Recent TRG blog posts

Business leaders everywhere are looking for new ways to gain as much profit as possible. They look from all different angles to see the best approaches in order to better run their business.

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

Building business efficiencies and greater competitiveness for North American companies. Regulatory authorities are on track to make the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) a requirement for all publicly-traded companies in the US, Canada, and Mexico over the next few years. For public companies in these countries, the transition to IFRS will be the most significant regulatory change in many years and one with potential to directly impact overall competitive position.

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

Metaphorically, belief and disbelief in business analytics as a competitive edge, and not just a passing fad, meet at a door. On one side is passion, and on the other, fear. Passion always lives with fear. Those with passion for a methodology, like embracing analytics to support decision, have fear that others will reject them and their ideas. What position for analytics will come out ahead? Opposition or proposition?

Technology is no longer the barrier to analytics

What is it about accepting a new idea like applying analytics? There is a lot. And it mainly has to do with the natural resistance to change with people. People like the status quo. The main barrier to the acceptance of applying analytics is no longer technical but rather is behavioral and cultural. The software tools are proven. The use of analytics by casual users, not just a team of trained statisticians, has become widespread.

Consider these remarks from Jane Griffin, a Principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP from a Deloitte “debate” on this topic:

“The executives I talk to every day are wrestling with business decisions where a better understanding of data at a very deep level can make all the difference. … Low-level analytics just won’t get you there. Work your way through the list of ground-shaking developments in business today – none are areas where companies can continue to shoot from the hip. Pricing. Workforce trends. Health reform. Even security and terrorism threats. These are all complex challenges where advanced signal detection capabilities are critical. … Analytics is no fad. It’s a serious competitive advantage.”

 

Analytics as the only sustainable competitive advantage

The popular Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s defined accepted, generic strategies for a company (i.e., cost leadership, differentiation and focus), however they are all vulnerable today because competitors can more quickly take actions (such as reduce costs), imitate a company or invade a company’s market niche. An organization’s best defense against the competition is the ability to quickly make smart decisions – which can easily be accomplished by implementing business analytics. Organizations that achieve competency with business analytics are able to sustain a long-term competitive advantage.

A similar case can be made for adopting analytics-based enterprise performance management methodologies. The early adopters are already well ahead. Their executives have properly communicated their strategy to employees through appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) and achievable targets to align behavior. They have robust predictive analytics that reduce uncertainty and allow them to take smarter and quicker actions. These organizations understand their cost and profit margins by product, service, channel and customer – as well as optimal actions needed to retain and grow customers, and acquire the best target customers. They have driver-based budgets and rolling financial forecasts using modeling techniques.

I suspect that passion (and common sense) was present to overcome fear of trying something new, like advanced analytics, to improve organizational performance.

Blog Topics: Talent Management, Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, Financial Accounting Management Software

Business leaders everywhere are looking for new ways to gain as much profit as possible. They look from all different angles to see the best approaches in order to better run their business.

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

People throughout your organization are called upon daily, if not hourly, to make decisions that affect your business performance. Who could blame you for wanting them to make the right decision and make it quickly? But no matter how experienced and dedicated your employees are, they’ll only consistently make the right decision if they consistently get easy access to clear, accurate, and actionable information. What can you do to help them—and your company? Identifying and implementing the right business intelligence (BI) solution is an essential step. If you choose to upgrade your business intelligence solutions you’ll have lots of company, according to research by Gartner, Inc.

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

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

The Vietnam - Singapore Business Forum (VSBF) 2011 held from 30 November to 2 December, has helped promote bilateral relations between Vietnam and Singapore as well as created great cooperation opportunities for companies of the two countries. On this occasion, Vietnam Business Forum had an interview with Mr. Finnian Tseng, Regional Vice President Asean for Infor Glabal Solutions (SEA) Pte Ltd, a leading provider of business software and services participating in VSBP. Dang Yen reports.

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems

Recent Growth to Fuel Hiring of Software Engineers and Designers for 'Silicon Alley' Innovation Center

Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced that it will relocate its headquarters to New York City in the summer of 2012. Located in "Silicon Alley," known for its high concentration of Internet and technology companies, Infor's new headquarters will feature an Innovation Center, where Infor will house newly-hired software engineers and graphic designers.

Blog Topics: Financial consolidation, planning and reporting, IFRS, Financial Accounting Management Software, Infor SunSystems