Finance function needs renewed technology to speed up close, offer value to business: FEI Canada

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - November 02, 2016) - A recent survey of Canadian financial executives has revealed that about 40% of respondents (the majority being CFOs) have made no investment in renewing technology to support the financial close process over the past two years. Approximately one-third of respondents do not plan to make this type of investment any time soon. This was especially true for respondents from companies with less than $25M in revenue (42% do not plan to make this type of technology investment in the next two years).

"Given the importance of finance leaders as strategic advisors in supporting future growth, it is surprising that so many organizations have not advocated for leading tools and best practices that would support this," said Laura Pacheco, Vice President, Research at FEI Canada (Financial Executives International Canada). "Finance professionals have much to offer beyond the reporting function, but they need the right technology to speed up the financial close, and then derive insights from data to support business goals."

Technology and the Accounting Process is the latest research study published by CFERF, the research arm of FEI Canada, prepared in collaboration with PwC Canada. It is based on the results of a recent online survey and research forum with senior financial executives from across the country.

Dig a little deeper, and it's clear that size and maturity play key roles in how technology is viewed and used:

• Respondents from companies with $1B or more in revenue were twice as likely (74%) as their counterparts with revenue less than $25M (37%) to have invested in technology that improves the financial close process.
• Respondents from companies generating between $100M and $1B were more focused on efficiency (71%) than quality of output (54%) whereas respondents from Canada's largest businesses were equally split on the two objectives (at 53% each).
• Participants from companies with a global presence were far more likely to have made the investment in technology to improve quality of output (level of detail) (71%) than those with operations only in Canada (34%) or North America (30%).
• When it comes to the types of technology they've chosen to invest in over the last two years for the financial close process, workflow for review and approval was the most cited (52% of all respondents), especially amongst private companies and those with revenues of $25M or less (62% and 78%, respectively). New accounting systems was the second most cited at 36% and collaboration/shared workspace technologies at 28%.

Download the report

About the Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation
CFERF is the non-profit research institute of FEI Canada. The foundation's mandate is to advance the profession and practices of financial management through research. CFERF undertakes objective research projects relevant to the needs of Canada's senior financial executives in working toward the advancement of corporate efficiency in Canada. For more information, please visit www.feicanada.org.

About Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada)
FEI Canada is the all-industry professional membership association for senior financial executives. With eleven chapters across Canada, FEI Canada provides its members thought leadership, advocacy services and extensive professional development opportunities – including its executive education offering, the CFO Leadership Beyond Finance program which it offers in conjunction with Queen University's Smith School of Business.

The association's membership, which consists of Chief Financial Officers, Audit Committee Directors and senior executives in the Finance, Controller, Treasury and Taxation functions, represents a significant number of Canada's leading and most influential corporations. Further information can be found at www.feicanada.org. Follow us on Twitter at @FEICanada.

About PwC Canada
At PwC Canada, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. More than 6,500 partners and staff in offices across the country are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms with more than 208,000 people in 157 countries. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com/ca.

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