Recent TRG blog posts

Spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel has long been indispensable to organisations thanks to its ubiquity, versatility, and ease of use. Such attributes, however, also make spreadsheets particularly susceptible to human errors, as demonstrated by the following cases.  

Blog Topics: CFOs, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Financial Accounting Management Software

The consulting firm Protiviti and North Carolina State University’s Poole College of Management collected responses from 735 board members & finance executives about 30 risk issues that will likely have an impact on their companies in 2017.

Blog Topics: CFOs, Financial Accounting Management Software

The role of modern CFOs in today’s business is much broader than it used to be. They are expected to use technology and their “number-crunching” capability to give other functions as well as the whole business better information to make decisions and move ahead. One key area in particular where CFOs should get involved more is sales forecasting.

Blog Topics: CFOs, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)

Companies are adopting innovative enterprise solutions to help them stay ahead of their competitors. Nevertheless, many still rely on spreadsheets to perform vital financial functions. It is not a promising way for companies to remain relevant in this new digital economy. An EPM (Enterprise Performance Management) application could be the ultimate alternative to using spreadsheets.

Blog Topics: CFOs, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Financial Accounting Management Software

What are CFOs’ top priorities for 2016? Consulting firm Protiviti tries to answer this question in its 2016 Finance Priorities Survey. Collecting responses from 650 CFOs, vice presidents of finance, corporate controllers, and other financial management professionals, the survey ranks the priorities using five categories: process capabilities (financial transactions); process capabilities (financial analysis); emerging issues; technical capabilities. The infographic below shows these five main findings.

Blog Topics: CFOs

Jack Welch, former Chairman at GE once said: “The budgeting process…sucks the energy, time, fun, and big dream out of an organization”. Yes, everyone hates it! If there is an effective way to do it without trying too hard will you take its advantages to grow? What you need is just a good planning and budgeting process and the right technology!

Blog Topics: Planning and Budgeting, CFOs, Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, Financial Accounting Management Software

Chief Financial Officers, or CFOs, have been commonly known as a corporate officer who’s responsible for managing the organisation’s financial risk, financial planning and reporting to higher management board. However, in this new era, the role of CFO is no longer limited to the tasks above. As stated in a recent study by Accenture, 70% of correlation is found between high-performing financial departments and high-performing companies. This means the CFOs’ responsibility has evolved. Additional research also indicated that CFOs’ responsibilities have been changed from being a rear-view mirror perspective provider to a strategic advisor who navigates the business through hard times and shapes the company’s direction.

Blog Topics: CFOs, Financial Accounting Management Software, Technology trends

Recent research by Anaplan, an expert on modelling and planning finance, sales and operations platforms, states that currently, Asia Pacific’s CFOs are still experiencing difficulties with spreadsheet usages in financial planning and budgeting. In addition, there was a relatively low satisfaction level with the accuracy, timeliness and ease of Excel use for planning and budgeting.

Read more: A complete guide to financial consolidation

Blog Topics: Planning and Budgeting, CFOs, Financial consolidation, planning and reporting

 

“The only predictable thing about life is its unpredictability” – Unknown

In the last decade, so many events had happened that brought unbridled change and volatility to the world’s economy. Business have been facing wildly fluctuating rates of decline and recovery across the globe. A “Growth markets forecast” done by Ernst & Young in 2013 has pointed out that insolvencies rose by 178% during 2008-9 recession in the US versus a 57% rose in the UK. Fortunately, during the past years, insolvencies has dropped fast and the rate in the US is falling 20% faster than that of in the UK. In addition to these changes and volatility, over-regulation, constant imposition from regulators and global standard-setters have brought complication and complexity to the systems and information that organisations need. This leads to the need to absorb and synthesise information so to manage risk more effectively. So, how companies should respond to volatility and what they need to do to enhance their competitiveness, financial performance, productivity in a volatile business climate?

Blog Topics: CFOs

Cash flow management is one of the most important tasks to any CFOs. Cash is the blood of any entity. Having good cash flow management not only guarantees the health of your business but also forms a strong foundation to launch your business to a new height.

Blog Topics: CFOs, Financial Accounting Management Software