In 2021, CFOs and finance executives face the dual challenge of accelerating growth and digital initiatives whilst reducing the cost of operations for the business.
It is critical that finance executives have a strategic plan to bring back the right costs to support the growth objectives but also to fund the digital acceleration that is needed to drive the business forward.
Source: Gartner 2021 CFO Priorities Survey
of CFOs expect to spend significantly more time on Cloud ERP technologies
of CFOs expect to spend significantly more time on RPA and other workflow automation technologies within finance
of CFOs expect to spend significantly more time on advanced data analytics technologies and tools within finance
Average expected budgetary increase or decrease
Fund growth
Support investment in new technology and new business models to drive growth and digitalization
-10% | 0 | +10% |
IT / technology | |
Mergers and acquisitions | |
Corporate restructuring | |
Product development | |
Research and development |
Reduce costs
Reduce the cost of operations
-10% | 0 | +10% |
Finance | |
Marketing | |
Human resources | |
Selling, general & administrative |
-10% | 0 | +10% |
n = Base sizes vary; excludes “don’t know”
Board directors were asked what budgetary changes they expected as a result of the COVID-19 impact.
Source: Gartner View from the Board directors 2021
If you don’t have a plan in place to digitize your finance function, your organization will quickly fall behind your competitors.
It’s up to your finance teams to lead the way. It’s time to invest in the digitization of your finance function to enable your leaders to make data-led decisions on the direction of your business and to streamline your finance processes to save time and reduce costs.
Download the Alight executive brief today to learn more.
Download our Digitizing the finance function executive brief: Perspectives for CFOs and Finance Executives.