Coping with regional differences key to financial planning, survey finds

A SURVEY of UK-based CFOs and finance directors has found that more than half (51%) cite the ability to cope with “regional differences” as the most important requirement from a planning solution.

These range from compliance regimes and legal structures, to management culture and levels of IT support.

The survey was conducted by business process software specialist Accountagility, which says the result demonstrates that adaptability to the many variations required across the globe is crucial to financial planning and reporting, Financial Director‘s sister title GT News reports.

“The market is increasingly turning its focus to financial planning, because businesses are looking for greater accuracy and predictability in their global budgets and forecasts,” said Robert Gothan, chief executive and founder of Accountagility.

“By adding more flexibility to their processes and tools, finance teams can ensure that planning and reporting reflect real time accounts and forecasts, and also unlock accurate business insights that can help drive performance more effectively.

“We are seeing that some global organisations allow their regional entities to have wide latitude over their financial affairs and structures, resulting in many variations in requirements across regions. To support such a complex environment, planning solutions need to offer new levels of flexibility and ease of change.

“It’s a challenge to ensure that all regions are seamlessly consolidated into a single and consistent view of the business – and many planning tools are ill-equipped to cope with such complexity. However, with the right platforms and the right approach, it is a challenge that businesses can meet.”

Author: Graham Buck