From the global pandemic and global war crisis to crypto market crashes and threats of recession, we’ve witnessed lots of disruptions over the past few years.
These challenges have not been easy. But it is also through them that we have become more innovative as well as receptive to advancements in business technology.
In fact, with digital transformation accelerating data collection, ramping up forecasts and enhancing plans, budgets and reports, companies can no longer deny that embracing developments in technology has become crucial to the success of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) today.
Moving forward, such digitisation and technological improvements in FP&A will continue to shape how we perform tasks, make decisions and deliver results.
So, to remain at the forefront of our industries, we need to know about the latest FP&A trends in the market.
At Minerva, our team has come together to compile a list of key FP&A trends that we believe will be relevant in helping your business remain competitive, agile and forward-thinking in 2023.
Let’s discuss them more thoroughly.
What are the top FP&A trends to look out for in 2023?
Understanding Financial Planning and Analysis trends and keeping up with them helps you become more aware of the opportunities, risks and threats that lie ahead. You’ll also be able to integrate changes that help you optimise commercial performance, growth and efficiency.
Here are the three FP&A trends we envision are the most critical to adopt going forward.
- Increased organisational planning and reporting agility
To cope with the dynamic and ever-changing business environment, many organisations across a wide range of industries are now escalating their planning and reporting capabilities.
They know that to be able to readily respond to current conditions, make adjustments even at a granular level and meet the growing expectations of customers, their operations need to become more proactive in planning as well as agile in reporting.
This then makes data warehouse and analytics, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), predictive analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technological advancements vital in the coming year and beyond.
Through these digital tools and solutions, your FP&A team can easily gather and assess the necessary data for making more informed financial decisions. By streamlining workflow and automating reporting, your FP&A team can also save time, reduce the risk of errors and generate financial reports as often as you need.
Read more about the 7 Significant Benefits of Using AI To Support Your FP&A Team here.
- The incorporation of Machine Learning or data AI into forecasts
A survey of 400 finance leaders revealed that: 72% had planned to invest in Automated Machine Learning (ML), 66% in the Internet of Things (IoT) and 56% in Integrated Planning Software. On the other hand, PWC reported that 86% of their respondents view AI as already a mainstream technology.
Machine Learning and data AI tools help make powerful predictions and accurate forecasts both in the short and long run.
They enable businesses like yours to produce valuable insights and effective strategies that can drive excellent results – all while saving your team’s time, energy and resources.
With the expertise and guidance of technology partners like your finance and data analytics professionals at Minerva, using these data technologies to transform your FP&A function is now easy for businesses.
For more, read: 3 reasons why FP&A teams are struggling to adopt AI despite the many benefits.
- The growing shift to a rolling forecast
Unlike traditional budgets that are static, a rolling forecast is a report that allows for continuous planning and revisiting of budget assumptions.
Here’s how it works: your business will set a period, such as 4 quarters or 12 months, to update their forecast. If, for example, your forecast period spans 12 months, then another month is automatically added as each month ends. This way, your FP&A teams can regularly adjust their financial planning to reflect recent trends and accommodate changes in the market on an ongoing basis.
This prevents the lag time that comes with traditional static reporting and budgets. However, to do this, you need the right finance, data and analytics technology.
By being equipped with advanced solutions, your FP&A team can improve the effectiveness of your business’ rolling forecast process and be able to deliver detailed information to key stakeholders literally as frequently as needed.
For more information, see 5 questions about your business data capabilities and what to do with the answers.
Now that you’re aware of the top FP&A trends, what comes next?
It’s time to innovate and implement technologies that can help your business achieve a competitive edge and supercharge success despite the uncertainties in your market.
At Minerva, we make this digital transformation remarkably simple.
We support your FP&A teams to improve the accuracy of forecasts and plans, as well as how your systems obtain data and new insights to support internal decision-making.
Our data technology specialists also devise robust data strategies and roadmaps to accelerate digitisation, all while ensuring that your data environment and digital ecosystem are built in a way that enhances your business’ ability to perform and scale.
Did you know that becoming an agile Data-Driven Business is much easier than you think? See our guide here.
Minerva can make your business more dynamic and agile, faster
At Minerva, we provide you with the FP&A solutions you need to be an agile data-driven business and shift your decision-making from reactive to proactive.
With Minerva’s business and technology expertise, you’ll get access to tools and solutions needed to effectively execute scenario planning and stay prepared for whatever the future may bring.
We can work together with your organisation to understand your goals and requirements, before providing you with the right systems and procedures that you need to get the most out of your data. As always, we help you make better business decisions and become truly better at what you do.
If you’d like to learn more about how Minerva can help your business, contact us on 1800 646 378 or email info@minerva.com.au.
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