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“But then when we step into the FP&A world and we talk to them about budgeting, forecasting, reporting, key performance indicators and targets, then that’s what we use to make sure that they know what they’re meant to do and the parameters within which they have to operate.”
Keep it simple
Empowering not only finance teams but also the rest of the business has been one of the key benefits Unit4 has derived from its embrace of AI tools. Alistair Gurney, Unit4’s group FP&A director, says the most important step forward has been to simplify the company’s processes. “In practice that means putting together a technology base to help us leverage data and then provide that data – appropriately cut and processed – directly to operating management in the business, thereby minimising the finance layer.”
Gurney adds that Unit4 has been able to move beyond the traditional finance model, where accounting and FP&A teams sat separately, with a layer between them to communicate numbers.
“Now what we try to do is establish and eliminate the need for that layer,” he explains. “So rather than having a big group of people who answer queries and ferry numbers backwards and forwards, and generally create Chinese whispers, we try to reduce that by leveraging the technology platforms as far as possible so we give direct access to that data.”
Access all areas Over the past year, Gurney and the team have built new budget forecasting models, some of which have already been opened up to the rest of the business – albeit with a high degree of finance oversight. “We’ve started introducing the idea that the other units in the business can do their own forecasts: they created it, they own it,” he explains. “And although they don’t necessarily need to understand the system that built it, it does become integrated within the business.”
By breaking the wall between finance and the business, and removing an extraneous layer of bureaucracy, Unit4 has been able to not only drive efficiencies but also foster trust. “It has definitely helped build a lot of trust with managers in the business because they’ve got visibility of the planning process,” Gurney explains.
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Alistair Gurney, Unit4’s group FP&A director, emphasises how important it is to simplify processes so that information is provided in a way that is easy to consume and use.
“They’ve got visibility of the budgeting process: there are fewer debates about ‘why is that number here, why is that number there?’”
Of course, Gurney acknowledges that technology on its own can only ever partly meet the challenge: understanding what data can do and what the business needs from it is vital. “That’s why I think getting the model right, and making sure people understand what leverage they’ve got, is so important.”
For Gurney and his team, the focus then centres on “making sure that we then serve the information up in a way that’s easy for them to consume – and it’s the right information for them to consume – rather than getting just reams and reams of data”.
“It creates a shift in the organisation to start thinking about getting data right first time,” Gurney continues, “because the more you have straight-through processing of source data to get to any end point – whether that’s a commercial decision or any sort of output that someone you care about sees – you lose the opportunity to overlay it and fix it”.
All this – embedding AI tools into finance processes and democratising data access to empower non-finance teams to play an active role in the forecasting process – can seem daunting. Faced with that, Stuart advises CFOs to take baby steps first. “I would start somewhere where you know it’s going to work, so you can get those early successes,” he says. “If you start trying to solve for world peace, you’re going to fail.”
“We’ve started introducing the idea that the other units in the business can do their own forecasts: they created it, they own it. And although they don’t necessarily need to understand the system that built it, it does become integrated within the business.”
Quality over quantity Moreover, Gurney points out that CFOs must prioritise data quality to ensure their decisions are based on the best possible sources. As he puts it: “The first thing to do is to fix the quality of the data stack, then think how we can keep it that way.” In practice, that means introducing data governance processes.
“We continually run projects and it can create fatigue, so I think small, rapid steps make sense. It’s not a case of ‘do one thing this year then wait until next year’ – you can move quickly as you demonstrate success and prove it makes a difference.” ●
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