As the needs of consumers, companies, industries, and nations change all over the world at breakneck speed, numerous challenges continue to arise for companies to build up defences and supporting structures. Finance transformation presents many opportunities in this regard.
In order to make the most of the value it can inject into your core function and across your organisation, however, you must eliminate the limitations that could be holding you back from sustainable financial growth.
This includes:
A lack of support for finance teams: Even as digitalisation takes the helm, companies require key finance personnel to lead the charge and create more value for the function. In the era of The Great Resignation, it is doubly important that the right investments are made in your teams to support their trajectory and incentivise them in the long term.
Implementing only global transformation plans: To succeed in a globalised landscape, many incorrectly believe that one generalised, global strategy can support wide-scale finance transformation. As many companies have discovered, however, for transformation to take hold, it requires region-specific as well as globally formulated strategies.
Retaining lower value-added tasks in-house: Companies that are not leveraging the value of finance outsourcing risk wasting effort, resources, and time on lower value-added tasks. In order to reach the status of a market leader and pioneer, opportunities must be created for higher value addition internally, and outsourcing can support this endeavour.
It is easy for any company to access the industry’s best practices, leverage the right tools to survive or thrive in the market, and access the support of external professionals and finance consulting to consolidate efforts to drive finance transformation in Belgium.
And yet many companies still struggle to operate in the landscape that exists today, from economic unrest world over to the rising competition that faces all companies operating in every industry around the world.
In this climate, there is no telling where or when the next challenge will arise, but what has become incontestable is the need for the continuous transformation of core functions—especially finance.
As the needs of clients, industries, and the world undergo rapid changes, the short and long-term goals and objectives of a company too must change, and the way core functions operate must change with it.
Europe, specifically, is seeing a period of extreme volatility after several years of events that have shaken the region to its core. While it is easy for companies operating in this region, and setting specific goals such as finance transformation in Belgium, to view these challenges as setbacks to this transformation, it is important for their success that this perspective is dismantled.
Volatility may define the landscape for many years to come, and companies are beginning to adapt—through long-term strategies such as developing antifragile business functions and models. Through this lens, the crises and challenges to come become part of regular business operations, and frameworks are geared towards insulating core operations and furthering transformation through each crisis.
A lack of support for finance teams
While discussions surrounding finance transformation are often centered around digital technologies and Finance 4.0, not even the right solution can support your financial success alone.
For any other financial measure to be successful, from risk management to digital transformation and long-term value addition by seizing the right opportunities—companies require support for the key personnel that can lead this charge. This means an investment in finance teams and professionals to develop their skills, incentivise them to create more value for a company, and give them the tools and resources they need to further the function.
While this may seem like a straightforward measure, it is often overlooked and underrated by many companies. This is especially true in the current landscape that is marked by The Great Resignation and rapid, dramatic changes in the workplace that have shifted the way working professionals are viewing their work, and the role it plays in their lives.
The US academic, Anthony Klotz, who inadvertently coined the term The Great Resignation, cited four possible causes for the phenomenon: resignations that were postponed during the early months of the pandemic and are now coming to fruition, the burnout of workers across industries, a Terror Management Theory response where professionals facing life-threatening circumstances look inwards at how much contentment and gratification their own lives brought them, and the freedom and autonomy that work from home brought many of them.
While many researchers have surmised that The Great Resignation is not as pervasive as it seems, as long as the factors that are driving it remain, companies must pay special attention to the changes they are spearheading in the workplace and the effects it may be having on the talent they cannot afford to lose.
Only implementing global transformation plans
Despite globalisation taking over the landscape and the world, and making it clear that the landscape is more integrated than it often appears, finance transformation geared towards the globe, in general, is unlikely to sustain any company.
Instead, many leading companies are formulating region-specific transformation strategies that will help secure success in the different regions in which they operate. This means a company operating in Europe may strategise a finance transformation in Belgium if they operate in the region.
This is the most sustainable way for your company to ensure long-term success and build closer relationships with internal and external stakeholders who are key proponents of your growth.
Retaining lower value-added tasks in-house
The power of outsourcing for critical functions such as finance cannot be underestimated in the current volatile landscape.
Enlisting the support of finance outsourcing services for the completion of lower value-added tasks by external professionals generates more high-quality outputs and frees up resources internally for higher value addition.
Finance transformation must be a continuous method through which your company can keep up with the demands of the external environment, and gradually work towards becoming a market leader and industry pioneer. Finance outsourcing helps you make the best use of your resources and accelerates the path to your financial goals.
Benefit from the possibilities of finance transformation in Belgium
Whether you choose to leverage the regional experience and support of financial advisory services or develop your own teams to take up the responsibility of overhauling your finance transformation, the value you can enjoy through such a transformation makes any investment worthwhile.