6 Strategies: Prepare Your Business To Move Financial Reporting To The Cloud

Cloud-based financial reporting solutions hold the promise of modernizing fiduciary visibility by streamlining the reporting process, providing real-time access to data, and offering visual analytics for better data-driven decision making.

SaaS solutions enable self-service without the need to involve IT, and eliminate concerns about upgrading. But migrating to the cloud is not a move to make without serious thought.

Here are important issues to consider before making the leap:

• Evaluate The Current Management Strategy for Financial Reporting
• It's a best practice to evaluate your current financial reporting processes to find areas for improvement and optimization. After all, it would be a pity to migrate to a shiny new SaaS platform, and bring with you out-dated processes and invalid data.

• A big part of migration is knowing where you're coming from, so you can understand where you're going. Aligning your companies pre-migration strategies with post-migration goals will ensure you can address change management, compliance, integration, and support needs as they arise further down the migration path.

• Identify Your Company’s Mission
• Are business stakeholders truly committed to playing a bigger role in planning? Do they support Finance having more influence over performance with advanced revenue modeling? Getting everyone on the same page takes time.

• Don't pass up the opportunity to discuss with stakeholders how this migration will impact the business. And don't paint too rosy of a picture: detail the positives while acknowledging the challenges, costs, learning curve and timelines.

• Understand & Effectively Address Change Management
• You will need to dedicate time and resources to engage with those employees effected by the migration. They will have many questions, and likely gripes - employee onboarding is often the biggest bottleneck to success. Job roles and responsibilities are transforming, taking employees out of their comfort zone. This must be acknowledged, and planing to achieve buy-in will ease the transition.

• Working with an experienced software partner may provide excellence support in this area. They can provide training, support and customizations that help your employees shift their focus and mentality from the old way of doing business, to the new.

• Determine Compliance Requirements
• A cloud-based reporting application needs to be comprehensive and flexible enough to meet all your compliance needs. There are a lot of FinTech products to choose from in the marketplace - but not all are created equal.

• Compliance is a major factor driving CPM selection. A clear understanding of compliance needs specific to your industry and geography, and how they effect your business, is an important pre-migration check-point.

• Select a CPM that Integrates with your ERP
• What's the point of bringing on a great new financial reporting platform if you can't get the data out of your current business systems, and into your new CPM? Understanding the integration ecosystem that different CPM offerings have can save your company time, money and heartache.

• Ask yourself - is the integration native or 3rd Party? Is the integration certified by the CPM company? How does the integration to my ERP or CRM work? Do I need any customizations for my particular business needs?

• Finding a well rounded Software Consultancy that partners with multiple SaaS platforms will ensure that your onboarding process goes smoothly. An organization that has experience integrating your cloud financial reporting application of choice with your companies' ERP solution can provide guidance and strategies unique to your business needs.

• Pay Attention To Data-Security Issues
• While data security in the cloud is a top concern of financial executives, according to a report by KPMG*, cloud vendors can offer security that is often much better than what organizations can provide on their own.

• One-site Managed IT networks tend to be more vulnerable due to lack of funds, bandwidth for IT teams, and outdated security practices and protocols.

• Saas vendors enjoy economies of scale and can spend much more on data security. The success of their business hinges upon happy customers with secure data.

*http://ww2.cfo.com/erp/2016/02/sooner-finance-erp-moves-cloud-better/

Next Steps

Migrating your financial reporting to the cloud will help your business realize significant efficiencies, provide transparent, real-time data, and eliminate the mistakes and re-work associated with legacy Financial Reporting Processes.

By embracing a comprehensive, cloud-based CPM platform, organizations of all sizes can take FP&A and budgeting to the next level. A firmer understanding of the financial foundation facilitates strategic, data-driven decisions to stay ahead of the competition.

Business Solution Partners helps clients modernize budgeting and reporting processes with Software, Strategy and Support. We are experts in helping our clients identify the right CPM solution for their unique business needs.

We also provide the training, integrations and customizations necessary to ensure that your team is empowered with the right tools for success.

If you would like additional information on how Business Solution Partners can help your organization successfully migrate financial reporting to the cloud, please contact us today!