Office of Finance
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Analyst Perspective
Buyer Beware: The Evolution of Agentic AI in Business Software
Agentic AI, now booming, promises to automate business tasks with ease, boosting performance and cutting costs, but practical use is still emerging.
Analyst Perspective
What Analysts Should Do When Anyone Can Analyze with AI
How AI and Generative AI will transform financial and business analysis, enabling everyone to become analysts and changing the role of FP&A teams.
Analyst Perspective
A Strategic Approach to Replacing ERP Systems for Modernization and AI
Strategically replace outdated ERP systems to leverage AI advancements, enhance productivity, and modernize business processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness.
Analyst Perspective
Trintech Provides Reliable Record-to-Report Productivity
Discover how Trintech's advanced software solutions streamline financial close processes, ensuring accuracy, compliance and efficiency for enterprises of all sizes.
Market Perspective
ISG Buyers Guide for Workforce Planning Classifies and Rates Software Providers
ISG Research offers market observations and overall results from the Workforce Planning Buyers Guide for Office of Finance software products.
Market Perspective
ISG Buyers Guide for Revenue Planning Classifies and Rates Software Providers
ISG Research offers market observations and overall results from the Revenue Planning Buyers Guide for Office of Finance software products.
Analyst Perspective
Prophix’s FP&A Plus Brings Higher Performance to Midsize Enterprises
Discover how Prophix’s FP&A Plus enhances performance for midsize enterprises with advanced financial planning and analysis capabilities.
Market Perspective
ISG Buyers Guide for Financial Planning Classifies and Rates Software Providers
ISG Research offers market observations and overall results from the Financial Planning Buyers Guide for Office of Finance software products.
Market Perspective
ISG Buyers Guide for Business Planning Classifies and Rates Software Providers
ISG Research offers market observations and overall results from the Business Planning Buyers Guide for Office of Finance software products.
Analyst Perspective
Adapting to Higher Inflation Longer with Profitability Management
Profitability management is a cross-functional software-enabled discipline to help enterprises achieve superior market share and profitability objectives.
Analyst Perspective
ESG Management Software is Essential for Efficient Compliance
The complexity of environmental and reporting laws necessitates dedicated ESG software to support enterprises in their analysis and compliance efforts.
Analyst Perspective
Intercompany Financial Management is Essential for Multinationals
Intercompany financial management centralizes and automates transactions between multinational legal entities, reducing global tax and compliance risks.
Analyst Perspective
External Data Supports More Accurate Planning
External data is essential for forecasting, planning and budgeting and for the effective application of AI using ML for predictive analytics.
Analyst Perspective
Let’s Put the “A” Back in FP&A
Finance groups should maximize technology to reduce low-value work and increase time for analysis and fulfilling its advisory role for the enterprise.
Analyst Perspective
Streamline Subscription Accounting to Increase Productivity
Enterprises offering subscription services can best support this model with continuous accounting and dedicated subscription management software.
Analyst Perspective
Gaining Financial Management Effectiveness in Midsize Enterprises
Midsize enterprises have benefitted greatly from advances in technology, advancing productivity, performance and financial management effectiveness.
Analyst Perspective
Infor’s Velocity Summit Highlights Multiple Advances and Enhancements
Infor recently unveiled advances in AI and process mining as well as benefits for ESG and supply chain optimization for its ERP software.
Analyst Perspective
A Planning Center of Excellence Delivers Performance Improvement
A planning center of excellence leans on technology to free time for an integrated planning process, improving organizational performance.
Market Perspective
Prophix Earns Office of Finance Digital Innovation Award for 2024
Prophix earned the 2024 Office of Finance Digital Innovation Award for Prophix One’s approach to finance and accounting operations in growing companies.
Analyst Perspective
Generative Automation: An Alternative for Process Optimization
Generative automation uses machine learning to recognize when and how a particular step in a task can be performed without human intervention.
Analyst Perspective
Should I Stay or Go? Migrating to AI-Enabled Applications
Enterprises with on-premises applications should evaluate if, when and how they will tap into the benefits that AI and GenAI can provide.
Analyst Perspective
The Prophix One Platform Supports a More Effective Finance Department
Prophix One dedicated financial software enables effective operations, analysis and a positive work environment for improved organizational performance.
Analyst Perspective
Sage Analyst Summit Details its Differentiated Strategic Path
Sage puts AI-enabled automation, continuous accounting front and center in its ERP, along with the ability to connect businesses across software platforms.
Analyst Perspective
Technology Transforms ERP for a More Effective Finance Department
Capitalize on advances in cloud-based ERP by upgrading to a more configurable, customizable system with superior security and performance.
Analyst Perspective
OneStream Splash Highlights Practical AI Advances
OneStream’s financial platform delivers many small-scale improvements with big results: embedded AI and enhanced capabilities improve performance, accuracy.
Analyst Perspective
Gain Finance Department Productivity with Straight-Through Processing
Straight-through processing streamlines business processes, increasing organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
Analyst Perspective
Competitive Innovation is Improving the Economics of GenAI
Competitive innovation is driving GenAI development and pricing, increasing the value proposition for tools that improve efficiency.
Analyst Perspective
The Buyers Guides for Financial Consolidation and Close Classifies and Rates Software Providers
Ventana Research offers market observations and overall results from the Financial Consolidation and Close Buyers Guides for office of finance software products.
Analyst Perspective
AI is Changing the Market for Consolidation Software
AI innovation is making dedicated consolidation software more compelling for those seeking increased productivity and a shorter accounting close process.
Analyst Perspective
Oracle Demonstrates Embedded AI for Productivity Gains
Oracle innovates business applications with embedded AI, enabling productivity gains, streamlined processing for HR, finance, supply chain, and more.
Analyst Perspective
Automation Addresses VAT Tax Challenges
Value-Added Tax automation uses software to streamline and manage the calculation, reporting and filing of VAT returns to ensure compliance.
Analyst Perspective
The CFO AI Trilemma: Cut Costs, Accomplish More or Both
Anticipation of greater revenue, reduced costs drive AI investment decisions which in turn substantially impact performance, competitive advantage.
Analyst Perspective
Digitizing Tax Provision to Streamline the Close, Reduce Risk
Using tax-provision software allows tax and accounting departments to streamline processes, reduce risk and free up time to increase strategic value.
Analyst Perspective
AI Increases the Value of Order-to-Cash Automation
Using AI to transform order-to-cash systems reduces human workloads, delivering efficiencies and improving the customer experience.
Analyst Perspective
Making Purchasing Departments AI-Ready
AI is powerful, but not a cure-all: implementing AI in purchasing departments while improving data management, workflows, and identifying priorities is key.
Analyst Perspective
Sage Intacct Enhances Its Roadmap for AI and Generative AI
Sage Intacct has enhanced its roadmap for bringing AI and generative AI to its product lines, offering features for improved ERP efficiency.
Viewpoint
Sustaining Success: How Continuous Accounting Optimizes the Financial Close
Understand the three pillars to “continuous accounting,” an approach to managing the finance and accounting department that improves performance and increases productivity.
Analyst Perspective
AI Makes Accounts Receivable a Customer-Facing Organization
Accounts receivable automation can serve a customer-facing purpose by reducing frictions in transactions, improving the customer experience.
Research Perspective
Accounts Receivable Automation Accelerates the Close
A/R automation is part of a digital finance methodology that we call continuous accounting, which is designed to address today’s need for greater productivity.
Analyst Perspective
Zoho’s Roadmap Addresses Evolving Enterprise Needs
Zoho’s product roadmap focuses on creating easy-to-use, cost-effective applications that increase productivity across all parts of an enterprise.
Analyst Perspective
Productivity by 1,000 Cuts: Building AI Feasibility From the Bottom Up
Initial productivity gains from simple applications that are invisible to the user will prove AI’s feasibility and value and build trust in the technology.
Analyst Perspective
Why AI Should Be a Focus for the Office of Finance
Adoption of new technologies like AI must be a priority if Finance organizations are to reduce workloads and improve performance.
Analyst Perspective
Planning to Get Ahead of What’s Next in the 21st Century
Employing AI in operational, financial and contingency planning provides a full view of potential opportunities and risks to better manage for the future.
Analyst Perspective
Technology Makes Purchasing More Effective
Technology can streamline processes, automate controls and reduce manual tasks, freeing up time to serve the needs of the enterprise more effectively.
Market Perspective
Polaris Earns Office of Finance Digital Leadership Award with OneStream for 2023
Polaris earned the 2023 Office of Finance Digital Leadership Award for using OneStream to unify forecasts with financial planning to predict performance.
Analyst Perspective
Office of Finance 2024 Market Agenda: AI Begins Boosting Productivity
The Ventana Research 2024 Office of Finance Market Agenda explores increased productivity through the application of AI technologies and digitization.
eBook
The Strategic Benefits of Intercompany Financial Management
IFM can generate significant savings for multinational companies, yet the topic is obscure because usually, nobody oversees IFM.
Analyst Perspective
Risk Management is Essential for AI and Generative Development
Coalition of AI leaders to prioritize, develop and support risk management practices for AI and generative AI to spur adoption and benefits from new tech.
Analyst Perspective
Billtrust Automates Receivables to Speed the Cash Cycle
Gain productivity and accelerate your organization’s cash cycle by managing accounts receivable processes end-to-end using Billtrust.
Analyst Perspective
Tap Into AI To Do More by Doing Less
Maximizing the power of artificial intelligence for planning, budgeting and analysis tasks enables greater accuracy and productivity with less effort.
Analyst Perspective
Research Reveals the Importance of Technology in Shortening the Close
Achieving a faster accounting close is within reach, but organizations must adopt the right digital strategy to accomplish it.
Analyst Perspective
insightsoftware’s Portfolio Boosts Office of Finance Productivity
insightsoftware’s portfolio of products increases organizational productivity by streamlining various Office of Finance processes.
Analyst Perspective
Board Enables High-Performing FP&A Organizations
Organizations that want to improve resiliency, adaptability and performance should look at integrated business planning software from Board for their FP&A.
Analyst Perspective
A Practical Approach to Managing ESG
Centralize responsibility for ESG reporting and compliance with the FP&A group to achieve accuracy control and efficiency objectives.
Analyst Perspective
NetSuite Emphasizes AI and Expanded Capabilities at SuiteWorld
Enhancements announced by Oracle NetSuite at the SuiteWorld user conference offer a rich set of capabilities that improve business performance.
Market Perspective
insightsoftware is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates insightsoftware.
Market Perspective
Infor is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Infor.
Market Perspective
Wolters Kluwer is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Wotlers Kluwer.
Market Perspective
Prophix Software is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Prophix.
Market Perspective
Vena Solutions is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Vena Solutions.
Analyst Perspective
Workday Rising Highlights Responsible AI
Responsible artificial intelligence is Workday’s data governance approach to AI designed to build trust by evaluating risks and providing transparency.
Market Perspective
Planful is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Planful.
Market Perspective
Workday is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Workday.
Market Perspective
OneStream Software is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates OneStream.
Market Perspective
Board International is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Board International.
Market Perspective
IBM is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates IBM.
Market Perspective
Anaplan is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Anaplan.
Market Perspective
SAP is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates SAP.
Market Perspective
Oracle is Exemplary in Business Planning Buyers Guide
Ventana Research’s 2023 Buyers Guide on Business Planning evaluates Oracle.
Analyst Perspective
The Buyers Guide for Business Planning Classifies and Rates Vendors
The Business Planning Buyers Guide 2023 gauges how well offerings from twelve vendors match buyers’ requirements for business planning software products.
Analyst Perspective
Business Planning Buyers Guide: Market Observations
Ventana Research offers market observations from the Business Planning Guide 2023 for Office of Finance software products.
Analyst Perspective
AI for Working Capital Management
AI-assisted working capital management systems increase staff productivity by automating processes and ensuring timely handoffs, reviews and approvals.
Viewpoint
Financial Technology Innovation Enables Midsize CFO Effectiveness
IT innovation enables midsize finance departments with the potential to be more productive.
Analyst Perspective
With Generative AI, Any Dog Can Write a Contract
Despite recent concerns, generative AI presents significant opportunity to streamline routine business functions, freeing staff for more complex tasks.
Analyst Perspective
Adopt the Virtual Audit to Improve Audit Quality
A virtual audit allows remote access to systems for more efficient, accurate and higher-quality audits and financial statements at potentially lower costs.
Analyst Perspective
Advanced Technology Enables Analytic Autonomy
As AI advances, technology will enable analysts to build models that empower workers to investigate issues, revise plans and explore potential scenarios.
Market Perspective
JAGGAER for Digitally Transforming Sourcing and Purchasing
JAGGAER is the source for purchasing power: JAGGAER One spend management software increases visibility, utilizes analytics, automation to optimize workflow.
Analyst Perspective
Not Your Grandpa’s Consolidate and Close Software
Digitally transform your financial consolidation process by adopting new, improved, integrated software to boost productivity and effectiveness.
Market Perspective
FloQast Streamlines Compliance for a Faster Close
FloQast’s software helps midsize to small enterprise organizations streamline financial control elements and reduce risk while accelerating the accounting close.
Analyst Perspective
The Question of Generative AI Costs
Generative AI is expanding rapidly. Analyst Robert Kugel focuses on how investment and operating costs could be distributed along the value chain.
Analyst Perspective
Sage Positioned to Gain from Seismic Shift in ERP Market
At its Partner Summit, Sage unveiled key innovations that will enable small and medium size organizations to be more competitive and scalable than ever.
eBook
Data: The Keystone of Digital Transformation
Data quality is the key to finance and accounting excellence.
Analyst Perspective
Planful Invests in Finance and Accounting Effectiveness
At its Perform23 industry conference, Planful highlighted ongoing investments to enable finance and accounting departments to improve effectiveness.
Analyst Perspective
Data is the Strategic Raw Material of Finance Departments
Adopt a total quality management approach to managing financial data to improve performance and ensure continuity, resiliency under any circumstances.
Market Perspective
Workiva Earns Office of Finance Digital Innovation Award for 2023
Workiva makes ESG compliance and reporting easier, more assured and more productive, earning it the 2023 Office of Finance Digital Innovation Award.
Analyst Perspective
Accounts Receivable Automation is More Valuable Than You Think
Expand the potential of Office of Finance organizations with technology options to enhance purchasing, sourcing, and payments automation.
Analyst Perspective
Technology Enables Working Capital Optimization
Technology can help organizations optimize the cost of working capital by managing inventories, accounts receivable and accounts payable.
Analyst Perspective
OneStream Advances Generative AI to Improve Productivity
OneStream is enhancing productivity for accounting and financial planning and analysis organizations with its Sensible ML and Sensible GPT AI applications.
Analyst Perspective
Using Continuous Accounting to Improve Performance
The expanded scope of continuous accounting, supported by technological advances, enables improved performance and recruiting benefits for finance teams.
Market Perspective
Zycus Manages Source-to-Pay for Greater Profitability and Control
Zycus offers source-to-pay software that automates the entire procurement process, reducing manual effort and improving control over organizational spend.
Analyst Perspective
Reasons Your Midsize Organization Needs a Finance Technology Update
Midsize organizations can use practical and affordable technology to improve performance of planning and budgeting and consolidation and closing.
Market Perspective
Basware Automates Procure-to-Pay for Greater Profitability and Control
Basware’s procure-to-pay software automates the entire procurement process, from purchasing to invoice processing and payment reconciliation.
Analyst Perspective
Now with the Miracle Ingredient AI!
Don’t dismiss the buzz; AI offers finance teams a myriad of practical benefits including improved accuracy, reduced risk and enhanced decision-making.
Analyst Perspective
Coupa’s Procure-to-Pay Platform Optimizes Spend Processes
Coupa’s procure-to-pay platform streamlines spend processes, shortens cycles, reduces costs and provides greater visibility into cash flow.
Analyst Perspective
Close Automation is Essential for Digital Finance Transformation
Software that automates the accounting close makes the process more efficient, reduces the risk of errors and enhances the organization’s effectiveness.
Analyst Perspective
The Continuous Audit Improves Quality and Efficiency
Following the virtual audit model, the continuous audit spreads the work of a full annual audit across the year for more efficient use of resources.
Analyst Perspective
Our Focus on Close, Consolidate and Report in Finance
Finance departments should consider new technology to advance their close, consolidate and report processes to achieve superior control, faster results.
Analyst Perspective
Accounts Payable Automation is More Valuable Than You Think
Having digital access to all accounts payable-related data delivers organizational benefits such as reduced process friction and improved finances.
Analyst Perspective
Our Focus on Purchasing, Sourcing and Payments in 2023
Digitally transforming sourcing and procurement enables delivery of expertise, insights across the enterprise while maximizing efficiency, minimizing costs.
White Paper
A Global Tax Management Platform Is a Must-Have
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative was designed to rein in what has been viewed as excessive tax avoidance by multinational corporations.
Analyst Perspective
More Effective Contingency Planning Improves Agility
Today’s dedicated planning and budgeting software supports scenario planning to enable leaders to manage more effectively and achieve greater agility.
Analyst Perspective
Insightsoftware Enables a Predictive and Effective Finance Department
Insightsoftware’s applications streamline office of finance functions, enabling more time for analysts to analyze and deliver actionable insights.
Analyst Perspective
Trintech Streamlines a Transformed Record-to-Report
Trintech’s accounting software modernizes the finance department, using automation to speed and streamline processes, improve efficiency, deliver insights.
Market Perspective
Auditoria Empowers Finance Through AI and ML
Auditoria.AI eliminates pain points in the finance department using automation, AI/ML to reduce manual and repetitive tasks while improving accuracy and control.
Analyst Perspective
Intercompany Financial Management for Accountability and Accounting
Corporations with a high volume of intercompany financial transactions should adopt technology that helps manage, reconcile bookkeeping between entities.
Analyst Perspective
FinancialForce Sharpens Customer Focus in Services Businesses
FinancialForce’s ERP and professional services automation software streamlines processes across administrative, customer-facing and accounting operations.
Analyst Perspective
Optimizing Subscription Management for Finance and Accounting
Companies that want to launch subscription or recurring business models should employ software to modernize and streamline processes, ensure data integrity.
Analyst Perspective
Office of Finance 2023 Market Agenda: A Brave New World
The Ventana Research 2023 Market Agenda for the Office of Finance will highlight the transformational role of today’s maturing technologies.
Analyst Perspective
Professional Services Automation Increases Efficiency
Professional services automation software reduces administrative overhead and enhances organizational effectiveness, allowing workers to focus on clients.
Market Perspective
Rootstock Builds on Roots of ERP for Cloud Computing
Rootstock Cloud ERP was created for the Salesforce platform to enable effective sales and operations planning for manufacturing and service organizations.
Analyst Perspective
Epicor Enriches Vertical-Plus Approach for Growth
Epicor has focused its ERP platform development on the unique needs of specific vertical industries through focused acquisitions and internal development.
Analyst Perspective
Workiva Simplifies ESG Reporting
Workiva offers an environmental, social and governance application that enables organizations to manage tasks necessary for reporting on ESG matters.
Market Perspective
Serco Wins Digital Leadership Award in Office of Finance with Trintech
Serco earned the 2022 Digital Leadership Award in Office of Finance for using Trintech’s Cadency platform to advance the financial close process.
Analyst Perspective
The Planning Center of Excellence
Companies need a Planning Center of Excellence as a practical way of achieving scenario planning rapidly at a sufficiently granular level.
Analyst Perspective
Virtual Audits Improve Financial Statement Quality, Work-Life Balance
A virtual audit takes advantage of software to achieve higher audit quality with less effort while improving working conditions for the audit firm’s team.
Analyst Perspective
Manage Your Spending Purse with Emburse
Emburse software promotes smarter money management, employing automation, digital tools to see how and where money is being spent and streamline accounting.
Market Perspective
Zoho Sweetens its Suite of Applications
Zoho offers a unified suite of business management tools that support reduced administrative overhead so an organization can grow and scale with agility.
Analyst Perspective
Accelerate Closing with a Faster Tax Provision Process
Using software instead of spreadsheets reduces the time and complexity of the tax provision process for a faster accounting close.
Analyst Perspective
Vena Provides Practical Support for Integrated Business Planning
Vena Solutions offers midsize organizations a platform to comprehensively address strategy, operations and finance through integrated business planning.
Analyst Perspective
Oracle NetSuite Goes Full Suite Ahead to Deliver Customer Value
NetSuite’s customer-centric product strategy seeks to engage customers in more of what the software offers to demonstrate value.
Analyst Perspective
Technology Puts the ‘A’ Back in FP&A
Financial planning and analysis groups need to take advantage of technology that reduces manual tasks, freeing up time to concentrate on analytical work.
Analyst Perspective
IBM Planning Analytics Enables Agility Based on Insight
IBM’s Planning Analytics supports integrated business planning, enabling scenario testing to quickly understand potential outcomes and risks.
Analyst Perspective
Planning for a More Uncertain World with Board International
Board’s platform enables financial planning and analysis groups to improve forecast and planning accuracy and accelerate analysis and reporting.
Analyst Perspective
Prophix’s Finance Platform Boosts Midsize Departments’ Effectiveness
Prophix’s cloud financial software accelerates reporting and analysis by automating manual tasks, freeing up valuable time to dedicate to broader goals.
Analyst Perspective
Vertex Manages End-to-End Indirect Tax Compliance Worldwide
Vertex automates and centralizes indirect tax management, eliminating error-prone manual processes and increasing control, visibility.
Analyst Perspective
A New Approach to ERP for a More Effective Finance Department
Cloud-based ERP will transform the value of the technology and the benefits it delivers, which include superior security, performance and efficiency.
Analyst Perspective
A Finance Department Data Strategy for ESG Compliance
Sensitivity to environmental, social and governance issues – or ESG – has grown over the years and with it, increasing attention by some investors and government entities urging organizations to measure and disclose ESG metrics.
Analyst Perspective
The Rising Expectations for Finance Analytics
Organizations must use the right software and have the right data available to improve the scope, quality, business impact and timeliness of analytics.
Analyst Perspective
Planful Acquires for Marketing Performance in Planning Suite
Planful is bringing its FP&A tools to the marketing department, giving organizations a more comprehensive view of their planning, performance.
Research Perspective
Know Sooner, Act Faster to Gain Competitive Advantage
An important measure of the effectiveness of a finance and accounting department is the time it takes to close the books.
Analyst Perspective
Profitability Management Conquers Inflationary Pressures
Profitability management is a software-enabled discipline that integrates finance and sales to achieve an optimal balance of revenue and margin objectives.
Analyst Perspective
Building a More Predictive Finance Department
A predictive finance department is one that can command technology to be more forward-looking and action-oriented while still fulfilling its core role of handling the financial elements of its organization including accounting, treasury and corporate
Analyst Perspective
Workday Rising Shows Advances for the Office of Finance
Workday held its first in-person Rising user group meeting since 2019 in Orlando. Three topics are worth commenting on: Workday’s Extend offering, its industry accelerators and its progress with the Workday Adaptive Planning offering.
Analyst Perspective
External Data Supports a More Predictive Finance Department
Organizations do not live in a vacuum and things happening outside their walls have a direct impact on how they perform. So, it is essential for them to incorporate external data in their forecasting, planning and budgeting, especially for predictive
Analyst Perspective
Straight-Through Processing Reduces Friction and Builds Trust
General Omar Bradley is credited with saying, “Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics.” This is a battlefield commander’s perspective on the often-overlooked importance of mastering the nitty-gritty in achieving military objectives. I
Analyst Perspective
Fluence Technologies Automates for Fast Close-to-Report
The lockdowns of 2020 forced accounting departments to adapt to managing their close-to-report cycle without face-to-face contact, prompting many to adopt digital technologies to facilitate the process. It gave further impetus to the digital transfor
Analyst Perspective
To Attract the Best Talent, Make Accounting Cool
Especially in the United States, baby boomer retirements and fewer graduates with accounting degrees is posing a growing challenge to finance department executives in attracting and retaining the best accounting talent. The solution, which may not se
Analyst Perspective
Sourcing and Purchasing Need Digital Transformation
“Digital finance transformation” became an even more important topic over the past two years as finance and accounting departments have had to cope with an unrelenting set of new challenges that have had a profound impact on business operations, fina
Viewpoint
Thriving in Uncertain Times by Planning with Agility
For the past few years, organizations the world over have been forced to deal with volatile markets and rapidly changing environments caused by an ongoing series of unexpected events. The only certainty facing executives in these times is persistent
Viewpoint
Continuous Planning Provides Action, Agility and Accuracy
The term “continuous planning” may conjure up images of never-ending meetings in which nothing gets accomplished, but Ventana Research uses it to describe a highly collaborative, action-oriented approach to corporate planning built on frequent, short
Webinar
Intercompany Financial Management
Well-executed Intercompany Financial Management (IFM) can have a significant impact on the bottom line for large multinational organizations. IFM is a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal ent
Webinar
Webinar : Revenue and Margin Improvement
Pricing determines not just revenue, but also margin. And margin is vital to ensuring profitability. So pricing both serves to generate volume, and hence revenue. Given the importance of pricing, it is surprising how few companies use data and purpos
Podcast
Business Continuity in the Public Sector
What business continuity lessons have public sector organizations learned during recent challenging times?
Viewpoint
Software Drives the 21st Century Tax Department
The challenges facing tax departments are mounting. Governments worldwide are scrutinizing companies’ reporting more closely in an attempt to raise revenue.
Webinar
Continuous Accounting for Recurring Revenue and Subscription Businesses
Subscription and recurring revenue models are proving to be the way forward for many of today’s organizations. But what challenges arise for the Office of Finance as companies shift toward this way of doing business? How can organizations harness the
Infographic
CONTINUOUS PLANNING to Improve Business Performance
Continuous Planning is a high participation, collaborative approach that connects and aligns operational and financial forecasts to support action-oriented planning. This method promotes agility that is valuable both in times of crises and in a stead
Infographic
MANAGE PROFITABILITY to Boost Your BOTTOM LINE
Profitability management is especially valuable as corporations confront cost-price pressures, shifting demand and supply conditions, and structural changes in markets and economies. Having the right tool along with the right data is the first step t
Videocast
Build An Actionable Profitability Management Initiative
Everyone running a business knows that the bottom line is the bottom line. But how does your company manage profitability? There’s an important distinction between managing to profit objectives and what Ventana Research calls “profitability managemen
Videocast
Moving Beyond Traditional FP&A
The ability of the finance department to execute rapid planning, forecasting and budgeting cycles is a major factor that determines a company’s adaptability to change because the planning process enables executives to guide the organization on the pa
Videocast
The Need for Profitability Management
Being able to determine a company's true economic costs is one of the values of profitability management and analytics-driven business discipline designed to help organizations maximize market share and profitability. Watch and listen to Robert Kugel
QandA
Accounting for Selling Costs Gets Complicated
In this exclusive Q&A, Robert Kugel, SVP & Research Director at Ventana Research, answers questions about why new standards are getting so much attention, what the associated costs to companies will be due to the new standards, why standard ERP syst
QandA
Know When the Time is Right to Migrate
Software can become functionally obsolete even if it still operates. This makes it difficult to know when it’s time to replace a legacy system. Finance organizations should assess replacing existing software when it limits departmental efficiency, fl
QandA
Why Invest in Profitability Management
Profitability management is designed to achieve consistently higher financial returns compared to this standard approach by performing profitability analysis at a more granular level to produce a clearer picture of economic costs and cost drivers. Re
Analyst Perspective
Anaplan at a Crossroads
Anaplan offers a cloud-based business planning platform that incorporates a modeling and calculation engine. The tool makes it relatively easy to add or expand the scope of plans that can be connected and monitored on a single platform. This Integrat
QandA
Accounting in a Time of Crisis
How do you close the books when faced with a distributed working environment and other operational constraints? Robert Kugel sheds light on the value of virtualizing the accounting close to make the process more efficient and resilient.
QandA
The Imperative for Sales Planning
To reach the best possible outcomes, sales leaders must be able to govern and optimize the processes they rely on; meeting this challenge is the essence of sales performance. However, those leading and working in sales must cope with myriad often dis
QandA
Ventana Research When Spreadsheets Aren’t Enough: Managing Accounting Standards Changes
New standards for lease accounting and revenue recognition are challenging finance departments. Robert Kugel sheds light on how the complexity of the new standards, the cross-functional processes for managing them, require software systems – not spre
QandA
Planning for Continuity in the Public Sector
Dedicated planning and budgeting software improves public sector finance department efficiency and enables responsive, high-quality service. Read the Q&A.
White Paper
Introducing the Virtual Audit
A business crisis alerts finance leaders to their organization’s vulnerabilities. When lockdowns prevented people from being in their offices in 2020, organizations with the right technology and processes demonstrated their ability to adapt, overcome
White Paper
The Digital Transformation Partnership
Information technology will have a greater impact on how the finance department operates over the next 10 years than it has over the past 50. The cumulative impact of a decade of steady technology evolution along with the demographic shift to digital
Market Perspective
OneStream Earns Office of Finance Digital Innovation Award for 2022
The annual Ventana Research Digital Innovation Awards showcase advances in the productivity and potential of business applications as well as technology that contributes significantly to the improved processes and performance of an organization. Our
White Paper
The Value of Continuous Accounting for Business
Many senior finance executives want their department to play a more strategic role in the management and operations of their company.
White Paper
The Value of Close Automation for Midsize Organizations
Midsize organizations and their finance and accounting departments face a different set of challenges than those faced by small businesses or large enterprises. They’ve outgrown the often-informal systems and processes that worked when they were smal
White Paper
A Practical AI Strategy for FP&A
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) that harnesses machine learning (ML) will be the single most important trend in business software this decade because it can multiply the investment value of such applications and provide software companies an
White Paper
Taking Control of Profitability
Profitability management is an analytics-driven business discipline designed to enable organizations to achieve their market share and profitability objectives.
Research Perspective
Continuous Accounting Drives Strategic Transformation
Ventana Research uses the term “continuous accounting” to describe how recent advances in information technology can help finance organizations to fundamentally restructure their departmental operations to transform their function. Whereas most past
Research Perspective
Gaining an Edge in Banking with Business Analytics
Business analytics today involves far more than reports and spreadsheets. But despite significant investments in business intelligence (BI) software, many midsize banks continue to operate with a limited set of analytic capabilities, focused largely
Research Perspective
Let’s Talk about the Business, Not Just the Budget
People have been complaining about budgeting forever. Technology helps the CFO and finance organization produce a detailed budget and analyze “the numbers” with less effort than was required in the past. Dissatisfaction remains, however, because tech
Research Perspective
Achieve Agility in Planning and Execution
Finance executives have come to value contingency planning and adaptability in the face of uncertainty, whether it is caused by a worldwide crisis or simply the variance of day-today business.
Research Perspective
The Advance of Business-Owned Technology
CIOs face a constant challenge as they deploy resources: they must find the balance between focusing on strategic projects while still performing essential “keep the lights on” activities like user support and applications maintenance. To increase re
Research Perspective
Build an Actionable Profitability Management Initiative
Corporations continually confront profitability issues and opportunities caused by competitors’ actions, shifts in demand, as well as changes in commodity prices and other factor costs.
Research Perspective
Business Continuity in the Public Sector
Business continuity is the ability of an organization to maintain normal operations without compromise, regardless of external conditions. Because they provide emergency and other critical services, government organizations must be able to maintain b
Research Perspective
Making Tax Provision the Solution, Not the Problem
The tax provision and tax reporting processes being used by organizations are receiving greater attention from CFOs and audit committees for two important reasons. One is an intensified determination to shorten the accounting close. The other is to a
Research Perspective
Digital Transformation in Payments and Spend Management
Organizations have traditionally handled the multiple components of payments and spend management in a scattershot manner due to the legacy of paper-based systems used by individual business units. As a result, even when they switch from paper to sof
Research Perspective
The Impact of AI on Finance and Accounting
Futurists and software vendors have been pointing to a day when artificial intelligence (AI) using machine learning (ML) will perform miracles such as providing life-saving diagnoses and recommending treatments for even rare diseases in seconds.
Research Perspective
Bottom-Line Impact - How the Modern CFO Leverages Sourcing and Procurement
Digital finance transformation is a way to improve the performance of the finance department by using digital technologies to integrate and automate business processes. Improving performance isn’t just about efficiency and cost savings, though.
Research Perspective
Next-Generation Workforce Planning
Traditional workforce planning is a set of processes performed by the Human Resources (HR) function, working with business units and departments to address short- and long- term staffing needs. In this model, HR provides guidelines on pay rates per l
Research Perspective
Five Ingredients for Finance Transformation
Over the next 10 years, technology will do more to change the finance and accounting organization than it has over the past 50. A spate of advances in databases, data processing, analytics and tools addressing the user experience as well as the appli
Research Perspective
The Imperative for Integrated Planning
The purpose of planning is not planning; it is decision making. And the purpose of reimagining operational planning as a continuous, connected process is to deliver business value, making these processes faster, more agile and more intelligent so tha
Research Perspective
Enabling Advanced Monetization
Digitally native organizations are those that have existed from their inception primarily in the digital world, and that typically engage with customers and deliver their products or services via a digital interaction. Well-known examples include Net
Research Perspective
Virtualize the Close
As finance and accounting departments seek to improve performance, virtualization of processes will play an important role. Virtual accounting uses software to eliminate manual processes as much as possible, and it is marked by a substantial reductio
Research Perspective
Achieving Sustainable Continuity for the Office of Finance
The critical lesson learned from any crisis is the importance of resiliency to cope with sometimes rapidly changing circumstances. Technology has demonstrated that it provides the essential ingredient to achieving this resiliency.
Research Perspective
Strategic Considerations for Financial Consolidation Systems
Consolidating and closing the accounting books is an essential core process for the Office of Finance. Efficient and reliable consolidation—the process of combining financial results from multiple legal entities and subsidiary companies—is essential
Research Perspective
Making the Case for Automating the Close
There is longstanding agreement on the importance of a company closing its books as quickly as possible. A short close becomes all the more important during periods of business disruption and uncertainty because it allows an organization to accelerat
Research Perspective
Best Practices for a More Effective Close
The number of days it takes it to close the company’s books—that is, the number of days into the following month required to complete all the activities associated with the financial close—is a reliable way to gauge the effectiveness of a finance dep
Research Perspective
The Continuous Accounting Platform
Ventana Research uses the term “continuous accounting” to describe an approach to managing the finance and accounting function to boost its performance. Using technology, departments can spread workloads continuously over a fiscal period to shorten t
eBook
The New Corporate Productivity Tool
Companies routinely collaborate in creating, editing, updating, proofreading, and approving composite documents.
eBook
Taking Control of Corporate Spend
As organizational spend continues to evolve, key expenses such as business travel and employee spend are becoming increasingly difficult to control. Organizations that have deployed separate manual processes to manage aspects of spending often contin
eBook
Reimagine Tax Provision
The tax provision and tax reporting processes are getting greater attention from CFOs and audit committees for three reasons.
eBook
Ventana Research Five Things Every CEO and CFO Must Know About Pricing
More effective management of pricing usually is the biggest profitability lever available to corporations.
Videocast
Planning to Succeed
Technology is important to planning and sales performance management. The right technology will give executives and managers a clear picture of the current sales situation and provide the tools needed to make reliable forecasts for the future. This a
Analyst Perspective
FP&A Needs a Data Strategy for Meeting Internal ESG Goals
Environmental, social and governance issues have grown increasingly pressing over the past few years as investors and government entities urge organizations to measure and disclose ESG metrics. I’ve already covered the broader topic as it relates to
eBook
Taking Stock of Legacy Software
It can be hard to spot deterioration in software. Performance degradation happens subtly over time in all software, including finance department software such as performance management and ERP systems. However, our research finds a correlation betwee
eBook
A Guide to Buying Close Management Software
Close automation software designed for midsize companies is relatively new. Successful midsize companies may find they need to automate their close when it takes longer to close, when mistakes, dropped balls and preventable delays increase, or if err
Analyst Perspective
Adopt the Fast Follower Paradigm for Finance
To gain full advantage of technology, finance and accounting organizations must become “fast followers,” avoiding the bleeding edge but breaking the habit of waiting until the last possible moment before adopting proven advances.
Analyst Perspective
A Faster Close Fixes Other Accounting Issues
Since its inception 20 years ago, Ventana Research has advocated for a shorter accounting close because it can improve the performance of the entire organization, not just finance and accounting. An important benefit of a shorter close is increased s
Analyst Perspective
Finance Research Reveals No Progress to a Shorter Close
We conducted our recent Smart Close Dynamic Insights Research in part to assess to what extent the substantial disruptions of the pandemic have impacted the accounting close. When office lockdowns began in the first quarter of 2020, many finance depa
Analyst Perspective
OneStream’s Sensible ML Tasks AI for Business Planning
OneStream offers a platform designed to serve the needs of accounting and financial planning and analysis organizations. The software handles financial close and consolidation, planning and budgeting, analysis and reporting. For me, the most signific
Analyst Perspective
A Data Pantry Speeds Development of Machine Learning Models
A few years ago – somewhat tongue in cheek – I began using the term “data pantry” to describe a type of data store that’s part of a business application platform, created for a specific set of users and use cases. It’s a data pantry because, unlike a
Analyst Perspective
AI Will Create Strategic Advantage for the Office of Finance
Artificial intelligence using machine learning has passed through the bright, shiny object stage and software vendors are well into the process of making the concept a reality in their offerings.
Analyst Perspective
Using External Data in Planning
Organizations need to use external data in planning and budgeting, both data and third-party forecasts. This need also extends to external data in training artificial intelligence systems to assist in planning and for predictive analytics.
Analyst Perspective
Sage Intacct Moves into Manufacturing to Spur Growth
Sage recently announced that it is expanding its Sage Intacct software offering to support discrete manufacturing, with its initial foray into this competitive market centered in France. The move supports the company’s strategy of building out the sc
Analyst Perspective
Reordered Global Trade Requires Agile Sales and Operations Planning
I first wrote about a new era of trade a few years ago to make the point that the period of optimizing supply chains for the lowest cost was over, and that companies needed to redesign them to achieve greater resiliency. That observation proved corre
Analyst Perspective
Blockchain Payment Systems Have Significant Potential
How payments are effected is an afterthought to many involved in a transaction, but flaws in this process can be a source of pain and frustration for those in the back office, especially in accounting and treasury. To improve the way payments are han
Analyst Perspective
Spend Management is More Effective with Software and Cards
The term "corporate spend" usually refers to the incidental but still significant outlays organizations make to support operations. Especially in nonmanufacturing industries, purchases of indirect goods and business services – such as computers, offi
Analyst Perspective
Simplifying Budgeting and Planning is FP&A’s Mission
Ventana Research recently published the results of our Business Planning Value Index Research and I commented on its connection to our emphasis on using software to unify planning processes across an enterprise to improve performance. Since 2007, we
Market Perspective
Vertex Enhances Tax Compliance Technology
Indirect taxes — known variously as sales-and-use, value-added or goods-and-services tax — can get complicated, particularly in countries that have overly complex tax regimes such as Brazil, India and the United States. For example, in the U.S., stat
Analyst Perspective
Value-Added Tax Transformation Streamlines Compliance
Value-added tax is a type of levy that is applied at each step of a transaction chain, from basic inputs to the final good or service. The amount assessed is based on the value added by an organization (hence the name) when a transaction occurs. VAT
Market Perspective
Fluence Offers Finance Streamlined Financial Close
Financial consolidation is the process of combining financial data (notably assets, liabilities, income and expenses) from multiple subsidiaries’ general ledgers across an organization for the purpose of creating a parent company report. The current
Market Perspective
Infor is Innovative Vendor in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Infor, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
Unit4 Expansion Targets Enhancements for People-Centric Organization
I recently attended an analyst conference held by Unit4, an enterprise resource planning vendor focused on midsize organizations in people-centric industries. The conference was intended to communicate the company’s strategy, product updates and road
Market Perspective
Unit4 is a Vendor of Merit in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Unit4, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
Planful is a Vendor of Merit in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Planful, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
Prophix is a Vendor of Merit in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Prophix, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Webinar
Continuous Accounting for Recurring Revenue and Subscription Businesses
Join analyst Robert Kugel and Zuora’s Yash Mahajani to learn about key opportunities and challenges associated with recurring revenue for accounting and finance teams.
Market Perspective
Vena Solutions is Vendor of Merit in 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Vena Solutions, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
insightsoftware is Vendor of Merit in Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about insightsoftware, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Analyst Perspective
Automate the Close Cycle for Consistently Better Performance
Software that automates the full scope of the accounting close, including reconciliations, consolidation and reporting, has grown more capable and affordable over the past five years. By enabling consistent process management that captures best pract
Market Perspective
Workday is a Vendor of Assurance in the Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Workday, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
OneStream Software is Exemplary in 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about OneStream Software, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
Wolters Kluwer is Vendor of Assurance in Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Wolters Kluwer, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
Anaplan is Exemplary in 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Anaplan, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Analyst Perspective
Why Automating Reconciliations Must be a Priority
Reconciling accounts at the end of a period is one of those mundane finance department tasks that are ripe for automation. Reconciliation is the process of comparing account data (at the balance or item level) that exists either in two accounting sys
Market Perspective
Board International is Exemplary in the Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Board, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
Oracle is Innovative in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about Oracle, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
SAP is Exemplary in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about SAP, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Market Perspective
IBM is Exemplary in the 2022 Business Planning Value Index
Ventana Research is sharing insights about IBM, drawn from our latest Value Index research, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Analyst Perspective
Progress for AI in Office of Finance Applications
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) using machine learning (ML) will be the single most important trend in business software this decade because it can multiply the investment value of such applications and provide vendors an important source of
Analyst Perspective
Business Planning Software Unifies Siloed Planning
Having just completed the 2022 Ventana Research Value Index for Business Planning, I want to share some of my observations about the business planning software market and how it has advanced as an important part of our market coverage for almost two
Analyst Perspective
The Value Index for Business Planning Classifies and Rates Vendors
I am happy to share insights gleaned from our latest Value Index research, an assessment of how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
Analyst Perspective
The Office of Finance Market Agenda for 2022: Effectiveness and Profits
Ventana Research recently announced its 2022 Market Agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we have offered since 2003 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department.
Analyst Perspective
2022 Market Agenda: Digital Business Enables Organizational Resilience
Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2022, continuing the tradition of reliability in our efforts to educate and guide the technology market. Our assessments are backed by our expertise and independence, as we do not share our market
Analyst Perspective
Augmented Reality Will Evolutionize Business Computing
As with many IT innovations, augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR) and the related topic of spatial computing had been discussed to death long before they became a practical reality. As a user interface, AR is already well understood in terms
Market Perspective
Teledyne Technologies Earns Digital Leadership Award in Office of Finance with OneStream Software for 2021
The annual Ventana Research Digital Leadership Awards recognize organizations and individuals that utilize technology to advance business and IT. The Digital Leadership Awards showcase the professional leadership and their use of business application
Market Perspective
Emburse Audit Employs AI to Improve Spend-Related Processes
Historically, it’s been difficult to convince chief financial officers to invest in technology that makes it easier to spend money. That’s probably because before digital technologies, the natural impediments to spending stood as crude but effective
Analyst Perspective
Configure, Price and Quote Software Supports Profitability Management
Pricing is an issue that almost every for-profit company confronts – and usually agonizes over. Chief financial officers must play a part in setting the strategic direction of pricing in their organization. They should not be involved in tactical pri
Market Perspective
Migros Aare Earns Overall Digital Leadership Award with Unit4 for 2021
The annual Ventana Research Digital Leadership Awards recognize organizations and individuals that utilize technology to advance business and IT. The Digital Leadership Awards showcase the professional leadership and their use of business application
Market Perspective
FloQast Automates Accounting for Faster Close
Over the past decade, close-management software has evolved to enable even midsize organizations to streamline department processes, operate in a virtual mode, accelerate the accounting close and reduce staff stress. It’s one step toward continuous a
Market Perspective
Power ON Modernizes Business Planning
Power ON is software designed for organizations to streamline their business planning, budgeting, forecasting, reviewing and reporting, in order to make these processes more effective and accurate.
Market Perspective
Xero Energizes Small Business with Cloud-Based Accounting and Finance
A digital finance and accounting organization is one that uses software to enhance efficiency by eliminating manual operations and automating workflows, improving financial data quality. This is especially relevant to small to midsize organizations t
Analyst Perspective
Tackling ESG Reporting Challenges
Robert Kugel discusses the reality, predictions, considerations and benefits about Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) reporting for organizations.
VentanaCast
From Data-Driven to Data Leader
Finance organizations must provide data-driven advice on the best response to adverse events that still achieves business objectives.
Infographic
MANAGE PROFITABILITY to Boost Your BOTTOM LINE
Profitability management is especially valuable as corporations confront cost-price pressures, shifting demand and supply conditions, and structural changes in markets and economies. Having the right tool along with the right data is the first step t
QandA
Five Ways FP&A is Evolving
How will digital transformation affect the role of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)?
Viewpoint
Building the Best Team and Reducing Turnover for Organizational Resilience
In today’s fluid operating environment, organizations must be agile and resilient to deal successfully with unpredictable events and rapid changes in their operating environment.
Analyst Perspective
Fix Sales and Operations Planning to Improve Financial Efficiency
For decades, sourcing and supply chain management was focused almost exclusively on achieving the lowest cost, and the world’s trade environment supported this approach. However, I observed that the new era of trade, supply chain planning and executi
Analyst Perspective
Evolving ERP Systems Redefining Office of Finance Operations
Over the past decade, how organizations manage processes and record data related to transactional events captured by an enterprise resource planning system has undergone a significant evolution. Some of the more recent changes have been the result of
Infographic
CONTINUOUS PLANNING to Improve Business Performance
Continuous Planning is a high participation, collaborative approach that connects and aligns operational and financial forecasts to support action-oriented planning. This method promotes agility that is valuable both in times of crises and in a stead
Analyst Perspective
Digitally Transform Purchasing to Improve Performance
Digital transformation of the Office of Finance has been a recurring theme for several years, but adoption accelerated when offices were locked down and organizations had to collaborate remotely
Research Perspective
Digital Transformation in Payments and Spend Management
Organizations have traditionally handled the multiple components of payments and spend management in a scattershot manner due to the legacy of paper-based systems used by individual business units.
Analyst Perspective
Digitize Tax Departments for Increased Strategic Value
Managing corporate income taxes is a challenge for chief financial officers. Tax codes are often complex, so tax accounting as well as the data required for tax provisions and tax compliance are different enough from statutory accounting to create si
Viewpoint
Digital Transformation with Application Platforms
Digital transformation is achieved by using digital technologies to create new (or modify existing) processes and methods to meet evolving business and market requirements. For finance departments the term is associated with, among other changes, usi
Videocast
Build An Actionable Profitability Management Initiative
Everyone running a business knows that the bottom line is the bottom line. But how does your company manage profitability? There’s an important distinction between managing to profit objectives and what Ventana Research calls “profitability managemen
Analyst Perspective
Managing Price Inflation Effectively with Technology
A looming challenge for companies in the developed world is price inflation, an issue periodically fretted over – but not experienced at a macroeconomic level in most developed economies – over the past four decades.
Viewpoint
Three Key Planning Deficiencies Impeding Successful Decision Making
Any crisis, whether worldwide or impacting a single organization, tests an executive team’s ability to seize a fleeting opportunity, address an existential problem or mitigate future risks. Global turmoil highlights the need for the financial plannin
Viewpoint
Future-Proofing Forecasting
An important and durable lesson of recent massive disruptions is that organizations need to forecast and plan with agility so they can quickly adapt to evolving economic, market, legal, regulatory and behavioral conditions. Organizations that have in
Analyst Perspective
Essential Technology for Continuous Planning
As a result of the rapidly changing business landscape in 2020 and the need to quickly – and intelligently – change business plans and budgets, many more companies have been deciding to adopt a continuous planning approach to be able to add speed and
Analyst Perspective
Meet the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting Challenge
Environmental, social and governance reporting by public corporations has become a top-of-mind issue for senior executives and boards of directors as countries increasingly consider or mandate its implementation in some form.
QandA
Why Invest in Profitability Management
Standard planning software helps executives achieve profitability objectives by establishing top-level revenue targets and setting aggregated expense limitations. On the other hand, profitability management is designed to achieve consistently higher
Analyst Perspective
Zuora Earns Office of Finance Digital Innovation Award for 2021
The annual Ventana Research Digital Innovation Awards showcase advances in the productivity and potential of business applications, as well as technology that contributes significantly to the improved processes and performance of an organization.
Analyst Perspective
Finance IT Improves Departmental Performance
A year of business uncertainty, lockdowns and operational disruptions forced finance and accounting organizations to adapt and change in many ways that are proving to be permanent.
Research Perspective
The Imperative for Integrated Planning
The purpose of planning is not planning; it is decision making. And the purpose of reimagining operational planning as a continuous, connected process is to deliver business value, making these processes faster, more agile and more intelligent so tha
Analyst Perspective
Controllers: Always Be Closing
These days it strikes me that the motto of successful salespeople – "ABC: Always Be Closing!" – should apply equally to corporate controllers, albeit in the accounting sense.
Viewpoint
Gain Competitive Advantage Using External Data and Predictive Intelligence
Darwin never claimed that evolutionary success came down to survival of the fittest. To the contrary, he stated, “it is not the strongest that survives; but…the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds i
White Paper
Introducing the Virtual Audit
A business crisis alerts finance leaders to their organization’s vulnerabilities. When lockdowns prevented people from being in their offices in 2020, organizations with the right technology and processes demonstrated their ability to adapt, overcome
Research Perspective
Business Continuity in the Public Sector
Business continuity is the ability of an organization to maintain normal operations without compromise, regardless of external conditions. Because they provide emergency and other critical services, government organizations must be able to maintain b
Analyst Perspective
Digital Process Reengineering Improves Business Performance
Business process reengineering (BPR) was a consulting fashion in the early 1990s that spurred many companies to purchase their first ERP systems. BPR proposes a fundamental redesign of core business processes to achieve substantial improvements in ma
Research Perspective
Build an Actionable Profitability Management Initiative
Corporations continually confront profitability issues and opportunities caused by competitors’ actions, shifts in demand, as well as changes in commodity prices and other factor costs.
Analyst Perspective
Reduce Risk and Improve Departmental Effectiveness with Intercompany Financial Management
Ventana Research defines intercompany financial management as a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities.
Analyst Perspective
Integrated Business Planning Uses Zero-Based Budgeting to Improve Performance
The objectives of zero-based budgeting are well aligned with what I call integrated business planning, a technology-enabled approach to managing the forward-looking activities of a corporation including forecasting, planning and budgeting.
Analyst Perspective
Unit4 Democratizes Agile, Data-Driven Decision-Making
Unit4’s Financial Planning and Analysis (formerly Prevero) is a planning and budgeting application designed for the requirements of midsize corporations and the public sector.
Analyst Perspective
Consolidation Software Builds Staff Effectiveness in Midsize Companies
Financial consolidation software assists companies in executing their accounting close process - especially those that use multiple ERP systems or have multiple legal entities - and with other characteristics that can complicate the process such as k
Analyst Perspective
FourQ Builds Confidence and Trust in Intercompany Financial Management
FourQ is an intercompany financial management (IFM) Solution-as-a-Service provider. IFM is a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities, and is designed to maximize staff efficiency and ac
Analyst Perspective
Modern ERP Improves Organizational Performance
The ERP system is at the core of nearly every organization’s record keeping and business process management. Its smooth and uninterrupted functioning is essential to an organization’s accounting and finance functions.
Viewpoint
Five Reasons for Upgrading Your Entry-Level Accounting System
Small business owners are fortunate to have a choice of feature-rich, flexible, and affordable entry-level accounting packages. Eventually, though, successful businesses grow and will often find that the very accounting software that once made things
Viewpoint
Multinational Corporations Need Intercompany Financial Management
Ventana Research defines intercompany financial management (IFM) as a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities that is designed to maximize staff efficiency and accounting accuracy while
Analyst Perspective
IBM Planning Analytics Makes Planning Easier for Business Unit Leaders
IBM Planning Analytics, formerly known as TM1, is a comprehensive planning and analytics application designed to integrate and streamline an organization’s planning processes. It can support multiple planning use cases on a single platform, including
Analyst Perspective
Trintech Speeds up Financial Close with Automation
Organizations have long sought ways to achieve a fast but “clean” (accurate) financial close. The most widely accepted benchmark is to be able to close within one business week.
Analyst Perspective
A Virtual Audit Enables Savings Through Efficiency
The challenges of the pandemic prevented auditors from visiting client offices, which led to widespread adoption of remote audit processes.
Analyst Perspective
Streamlining Spending for Savings and Control
Irked by the need to account for every penny of his college expenses, poet Robert Frost penned the lines:
Analyst Perspective
Robotic Process Automation is a Core Finance Competency
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a core digital technology for finance and accounting organizations. It can drive significant gains in productivity and efficiency by automating mechanical, repetitive accounting processes in a continuou
Analyst Perspective
The Office of Finance Market Agenda for 2021: Accelerating Adoption of Digital Technology
Ventana Research recently announced its 2021 market agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we’ve offered since 2003 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department.
Analyst Perspective
Profitability Management: A CFO Priority to Gain Competitive Advantage
Profitability management produces a sustainable competitive advantage but by 2025 only one-third of companies will have implemented a profitability management initiative, explains Ventana Research SVP and Research Director Robert Kugel.
Analyst Perspective
The Ventana Research 2021 Market Agenda: How Digital Effectiveness Impacts Organizational Agility
Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2021, continuing the tradition of transparency in our efforts to educate and guide the technology market but also our independence as we do not share our market agenda or analyst perspectives with
Analyst Perspective
Use Software for More Effective Tax Management
The post-pandemic world will see much returned to normal, but there will also be change. For businesses that faced shutdowns, these changes will include higher taxes to pay for the costs of mitigating the economic impact, and the loss of tax revenue.
Research Perspective
Achieve Agility in Planning and Execution
Finance executives have come to value contingency planning and adaptability in the face of uncertainty, whether it is caused by a worldwide crisis or simply the variance of day-today business.
Analyst Perspective
BlackLine Matches Receivables for Continuous Accounting
BlackLine recently held its first virtual user conference, Beyond the Black, where it detailed numerous additions and enhancements to its applications.
Analyst Perspective
Continuous Planning is Optimized with AI and External Data
In the context of planning, budgeting and benchmarking, external data includes information about the world outside an organization such as economic and market statistics, competitors and customers.
White Paper
The Digital Transformation Partnership
Information technology will have a greater impact on how the finance department operates over the next 10 years than it has over the past 50. The cumulative impact of a decade of steady technology evolution along with the demographic shift to digital
Viewpoint
The Way Forward with RPA
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a core digital technology for increasing productivity and efficiency, speeding the completion of work, and increasing its quality and controllability.
Viewpoint
Agile Planning for Small and Midsize Organizations
The purpose of planning is to enable executives and managers to make better-informed decisions more consistently. Planning within an organization requires setting objectives and weighing the alternative methods of achieving those objectives, because
Viewpoint
The CFO Answer Machine: Past, Present and Future Visibility for Small and Midsize Companies
Effective financial management requires the ability to understand an organization’s current condition while having visibility into its potential future state.
Analyst Perspective
Make Accounts Receivable Pay
Can you imagine a more arcane and boring topic than accounts receivable? Unless you are the CFO, controller, chief accounting officer or treasurer of an organization, maybe not.
Videocast
Moving Beyond Traditional FP&A
Charles Darwin never said evolution was a matter of the survival of the fittest. On the contrary, he said: It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.
Analyst Perspective
Profitability Management is a CFO Imperative
One of the oddities of corporate management is that, as a rule, nobody oversees managing profitability.
Research Perspective
Achieving Sustainable Continuity for the Office of Finance
The critical lesson learned from any crisis is the importance of resiliency to cope with sometimes rapidly changing circumstances. Technology has demonstrated that it provides the essential ingredient to achieving this resiliency.
Analyst Perspective
Value-Based Planning Improves Corporate Performance
In preparing this research note I took the precaution of searching “value-based planning” to see what came up. Over the years, the term has been used in several contexts each with different shadings.
Analyst Perspective
Fundamental Change is Coming to ERP Systems
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are central to nearly every organization’s management of operational and financial business processes.
Podcast
Business Continuity in the Public Sector Podcast
What business continuity lessons have public sector organizations learned during recent challenging times? How can planning and budgeting software contribute to agility that helps promote business continuity? How can the accounting and finance depart
Analyst Perspective
Sustainable Sourcing and Supply Chains
A couple of years ago, I started talking about a “New Era of Trade.” Its starting point was the world financial crisis in 2007, but the evidence that we were experiencing a shift only became obvious years later.
Analyst Perspective
DADs Address the Mother of All Data Problems
An important recent development in software designed for the Office of Finance is the addition of what we’re calling a data aggregation device (DAD) for analytical applications.
Analyst Perspective
Updating FP&A’s Mission - A New Approach for the 2020s
In this Analyst Perspective from Robert Kugel, learn how FP&A can redefine its mission to achieve the long-stated goal of making it more of a strategic partner with the rest of the organization.
Analyst Perspective
Scenario Planning is a Strategic Imperative
A great deal has changed in how finance and accounting departments operate since the start of 2020.
Analyst Perspective
OneStream Wins Our Innovation Award in Office of Finance with Analytic Blend
One of the challenges of being a practically minded technology analyst is squaring the importance of “the next big thing” with the reality of what most organizations are doing.
White Paper
The Value of Close Automation for Midsize Organizations
Midsize organizations face a unique set of challenges. Software can help enable growth without adding administrative overhead, and close automation is a great place to start.
Research Perspective
Business Continuity in the Public Sector
Dedicated planning and budgeting software will help government organizations build the ability to maintain business continuity.
Analyst Perspective
Workiva Chains Liberates FP&A
Workiva recently introduced Chains, a visual workflow tool for the Workiva platform.
Analyst Perspective
2020 Reporting: Improving Visibility, Transparency and Perspective
FP&A and business analysts can make reporting more effective by reimagining how, what and when their company does its reporting.
QandA
Planning for Continuity in the Public Sector
Dedicated planning and budgeting software improves public sector finance department efficiency and enables responsive, high-quality service.
Analyst Perspective
The Corporate Tax Management Software Imperative
Recent events are forcing corporations to adopt dedicated software for tax provision, transfer pricing and tax analysis.
White Paper
Virtualizing the Close
Virtual accounting enables the department to achieve speed and resilience without sacrificing accuracy and control. Start by virtualizing the close.
Research Perspective
Virtualize the Close
“Virtualizing” the accounting close involves applying software automation, substantially reducing manual and paper-based processes and incorporating electronic collaboration. Virtualization enables finance and accounting departments to achieve speed
Analyst Perspective
Move Finance to the Cloud
In a recent note on virtualizing the close, I observed that finance and accounting organizations that can operate in a virtual mode are better able to adapt to changing circumstances and overcome obstacles.
Analyst Perspective
Price Optimization: Cover Your Bases
Pricing is an eternally vexing issue in business. Over the years, organizations have used different strategies to establish prices for their products, depending on custom, the nature of the business and the degree of competitiveness in the market.
Analyst Perspective
Host Analytics Becomes Planful
Host Analytics recently announced it will now go by the name Planful.
Analyst Perspective
The Office of Finance is a Numbers Factory
Yes, it’s an easy metaphor, but a worthwhile one to consider. For the Office of Finance, figures are its raw material.
Analyst Perspective
Blockchains Pose Problems of Persistence and Trust
I’ve written before about blockchain’s significant potential. A lot of the current discussion on the topic centers on cryptocurrencies and financial trading platforms, both of which are already in operation.
Analyst Perspective
Workday Does Source-to-Pay
In late February I attended Spark, the Scout annual user group meeting. This was the third and likely the last such meeting, as Scout was recently acquired by Workday.
Analyst Perspective
Make Automating Finance and Accounting a Priority
We find in our recent Change in the Office of Finance benchmark research an indication of the value of using automation to execute finance department functions.
Analyst Perspective
Fortune Favors the Prepared
I like Louis Pasteur’s observation that “fortune favors the prepared mind.” So-called black swan events happen regularly and can have a very negative effect on a business.
Analyst Perspective
Fortune Favors the Prepared (Video)
I like Louis Pasteur’s observation that “fortune favors the prepared mind.” So-called black swan events happen regularly and can have a very negative effect on a business.
Analyst Perspective
Rating CFO Performance in Audit Costs
For decades I’ve heard people talk about cutting audit costs to reduce administrative overhead but based on my observations, I was skeptical — mostly because, until recently, the documented success stories haven’t been about going from good to great
Analyst Perspective
The Next-Generation CFO
I was invited to sit on a panel at CFO 3.0 events held in San Francisco and New York hosted by Sage Intacct.
Analyst Perspective
Three Essentials for a Digital Office of Finance
One of the objectives of our recent Change in the Office of Finance benchmark research was to assess the technological capabilities of finance and accounting departments.
Analyst Perspective
The Bottom Line is the Bottom Line
The Chief Financial Officer can enable her or his finance department play a more strategic role in company operations by adopting what I call profitability management.
Viewpoint
Plan for Business Continuity, Sustainability and Success
Dedicated software is the most effective tool for organizations seeking to plan for business continuity, sustainability and success
Analyst Perspective
Virtualizing the Close
The global pandemic crisis was, in effect, an unrehearsed stress test measuring the resiliency of the department. The crisis highlighted the importance of sustaining confidence in the accuracy and control of accounting processes, not just efficiency.
Analyst Perspective
The Central Ledger: Restructuring Accounting with Technology
Sometimes it takes a while for technology to fundamentally change how work is done. That’s because several innovations usually have to come together before a transformation can occur.
Analyst Perspective
Fortune Favors the Prepared
I like Louis Pasteur’s observation that “fortune favors the prepared mind.” So-called black swan events happen regularly and can have a very negative effect on a business.
Viewpoint
Building Agility Through Continuous Planning
Finance executives need to rethink their planning and budgeting processes to make them faster, more agile and more predictive to achieve their objectives under any circumstances.
QandA
Accounting in a Time of Crisis
There are times when organizations can be overwhelmed by financial stress while simultaneously embracing distributed working environments and other operational constraints they weren’t prepared for. Finance and accounting departments that can utilize
Research Perspective
The Advance of Business-Owned Technology
CIOs face the constant challenge of having resources available for strategic projects while still performing essential “keep-the-lights-on” activities. IT organizations can shed non-essential workloads, especially as they forge a relationship with th
White Paper
Taking Control of Profitability
The basic concepts used for measuring, analyzing and managing profitability are well established. The challenge has been to translate the concepts into practical methods and processes. Technology now enables organizations to address those challenges.
Research Perspective
When Spreadsheets Aren’t the Right Choice
The electronic spreadsheet is among the top five most important advances in business management to come along in the last 100 years. It has revolutionized almost all aspects of finance and accounting.
Research Perspective
The Continuous Accounting Platform
A central aspect of continuous accounting is controlling accounting and other data that affects financial statements continuously, from start to finish. This form of control, known as “straight-through processing,” addresses the significant issue of
Research Perspective
Five Ingredients for Finance Transformation
Over the next ten years, technology will do more to change the nature of the work done in the finance and accounting organization than it has over the past 50. A range of technology advances affecting databases, data processing, analytics, user exper
White Paper
Efficiently Achieving Sustainable Compliance
Still using spreadsheets for SOX404 and 302 compliance? Organizations need software, not spreadsheets, to achieve sustainable and efficient compliance
Research Perspective
Making the Case for Automating the Close
There is longstanding agreement on the importance of a company closing its books as quickly as possible. A short close becomes all the more important during periods of business disruption and uncertainty because it allows an organization to accelerat
Research Perspective
Best Practices for a More Effective Close
The number of days it takes it to close the company�s books � that is; the number of days into the following month required to completed all the activities associated with the financial close � is a reliable way to gauge the effectiveness of a finan