9AUGUST 2021data instead of designing processes and human interactions that lead to the best results regardless of resource assignments. As a result, Finance teams can only enable positive change if they work with all the other functions with a holistic partnership mentality that is geared toward empowering total business transformation. Finance would not be able to lead and enable technological transformation if it is perceived by other functions as selfish.If successfully implemented, new technologies lead to the democratization of information throughout the business. Financial, operational, and market information becomes timely accessible to anyone who needs it to make operational decisions or develop scenarios to make strategic decisions. However, the potential pitfalls in a world of data abundance enabled by new technologies that provide timely detailed data (previously unavailable) along with the combination of internal and external data are confusion, misinterpretations, wrong conclusions, and ultimately bad decisions.Finance is in a unique position to bring order to chaos. For years, finance talent has been organizing information, making it reliable and useful, and explaining its meaning to business partners. Therefore, the future of Finance is in its own strengths. However, in a world of ever-changing technology, Finance teams need to be technology savvy and uniquely adept to connecting the dots. That is where the conversation turns to master data, system architecture, and connectivity.All of us have heard the words master data. But what is it? In practical terms, master data can be explained as the key data elements that enable connecting the dots between multiple data sets. If those keys are incorrect or inconsistent among systems, then data becomes siloed or even useless. Maintaining master data timely and accurately requires significant non-glamorous work. For that same reason, many businesses struggle with this very foundation required for system investments to add value. So, centralizing the management of master data and ensuring its integrity is of the utmost importance. Who can help in establishing robust and consistent processes and controls that bring order to chaos?Without a clear understanding of system architecture to enable different data sets to connect in a way that leads to business insights, functional data silos are created that result in multiple versions of the truth. This leads to confusion, non-value-added fire drills, and bad or untimely decisions. Could Finance be embedded in the implementation of any new system to help the Information Technology and other functions to connect the dots and ensure that the ultimate data outputs lead to useful holistic information that can be embraced throughout the organization? Well, everyone else in the organization needs to believe that Finance is in the best position to take a leadership role in this area based on their ongoing interactions.Still, a large, well-connected data lake is not good enough. The challenge is to bring this data to life in new ways that are user-friendly and accessible throughout the organization. If making sense of the data requires a doctorate in data science and statistics, it will be very difficult for any system solution to become embedded in the way people make strategic and operational decisions. People can only act on what they can understand. So, what would it take for Finance to transform itself to lead the way toward efficient and effective (i.e., robust) data analytics? Everything starts with being invited to the table, embracing a leadership role, and proving to everyone else in the organization that Finance talent is ready to partner with the Information Technology team and other functions to create the future. Everything starts with being invited to the table, embracing a leadership role, and proving to everyone else in the organization that Finance talent is ready to partner with the Information Technology team and other functions to create the future
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