Page 29 - Finanancial Management_Feb_Apr23

LEARNING RESOURCES

Allow finance to take on more tech
responsibilities
Digital Transformation and Underpinning Technologies
In some companies, finance is taking on
Designed for the busy finance leader, this short course provides more tech-related responsibilities as
you with a baseline understanding of digital transformation and technological change accelerates. That’s
the technologies that are changing the finance function. especially evident with cloud-based
Find this course in the AICPA Store and in the CGMA Store. platforms, said Ribeiro, who now works as
a UK-based blockchain technical
COURSE communications manager for Minima, a
global decentralised, mobile-native
blockchain network.
Technology and the Disappearing Cost Curve Cloud-based apps can make it easier for
A panel of thought leaders in finance and technology discusses finance teams to take on basic system
why it is important for C-suite executives to become familiar with administration roles, she said. At her
technologies if they want to gain a competitive advantage. previous job, she said, many clients
wanted to “take on as much
VIDEO [responsibility] as they could in the
finance department and reduce the
responsibility that IT was to take on”.
AICPA & CIMA CFO Conference Finance teams might even turn to a
10–12 May, Salt Lake City, US dedicated system administrator for tasks
such as adding new users and managing
Seasoned CFOs from across the country are providing the permissions. System administrators could
latest innovations and anticipated trends to keep you on the be new hires or trained from within the
cutting edge. team, Ribeiro said.
CONFERENCE “They would need to be a bit technically
minded so that they could pick up these
new cloud systems, which generally have a
good user interface,” she said. “They don’t
need to know coding, but they need to be
finance’s good track record on tech respective worlds and workstreams. “I able to quickly understand the inner
projects ensured support for a later pilot think it can be informal, and it could just workings of new systems so they can
project in robotic process automation. be lunch-and-learns,” Bialick said. “Have manage things like data integration,
the finance people tell the IT people what creating new rules and reports.”
Bring teams together they do on a daily basis.” Finance executives are hiring for
The relationship between finance and As the departments build mutual technological skills throughout their
technology teams isn’t just about the understanding, it becomes easier to meet teams. MacPhee said she recruited
executives. At AstraZeneca, MacPhee has each team’s goals, according to Jazmin engineers and mathematicians who can
ensured that employees at all levels of the Ribeiro, ACMA, CGMA, who previously “think logically through the development
organisation can work directly with their worked as an Oracle enterprise planning of the finance function”. And many new
peers on the technology team. consultant for IT services at UK consulting hires have an aptitude for lower-level
“If you’re working on a particular firm Brovanture. coding, as well as data aggregation and
activity, what you want is for the teams to On one project, the IT team was seen visualisation tools, Bialick said.
come together and divide the as a roadblock to implementation, But he and others had a warning: While
responsibilities between them,” she said. Ribeiro said, but the biggest delays were finance may be taking on a more active
One way to encourage that is by ensuring due to the team’s well-justified role in planning and managing projects, IT
finance and technology team members are insistence on reviewing access and data should retain authority and expertise in
meeting regularly. Leaders should model a security at each step. Finance team the domain. Instead of duplicating the
culture of cross-team collaboration. members at the client company efforts and skills of IT, Bialick said, “what
“It’s got to come from the top down,” eventually learned to speed up the you need is better alignment between the
Bialick said, with executives pushing for process by helping track down crucial two groups.” n
their employees to collaborate directly. A information required by IT.
stream of constant communication during “Finance can make it easier by
project planning and execution can ensure supplying relevant documentation to IT Andrew Kenney is a freelance writer
that the project is designed and that details the security protocols in place based in the US. To comment on this
implemented efficiently. for the systems being implemented,” article or to suggest an idea for
And it’s not just communication about Ribeiro said. She added that the vendors of another article, contact Oliver Rowe at
specific projects, he added. Each team cloud-based systems can also provide this Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.
should teach the other about their information.

28 I FM MAGAZINE I February 2023