Transformation projects hold the promise of huge operational improvements, but why are they so tricky to get off the ground? Even when you gain buy-in, change is rarely easy. It involves many moving parts, multiple priorities and there are roadblocks along the way.

Transformation and change management for the finance function has never been more important – and it’s high on the agenda at this year’s BeyondTheBlack event, presented by cloud accounting software provider BlackLine. Attendants will learn how to navigate obstacles along the path to finance transformation and develop a clear plan to promote a project’s success.

Tammy Coley, BlackLine’s chief transformation officer, says an organisation’s ability to adapt and embrace change has become vital to sustainable success.

“The challenge is that there are often roadblocks to transformation, so finance and accounting leaders may need to rethink how they manage change.”

Benefits of finance transformation

Finance transformation involves revamping financial processes, systems and capabilities to boost overall business performance. The benefits are far-reaching for those who get it right.

“A key benefit of transformation is the ability to attract and retain great talent, which is something the accounting and finance industry has been struggling with,” says Coley. “It helps to ensure your systems and processes are relevant and engaging.

“Manual processes aren’t attractive, especially for young accountants,” adds Coley. “They want technology to take over those mundane tasks, so they can focus on more impactful work.”

Transformation for the finance function can also promote sustainable business growth with access to real-time data.

“The accuracy and timeliness of the numbers help you to drive effective business results,” says Coley. “If you need to wait to get accurate numbers, it’s much harder to be strategic or to respond to disruption in a timely way.”

She adds that access to real-time data also allows you to extract much more value from your numbers. “You can forecast trends and identify opportunities to help your business scale and grow,” she says.

Overcoming obstacles

Research from Gartner shows finance transformation and functional improvement are among the top 10 business priorities for 2024, but almost 70% of these change programs progress slower than projected and 30% fail to deliver on expected benefits.

A key challenge is accessing accurate, real-time data that can unlock business growth. A recent BlackLine survey of more than 1300 finance and accounting professionals and C-suite executives shows 42% of respondents do not entirely trust their data, and just 2% expressed complete confidence in their organisation’s ability to deliver real-time cash flow visibility.

Automation and transformation can unlock organisational value, and increase transparency and trust.

For many companies, transformation requires an investment in technology, however finance leaders will often encounter obstacles. There may be budget constraints, the C-suite and the board may need to see a strategic advantage beyond the operational benefits, and there’s often internal resistance to new systems and processes.

“Digital transformation is about more than just the technology,” says Coley. “But, in the finance profession, we generally don’t put enough emphasis on what it really takes to change. We often expect people to just do it and we don’t spend enough time thinking through the change, the impact it’s going to have on the people and how it will be received.”

Coley says taking your team on “the transformation journey” is considered best practice in digital change and transformation plans.

“It’s also important to have a flexible plan with milestone wins along the way,” she says. “The old approach to change management was to plan a huge project, work hard at it and then expect a bigbang benefit at the end, but it’s so important to set up your project differently to avoid fatigue. You need small wins along the way to keep the team pumped up.

“When you’re planning for change, you’ve got to be thinking about the people, allow them to see the progress that they’re making and celebrate their milestones.”

Technology enables change

Best practices for finance transformation also include assessing your current digital capabilities and identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. Harnessing cloud-based tools is also key to ensuring accurate data for informed decision making.

“Artificial intelligence will also have a huge impact on finance transformation,” adds Coley. “It’s already having an impact, and it’s going to be great for the finance profession by taking on a lot of the manual effort, so we can focus on the higher value-add activities.”

While technology is a vital tool, Coley stresses the importance of partnering with key decision makers across the business.

“They may be the people who say, ‘Finance is a cost centre, you’re not producing revenue, so why would we invest in transformation?’. That’s why you need to be able to connect what the finance function is doing to what’s driving the business forward.

“When decision makers can see the transformative value of accurate reporting and real-time, datadriven analytics, it’s easy to see the business case for finance transformation.” 

Build a case for change

Data drives better business decisions. It reduces risk, helps teams to plan for the unexpected and offers insights to increase revenue. But securing the budget and approval for transformation can present challenges. Here are four ways to help build a business case for finance transformation.

1. Paint the bigger picture Decision makers want to see the strategic benefits to the business. Articulate the business problems you’re seeking to solve and show how real-time access holds the solution.
2. Highlight the benefits Consider factors like employee retention, ease of regulatory compliance and opportunities to scale the business.
3. Measure what matters Define measurable objectives, such as a percentage increase in operational efficiency or improvement in employee engagement, to encourage buy-in.
4. Seek feedback The case for change may be clear to you, but may not be obvious to others. Seek feedback to identify any weaknesses in your assumptions and anticipate questions from senior management.

Register for BeyondTheBlack

This year’s BeyondTheBlack two-day event, presented by BlackLine, will be held in Melbourne on 16 September and in Sydney on 18 September. Join your fellow finance and accounting peers and learn how to enable achievable organisational change. For more information and to register, go to beyondtheblack.com.