-driven decisions at speed is critical for finance teams today . However , the survey revealed three key barriers to data confidence , all of which are essential for successful transformation .

Challenges with technology hinder finance ' s ability to adapt

There is a disconnect between the technology that CIOs and CFOs know they need and what they currently have . Half of the survey respondents believe their legacy Enterprise Resource Planning ( ERP ) systems are not flexible enough for today ' s business requirements . While technology transformation needs to balance IT ' s goals of simplicity and agility with finance ' s expanding scope and complexity , the survey reveals finance and IT agree change is required to meet their evolving needs .

All agree on a need to increase cross-functional finance and IT skills

For finance leaders , the fact they rely on IT for data access and reporting was ranked as the biggest barrier to generating accurate , usable insights . In turn , IT leaders rank a shortage of skills within the finance team to work with emerging technologies as a top barrier to transformation . Nearly half ( 49 %) of IT leaders feel they are under pressure to innovate finance technology despite limited financial literacy , revealing an opportunity for greater training and partnership with finance .

" As the role of finance continues to expand , the partnership with IT becomes even more critical ,” said Barbara Larson , Chief Financial Officer , Workday . “ Together , finance and IT must continue to drive the data strategy to deliver the access and insights organisations need to thrive ." x

41 % OF FINANCE LEADERS ADMIT THAT THEIR CIO DOES NOT HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE DURING CRITICAL FINANCE MEETINGS .

Lack of alignment makes finance transformation difficult from the start

Lack of finance-IT alignment was ranked by respondents as the top barrier to digital finance transformation . While 41 % of finance leaders admit that their CIO does not have a seat at the table during critical finance meetings , even when technology is essential to solving a challenge , more than half ( 51 %) of IT leaders believe their aim to eliminate IT complexity is directly at odds with the expanding scope of the finance function .

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