Articles

Francois Lacas, Deputy COO at Yooz

The change in working conditions brought about by the pandemic has forced many companies to accelerate their technology strategies.

Cloud technology is rapidly becoming one of the key investments for future-proofed businesses, with 30% of businesses planning on moving to cloud systems and adopting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms as a top priority during the next year.

The benefits of cloud computing in finance - increased efficiency and flexibility, improved cash flow, and more - has long been the driving force behind adoption. But an additional advantage of the technology in reducing costs, ensuring server availability, and preventing unforeseen disasters is something businesses have become all too familiar with.

Alongside these black swan events have been the sudden changes in working environments, moving to more flexible/ remote practices, and more questions being raised about cybersecurity.

This is especially true for remote teams handling sensitive financial data. Securing data and sensitive financial information was a top priority for 36% of finance leaders over the next 12 months, according to a new survey.

By Michael Cupps, Senior Vice President of Marketing at ActiveOps

Before the pandemic took the world by storm, the banking sector seemingly set out rigorous plans regarding the future of work. However, these pre-existing ideas quickly faded and led to a scramble for businesses as they sought out to adapt themselves for a new phenomenon, hybrid working.

It is a combination of remote and office-based working which has arisen in prominence throughout recent times. The hybrid model gives workforces flexibility, combining the organisation of an office environment along with the convenience of homeworking.

With hybrid working looking like the new normal, businesses operating in the financial sector must now focus on optimising productivity, employee engagement, and organisational agility, amongst other things.

From April 6^th 2021 ‘off-payroll working rules’ were extended to the private sector.  As a result the responsibility for determining a contractor’s employment status, and whether they are caught by IR35 legislation, now lies with the private sector organisation. 

Guest contribution by David Brightman, Director of Product Marketing at BlackLine

The last few months have transformed the way finance teams work. The disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses to adopt technological solutions at an accelerated rate, while many businesses operate from their homes, tackling a list of new and ongoing issues remotely. This new way of working has changed the way organisations collaborate internally and interact with their clients, but most noticeably, how businesses approach the adoption of new technology that can transform finance and accounting processes. In this article, I round up the most notable trends that I expect will shape finance and cash management within organisations this year.

Digitisation - It's no longer a question of when

In 2021, it is no longer a question of if Accounting should digitise—but how best to do it. Remote work has become the new normal - so all departments (even those which have been traditionally office-based, such as Accounts Receivable) will be looking for ways to monitor the success of remote workers. The year will see the Controllership invest in technology to turbocharge their digital transformation journeys and move to a modern accounting model that unifies all of a company's systems and data into a single source, automating manual, repetitive activities that drain time and energy, and providing real-time information and analysis to inform business decisions.