Data and Analytics - top corporate priority

Survey of CGMAs finds incorrect analysis of data negatively affecting revenue

In August 2013, CIMA and the AICPA conducted a survey of CGMA* designation holders in over 80

countries, receiving responses from 2,093 CFOs and other finance professionals working in a broad

range of sectors.

Companies of all sizes and sectors are now able to access a wealth of data, from customer call

centres and social media platforms to large scale logistics reports and customer churn and

feedback.

According to the survey results, the majority of respondents see an opportunity for finance

professionals to use their expertise and training to develop stronger, more strategic relationships

with their senior business partners and provide a concrete benefit to their companies. However,

exactly what that role may be, is often unclear.

And with nine out of ten finance professionals agreeing that data has become a key focus for

business leaders today, there is widespread agreement that finance teams and businesses face a

steep learning curve when it comes to implementing a full analytics programme that will translate

directly into a commercial benefit.

In fact, almost half of the respondents reported that their organisations did not have adequate tools

in place.

86% reported that their businesses were struggling to take advantage of their data, while 34%

said that incorrect analysis of their company’s data is resulting in a significant impact on

revenue.

However, even given this response, only 53% report that they are currently investing in technology

to help derive further benefit from their data.

So, if senior finance practitioners recognise the value of data and analytics to their organisations, as

well as the potential advantage to their own teams, why are they hesitant to invest in software that

could increase their ability to work with data and derive a real competitive advantage?

Barriers to implementing successful data analysis practices

Justifying the cost and perceived cost of investing in software is a stumbling block for finance

leaders who are reluctant to spend funds on the finance function, when everyone else in the

business is tightening their belt. In addition to the perceived cost of technology, there is a lack of

understanding of the functionality of today’s software and its potential value to the organisation.

Last, but not least, is the perceived length of time that developing and implementing such

specialised software will require and the loss of valuable resources to the project.

*Chartered Global Management Accountant

TCM Infosys Ltd.

info@tcminfosys.com | +44 (0) 845 50 50 350 | www.tcminfosys.com

Additional barriers to maximising return on investment from data analysis were identified:

Difficulty in integrating data from disparate sources and silos

Accuracy, currency and validation of the data being collected

Ensuring insight from the data is used to drive performance

Identifying trends in a mass of data

Clear, concise communication and reporting of data

The CGMA Report concludes that while finance professionals face substantial challenges in

responding to the need to optimise analytics, they are well positioned to help decision-

makers interpret and harness the power of data to refine strategy and maintain

competitiveness and effectiveness.

The TCM solution

TCM gives you the ability to analyse your data in any number of views, with drill down from

the highest level through all subconsolidations to the original underlying data. With TCM, you

can slice and dice your views to see comparatives by time, by version, by product, by entity

or any other dimension.

TCM’s business dashboards give you more control over your business and decision-making

process by providing fast, relevant and reliable information to your management team. With

on-time business insight, you can drive substantial performance management and gain a

competitive advantage through increased responsiveness to rapidly changing conditions.

Some key features include:

Visual representation of on-time mission critical data

Prevailing trends

Key performance indicators

Unified or customised points of view

When KPIs are well developed and defined, they provide a series of clear goals and

objectives for all your staff. TCM’s dashboards allow you to share this information with your

key decision-makers almost instantaneously, and, when you’ve set your targets, TCM can

automatically calculate how those targets will be shared across your business.

TCM also significantly reduces pressures on finance teams by providing a robust system with

inbuilt tools to maintain data integrity and user-defined validations to ensure that information

is current, accurate and verified.

To learn more about TCM click here.

To read the full CGMA Report, visit

http://www.cgma.org/Resources/Reports/Pages/insight-to-impact-big-data.aspx