The last few years were highly unpredictable for CFOs and finance departments never seem to enjoy moving ahead in blurry waters. However, digital transformation helped businesses survive not only digitally but also financially. According to the survey conducted by PYMNTS, many financial leaders consider digital transformation as the ultimate tool to make critical decisions and drive business strategies. The survey consists of insight from a great number of finance leaders varied in different businesses and geographies. The widest intersection point of all these leaders is the digital transformation which also helped to revolutionize the capabilities of the CFOs.
Improving Customer Experience
“We’re really focused on finding systems from the front end all the way to the back end that plug into each other,” Justin McMahan, CFO at Abra, told PYMNTS. “We’re trying to stay as unsiloed as possible when it comes to systems.” Of course digital transformation is still an on-going process since not every business is capable of doing business with the latest hardware & software. Relying on legacy devices make it a sort of hassle to adjust the business into digital era. “In every environment, you should always be looking for how do we get rid of that spreadsheet, how do we improve that experience, how do we save money, how do we get paid faster?” said Ingo Money’s Drew Edwards. “This innovation that maybe has been started by the pandemic — I’d just love to see it be the norm going forward. There’s still a lot of work to be done with digital automation of AP and AR around smaller billers.” SpotOn CFO Lisa Banks explains. “There’s just a massive tech replacement that’s happening right now and it’s important to stay at the forefront. If you’re able to boost your revenue, improve your customers’ experiences — that means they’re coming back for more and you’re more profitable.”
Automation is The Second Priority
Digital transformation naturally leads to deal a great deal of data, which can only be managed through automation. Therefore, it is no surprise that CFOs consider automation as the second most crucial item on the list. Investing in automation plays a vital role to drive sustainable business growth. Inasmuch as the COVID proved that the human touch might be a fragile tool during crisis. Hence, automation easily fills the gap occurring from human error or lack of human.
