Modern financial planning is a dynamic process that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of organizations in today's fast-paced business environment. Gone are the days of manual data entry and endless spreadsheet versioning problems; modern financial planning is all about real-time collaboration and cloud-based solutions that provide immediate value to finance leaders.
At the recent Planful Perform 2024 event, Andrea Sorenson, Director of Finance at YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, shared her experience of implementing a new financial planning tool. The switch to a cloud-based platform resulted in immediate efficiencies for Sorenson's team, allowing them to move away from time-consuming data validation tasks and spend more time analyzing and acting on the numbers.
Similarly, Taylon Perry, Sr. FP&A Analyst at Together Work, found that having more time to analyze data rather than compile it led to new insights for the organization. The ability to identify trends and variances on a monthly basis allowed the team to make informed decisions about vendor relationships and pricing structures.
Matthew Zabinski, Production Manager at the Center For Internet Security (CIS), highlighted the importance of flexible locations and self-sufficient budget holders in the wake of COVID workforce adaptations. By empowering budget holders to access and analyze information on their own, the organization was able to streamline budgeting workflows and adapt to a virtual work environment.
Overall, modern financial planning is about more than just accuracy and reliability; it's about enabling finance teams to dig deep into the data and make strategic decisions that drive the organization forward. By investing in cloud-based solutions, empowering budget holders, and embracing new technologies like AI, organizations can stay ahead of the curve and thrive in today's competitive business landscape.