EY Financial Services is delighted to introduce our Finance of the Future survey report, which is specific to the financial services industry in Ireland.
For CFOs and Heads of Finance, the ‘new normal’ has changed. Finance functions must balance meeting regulatory requirements, steering the business and reducing costs whilst ensuring they can meet future stakeholder demands.
We undertook this survey to examine the views of Ireland’s finance leaders on the future state of finance functions and to understand the challenges that CFOs face in transforming their functions to deliver added value to their stakeholders. You can download our findings using the link below.
Including topics such as strategic priorities, future operating models, innovation, data management and the future workforce, this survey asks: what is shaping future finance, and how can technology help? It provides insight into the issues which are most important to the finance functions of Ireland’s largest banks, insurance companies, asset managers, aircraft lessors and other financial services institutions.
Key findings include:
Changing role of finance
Historically, finance functions have fulfilled the traditional role of ‘score keeper’, with a focus on the accurate reporting of historical information. Our survey indicates that the finance function will need to develop further as a strategic partner with a focus on driving revenue growth and cost reduction in the business.
Technology & Data
Technology will play a significant role in executing many traditional finance tasks; to leverage this opportunity finance will need to first focus on process improvement. The extraction of business insight from data will enable finance’s ability to strategically partner with the business.
Talent
Finance leaders noted that the biggest challenges facing finance functions today and in the future is talent acquisition and retention. As finance rebalances from historical reporter towards forward looking analytics, new technology related skill sets, such as the ability to exploit big data, will be required.
Competing priorities
Finance functions are operating with many competing priorities where change has become the status quo. There is an opportunity for finance leaders to invest in finance transformation, so as to create capacity – this capacity can then be invested in delivering change, enhancing finance capability and generating the insights needed to drive businesses forward.
We would like to thank the finance leaders who took the time to participate in the survey. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like further insights or to discuss any of the topics covered.
Read about the survey findings in the Irish Independent here.
