BearingPoint’s latest study reveals that 12% of the surveyed organisations reached the third and highest wave of digitalisation in their CFO function (pre-COVID: 9%), and 23% of the finance professionals use their time on value-adding services (pre-COVID: 12%).
Dublin, October 7, 2021 – Management and technology consultancy BearingPoint’s new CFO 4.0 Study proves that COVID-19 fostered the digital transformation of the CFO functions in the surveyed organisations and that these organisations are keen to invest more in the digital development of their CFO function in the upcoming years. Organisations start to realise the benefits of their improved digital readiness in these continuing challenging business and market situations.
The ideal digital maturity level of the CFO function is characterised by digital technologies and capabilities and skills that improve processes and performances, that enable more value-adding services and that ultimately drive better and faster business insights. Furthermore, this supports new and existing business models. According to the results, the average digital maturity level in the surveyed organisations is 5.1 out of 10. This value improved slightly in comparison to 4.9 of the pre-COVID CFO 4.0 Study.
COVID-19 created unprecedented stress to the finance organisation, which operated fully remotely for the first time while managing uncertainty and risk on a wide scale. BearingPoint's CFO 4.0 study shows that Finance teams performed well in this context, and, even more, they grasped the opportunity to accelerate their transformation towards a faster, smarter and leaner organisation.”
Gillian O'Sullivan, Country Leader for BearingPoint Ireland
The underlying publication is the first of two whitepapers showing that digitally mature companies recognise the value of digital innovations and have successfully included those in their strategies. The second whitepaper will be published in February 2022 with a focus on the topic of data-driven finance showing the aim to utilise data more effectively in decision-making processes and to be more technology-driven.
Digital transformation includes hard factors such as the introduction of state-of-the-art software solutions on the one hand and soft factors such as skill improvement of staff and change management on the other. The former must go hand in hand with the latter.
Martin Deere, Finance and Risk Lead
According to our results, 35% (pre-COVID: 41%) of the organisations are currently focusing on operational efficiency improvements, where digital solutions improve day-to-day work through process streamlining and automation. Now they are increasingly serving other business functions and supporting the business with financial analytics and closer cooperation, accelerating the transformation of the whole organisation.
We see more and more companies updating or creating ‘Finance Strategies’ as a starting point for a successful Finance Transformation, this is also reflected by our CFO 4.0 Study in 2021.
Johannes Vogel, Director Finance and Risk
The biggest threats for the digital transformation are linked to data and technology regarding the current, often very heterogeneous, IT architecture. Considering the ongoing activities in many European countries to introduce state-of-the-art software solutions (for instance for a new generation of ERP), we assume that this threat will become less important over time. Too many priorities and organisational silos are the two most significant challenges preventing successful digital transformation within the CFO function. Compared to pre-COVID, a lack of clear strategy and vision does not seem to be a major threat anymore.
The full study is available for download here.
About the study
BearingPoint’s CFO 4.0 Study assessed the digital transformation of the organisation’s CFO function in seven European countries, including Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal, and some companies in Morocco and Southeast Asia. A total of 256 organisations were assessed through a survey directed at the CFOs. The aim of the study was to provide insights into the current state of the CFO functions’ digitalisation and to increase understanding of how to leverage more value through digital solutions. The digital foundation consists of strategy, organisation, people, technology, and data perspectives, all elements being equally essential in the digital transformation of the finance function. Since this was the second consecutive study conducted by BearingPoint on this topic, a 2-year time series analysis of before pre-COVID from the previous CFO Study 2019/20 and now could be modelled on overlapping questions and is included in both study publications.
About BearingPoint
BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. The company operates in three business units: The first unit covers the advisory business with a clear focus on five key areas to drive growth across all regions. The second unit provides IP-driven managed services beyond SaaS and offers business-critical services to its clients supporting their business success. The third unit provides the software for successful digital transformation. It is also designed to explore innovative business models with clients and partners by driving the financing and development of start-ups and leveraging ecosystems.
BearingPoint’s clients include many of the world’s leading companies and organisations. The firm has a global consulting network with more than 10,000 people and supports clients in over 70 countries, engaging with them to achieve measurable and sustainable success.
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Madison DuffyMarketing ManagerIreland
