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Oracle’s Report Shows Only 11 Percent Finance Leaders Embraced AI

Report by Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and Oracle shows that finance leaders say 90 percent of their team do not have the skills to support digital transformation

London: Finance teams lack the digital skillset to embrace the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, causing a negative impact on revenue growth, according to a new study from the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) and Oracle. The study of more than 700 global finance leaders found that despite a clear correlation between the deployments of AI and revenue growth, 89 percent of organizations have not deployed AI in the finance function and only 10 percent of the finance team believes they have the skills to support the organization’s digital ambitions.

The report titled “Agile Finance Unleashed: The Key Traits of Digital Finance Leaders” highlights that 46 percent of tech-savvy finance leaders report positive revenue growth, compared with only 29 percent of tech-challenged leaders. Furthermore, organizations that have seen revenue growth are more likely to be deployed artificial intelligence compared to those where revenues are flat or declining. However, only 11 percent of finance leaders surveyed have implemented artificial intelligence in the finance function, and 90 percent say their finance team does not have the skills to support enterprise digital transformation.

“For me, robotic process automation, advanced analytics, and machine learning are three legs of the same stool,” said John Merino, Chief Accounting Officer at FedEx. “The combination of those technologies and the ability to deliver them in an agile manner without long lead times and extensive interface complexities creates a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on some really big efficiency gains in virtually every staff function. The big win for us is to liberate that time and move finance up the value chain in what it delivers to the organization.”

Andrew Harding FCMA, CGMA, Chief Executive of Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants said, “Businesses are missing out on huge growth potential by failing to give finance teams the tools and training they need to make better corporate decisions. Cloud and emerging technologies like AI and blockchain drive efficiency and improve insight and accuracy, enabling finance leaders to step into a more strategic role in the business and improve the organization’s data-driven decision-making. To make the most of these new technologies, finance teams need to simultaneously evolve the competencies of their staff in areas such as analytical thinking, decision-making and business partnering.”

Key Traits of Digital Finance Leaders

The report identifies three common traits of tech-savvy finance teams:

Finance leaders modernize business processes

According to the report, tech-savvy finance leaders use advanced technologies and establish ‘operational excellence’. For example, 86 percent of Digital Finance Leaders have a digital-first and cloud-first mindset, which gives them greater access to intelligent process automation and technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, which are commonly delivered via the cloud. Additionally, 73 percent centralize finance subject matter expertise in a global ‘Center of Excellence’.

Finance leaders use data insights

Leading finance teams are able to connect data that was previously in disparate applications to uncover new insights. They are increasingly relying on the AI to uncover hidden patterns, make recommendations, and learn continually from the non-stop flow of business data. The report shows that organizations that have seen positive revenue growth are more likely to be deploying AI compared to those where revenues are flat or have declined.

Finance leaders influence business direction

Leading finance teams have been able to move beyond reporting and are using data-driven insights to influence the direction of the business. With reduced time spent on manual reporting processes and armed with accurate and timely data, finance leaders are empowered to partner with the business, recommend new courses of action and influence business strategy.

“The cloud has significantly reduced the barrier to emerging technologies and is enabling organizations to introduce new business models and unique customer experiences that drive additional revenue streams,” says Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA, Global Strategy Leader, Cloud Business Group at Oracle and former chair of the Association and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). “Common benefits that our customers experience once in the cloud include reduced costs and improved efficiency, increased security, real-time and accurate reporting, deeper business insight and better decision-making. The confluence of benefits enables organizations to spend less time on low-value, time-intensive reporting and innovate faster than their competitors.”

The Association conducted in-depth interviews with CFOs and other top finance executives at companies around the globe. Included in that extensive and diverse group of participants were the following Oracle customers:

  • Addiko Bank
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
  • Highmark Health
  • Hungry Jacks
  • Instacart
  • RedMart
  • Rolls Royce
  • Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Stitch Fix
  • USEN Corporation
  • Western Digital

agile finance
artificial intelligence
blockchain
CFOs
cloud-first
digital transformation
FedEx
intelligent process automation
Machine Learning
Oracle
Robotic Process Automation
AI, Chatbots & Machine Learning Banking & Finance Finance Healthcare Manufacturing Retail & E-commerce
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