{"id":6646,"date":"2019-10-23T13:46:45","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T17:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=6646"},"modified":"2026-07-09T10:26:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:26:41","slug":"real-time-reporting-for-cfos-why-automation-is-crucial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/real-time-reporting-for-cfos-why-automation-is-crucial\/","title":{"rendered":"Real-time reporting for CFOs – why automation is crucial"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tReal-time reporting for CFOs – why automation is crucial\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Reporting is still crucial in the finance department. CFOs have always focused a lot of their attention on financial analysis \u2013 a critical part of any modern business and an important measure to understand the business performance of a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether CFOs are compiling these statements themselves or assigning others to create accurate statements, their role doesn’t stop with the handing over the numbers. CFOs are charged with producing reporting that is useful to leadership and key stakeholders. They will understand the performance metrics, indicators, and targets that need to be hit for the organization to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, CFOs have been limited to looking backwards through a rearview mirror. They would be reviewing financial reports and balance sheets that will create the state of the business at the end of a period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world has changed. Financial reporting is still highly important, but technology and the availability of data has made it possible for businesses to get real-time information about company performance, and even how it can perform in the future. There is a huge amount of untapped power and potential in what is a legal requirement in most countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, the role of a CFO<\/a> has changed. Instead of simply being the financial leader, they now need to actively drive business change through finance. Now they have a variety of tools focused on predictive analytics and intelligence, with machine learning and artificial intelligence potentially changing the game even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of automation on financial reporting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Financial reporting is crucial to a business \u2013 as well as performance, it is needed for areas such as regulatory compliance and investor relations. As a result, there are pressures that CFOs and their departments could be feeling from the business when it comes to getting better financial data, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A corporate mandate to improve the quality of financial and accounting data<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A management focus on improving the productivity of financial\/accounting staff<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Stakeholder demand for financial data access, and the need for more regular disclosure (monthly instead of quarterly or annually for instance)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. A need to augment financial reporting with non-financial performance data<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses should look at automation<\/a> as a reliable way to improve the quality of financial data and increase the productivity of financial\/accounting staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of being tied up in time-consuming transactional tasks and gathering data, automation offers an alternative \u2013 potentially reducing by 46% the time and cost for key processes such as billing, management reporting, general accounting and budgeting, according to PWC’s Finance Effectiveness Benchmark Report 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automation allows businesses to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n