| |December 20188CIOReviewA FINANCE LEADER'S MANTRA IN TODAY'S ERA OF DIGITISATIONBy Neeraj Dotel, MD, India & SAARC, SAP Concur n today's dynamic business environment, a Chief Financial Of-ficer's role is no longer restricted to the finance function. Traditionally, the CFO's role entailed supervis-ing, managing and engaging the work of the financial controller, credit manager and insurance manager, which is extremely challenging. CFOs are now wear-ing different hats and playing diverse roles, owing to global fi-nancial scenarios, rise of big data and the impact of social and digital media. Companies need to ensure that CFOs come from diversified back-grounds, with experience that cuts across industries and business environments, to be able to demonstrate new skills sets and capabilities that are not always tradition-ally associated to the accounting profession including business planning, risk management, influencing and strategic thinking.While consumer payments are going digital on mis-sion mode, most payments in the corporate world in In-dia are still trapped in paper bills, cash transactions and hardbound files saved for audit trails. Sensing opportu-nity in digitising these, new-age companies are trying to bring innovative solutions. But challenges are aplenty.Here are 5 technology trends that CFOs need to con-sider for the finance team and the enterprise:· Predictive analytics and data: It will continue to drive business decisions with more precision and insight than ever before. By further "de-mocratizing" data, business lead-ers will be able to have greater insight into real-time spending as well as better forecasting capa-bilities -- both can help maximize the return on spend. · Robotics: It will take over more back-office operations in areas such as Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR). The result is that in the next five years, many transactions will be handled without interven-tion, streamlining workflow man-agement such as expense approvals and reimbursements.· Cloud Computing: The next-generation of cloud computing will spark the explosion of connected devices and more real-time user interfaces over the next four to five years. The architecture of IT will flip upside down, as data and content move to centralized cloud data cen-tres and other platforms.· Cyber security: It will remain a hot topic, given that 2017 was riddled with high-profile attacks. CFOs need to step up their game as risk managers and ensure that they have the latest processes to protect the sensitive data of customers, employees, and business partners, and in turn ensure that third parties are also safeguard-ing company information. · Budgeting: Budgeting processes and technologies will continue to evolve. As a result, finance will need to hone its tech skills during the budgeting process. The focus must be on building platforms that enable inte-I Neeraj DotelIN MY OPINION
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