Today, businesses sit on huge amounts of data which are vital to making smart and informed decisions — from deciding whether to proceed with key initiatives, such as acquisitions and entering a new market, to everyday recruitment and pricing decisions.

But data alone will not take a company into the future. In a world where businesses make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions every day, collaboration is key. The more integrated data access is across business functions, the better the ability to draw deeper insights. The more regular communications are, the better aligned objectives can be.

Despite this, there remains a yawning divide between the finance and operations teams of many businesses. 

 

Key findings from finance and operations leaders

85%

want to play a greater role in driving enterprise-wide transformation in the next 3 years.

Only 38%

of senior executives within the two functions are 'very satisfied' with the alignment of objectives and KPIs across the two teams.

98%

are seeking to obtain new skillsets for their function, including data science, predictive analytics and forecasting.

Just 42%

are 'very satisfied' with their ability to make informed decisions based on data.

74%

do not co-ordinate with other business functions when acquiring and implementing new technology.

85%

say their focus on ESG will likely increase significantly in the next 2 years, but 62% are still unclear of their role.

 

A global KPMG survey of 1,300 finance and operations leaders revealed that the two teams at many businesses rarely collaborate, leading to disjointed internal processes and missed opportunities to manage risk and boost growth.

The survey, conducted in January 2022, found that fewer than half of finance and operations leaders are ‘very satisfied’ with their ability to compare and combine data across functions and draw deep insights from them. Just 42% are ‘very satisfied’ with their ability to make informed decisions based on data, and only 35% of senior managers within these two functions are ‘very satisfied’ with the alignment of objectives and key performance indicators across the two teams.

Still, there is a way forward if businesses are willing to bridge these disconnects.

Read on to find out how leaders across finance and operations are integrating technology and data to unleash enterprise-wide transformation.


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