WORLD ACADEMY OF INFORMATICS AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
ISSN : 2278-1315
of critical issues that require action and intervention; and
2. What are the drivers of change for your
advocates policies and standards that promote public
organization?
company auditors’ objectivity, effectiveness, and
3. What are the implications for finance?
responsiveness to dynamic market conditions. Based in
4. How should finance prepare for the changes?
Washington, DC, the CAQ is affiliated with the American
Institute of CPAs.
To do this, we conducted more than 300 interviews and 50
roundtable discussions on the future of finance and identified
several common trends emerging across a range of topics.
These trends provided our research team with a series of
insights into the finance function of the future and the chain of
four papers that explore the key themes from our research.
These themes are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The changing role and mandate of finance,
Changing technology and finance,
The changing shape of the finance function,
Changing competencies and mindsets.
Succeeding topics will discuss in details about the four themes
for a better understanding.
CREATING A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
FINANCE FUNCTION & RESEARCH
Peter Simons, Dr Martin Farrar
Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
You can’t see the future, but with the right insight you can
prepare for it. We have created this briefing paper as part of
a year-long, worldwide project to understand the future form
and direction of the finance function. Change is the new
norm in many organizations – particularly within the finance
function. The changing mandate needs finance functions to
move from being reporting factories to providing
experiences that wrap around the reports they produce. Yet,
because of current rapid evolution, there isn’t a composite
picture of the finance function of the future. It is this vision
that we, at the Association of International Certified
Professional Accountants (AICPA), aim to create. With
650,000 members and students in 179 countries, we are
uniquely well-positioned to work with global stakeholders to
investigate, analyses and document how the finance function
is changing.
Using interviews, roundtables and surveys, this
comprehensive global research project brings together
different organizational views – to deliver insight into the
process of change and to synthesize a picture of the finance
function of the future. The finance function’s questioning
role involves constant horizon-scanning and alerting the
business to strategic opportunities or threats
Our research aims to answer the following questions for
you:
1. How will the future be different for your
organization?
www.waims.co.in
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE
Dr Martin Farrar
Association of International Certified Professional
Accountants (AICPA)
ABSTRACT
This briefing paper will:
Set out the current technological tools you need to be
aware of that are disrupting the finance function,
Focus on the impact that these tools, individually and
in combination, are having on the finance function,
Explore how technological automation is shifting the
skills requirement of the finance professional,
Profile the types of organizations that, typically, are
early adopters of technology,
Reintroduce the CGMA (Chartered Global
Management Accountants) horizon scanner, a tool
you can use to predict when new disrupting
technologies will impact your organization and its
finance function.
MONEY AND KEEPING PACE WITH TECHNOLOGY
“The things we talk about when we set our strategic objectives
for the year are money and how do we keep pace with
technology?”
This is the stark reality for one US retailer – and it’s a
common theme shared by many other interviewees. It’s true
that advancements in technology are allowing us to do much
more than we’ve been able to in the past. However, too many
organizations are struggling with the pace of change,
constantly having to react rather than lead with technological
innovation. This is especially true within the finance function.
In our interviews, technology is seen as the key driver of
change in the finance function. This ‘disrupter’ presents both
an opportunity and a risk. It is transforming what we, as
finance professionals, do and revolutionizing how the finance
function of the future will be deployed.
Up front, it is important to understand that technology is not a
driver of change in a vacuum. The rapid technology
ENDEAVOR 2019 | WAIMS ACADMIC PRESS
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