Over the last few years, we’ve seen organisations improving the agility of how their core business functions and workforce operates, leveraging their talent and access to technology to create teams that perform to their best. According to a McKinsey report - ‘The five trademarks of agile organisations’, there are trends that need to be consistently addressed: The evolving environment, the introduction of disruptive technology, and accelerating digitalisation and talent. 

Walter James has a strong track record of partnering with Consumer and Life Science organisations embarking on Digital Finance transformation. Digital Finance has now become a crucial part of an organisation’s strategy. According to Accenture, ‘Digital Finance helps organisations uncover the opportunities created by an effective and efficient enterprise management function; it assists with capturing greater value from cash, capital and cost positions, as well as optimising reporting analytics capabilities and integrating planning and forecasting functions for real-time planning’.

Across our client portfolio, CFO’s and senior executives are instrumental in driving digital change within their organisations, identifying new technologies, innovations and digital practices to implement in their business. Through the delivery of a consistent vision and capturing high levels of workforce engagement, we’ve seen a considerable cultural shift in ways of working. The adoption of technology has helped finance leaders successfully create modern finance functions and become ambassadors and drivers of real business change.

The process of a successful digital transformation at scale can be a long, so here are a few areas of consideration for global digital finance transformation projects:

• Identify your objectives. What are the main desired outcomes of the transformation?
• Understand your current finance function’s processes: Data, analytics, API’s, machine learning, people.
• Ensure that knowledge of technology enablers and competitors is strong. Which piece of digital technology will suit the organisation best?
• Faster reaction in the adoption and implementation of new technologies, not an easy task but this has many internal benefits along with competitive advantages.
• Build a culture of constant change by empowering your workforce. Focus on achieving higher levels of employee satisfaction, accountability, and a shared vision for transformation.

Walter James’s Transformation and Finance team are fortunate enough to partner with many organisations that are continuing their journey of ‘digital finance transformation’. A key focus for Walter James is to work alongside their leadership teams in identifying and developing expert candidates who can make an immediate impact, help upskill the organisation and ultimately leave a lasting legacy to allow for future innovation.