A blueprint for the transformation of integrated business planning

Financial planning software helps finance teams to solve new challenges in a rapidly changing world. At the recent North American Finance Executive Summit Geoff Micks of the Blueprint podcast sat down with our very own Tim Caudill to discuss this subject.

Tim has more than twenty years of experience in financial software and leading corporate finance teams. At Jedox Tim is responsible for helping organizations understand how digital transformation can be achieved with Jedox.

In a candid conversation, the bright future of planning and performance management software (including FP&A, EPM, IBP) was unraveled. The space is set for a seismic shift as a combination of automation, integration and transformation means less reliance on manual tasks, and more time, resource, and support for value-adding activities. Cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence, natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning are also contributing to the rise of Autonomous Finance in organizations.

One theme that emerged was the integration and harmonization of data

Tim highlighted how the office of finance can integrate more data from a diverse range of sources, including operational and even third-party data. This helps finance teams to form a better understanding of how an organization is performing, makes scenario planning more informed, and helps teams to make more informed and impactful decisions as a result.

Organizations can unify data from multiple systems and business functions with Jedox, with prebuilt and fully customizable integrators.

Automate to elevate: the catalyst for change

Another key thread to the conversation was automation. As more tasks and processes – increasingly complex ones – can be automized, it means there is less tedious work for humans to do.

The fact that the data does not have to be “crunched” manually means quarterly planning and forecasts can move to rolling forecasts, that react to events as they happen. Tim and Geoff delve into the transformational impact of automation, with Tim describing the benefits of a “living, breathing, dynamic forecast”.

Stay agile by moving from quarterly or monthly forecasts to rolling forecasting with Jedox. It can help your organization to make better and more timely decisions.

Collaboration

As integration and automation helps to create a holistic view of a business, it also promotes better communication and collaboration throughout an organization.

Rather than receiving a spreadsheet once a month, what if everyone has self-serve access to dashboards? A single source of truth for the whole organization? When everyone has the same access to the same information, they can speak the same language, share the same vision, and execute the same plan.

With Jedox organizations can offer stakeholders self-service reporting, with customized dashboards that empower users to engage with the data whenever they want, not just when a report is ready. Jedox can also help to create a single source of truth for reporting, planning, and analysis, meaning that everyone gets the same view.

The role of AI in creating narratives

One of the most interesting parts of the discussion was around the use of AI. Integrated, automated data is one thing, but AI has the capabilities to go beyond that; to connect dots and to weave the numbers into a coherent story, almost effortlessly.

Jedox offers accessible artificial intelligence to aid integrated business planning, including AIssisted™ planning wizards and smart AI insights that help organizations to identify drivers, model unlimited scenarios and forecast with greater accuracy.

The path forward: Integrate, Automate, Collaborate

The podcast with Tim was a glimpse into the horizon of financial planning and performance management within global enterprises. The insights offered help guide organizations towards a future where holistic understanding, foresight and agility will prove to be important competitive advantages.

Watch and listen to the podcast or read the transcription below and get a glimpse into the future of financial planning software.