How to Become a Data-Driven Finance Leader

How to become a data-driven finance leader

A finance leader’s role evolves constantly. The traditional finance leader was somewhat of a historian – they ensured daily precision and accuracy and tried to predict the future using the past. That was Financial Leadership 1.0.

Today, finance leaders are more like business analysts. They leverage real-time data and analytics to drive transformation. This is Financial Leadership 2.0.

Financial Leadership 3.0 is coming – tomorrow’s financial leaders will be data-driven strategists. They will provide empirical metrics to fulfill missions, predict the future, and drive their organizations to new heights using data and sometimes artificial intelligence.

Here’s what it takes to become a data-driven strategist and leap into Financial Leadership 3.0 – and how technology like Sage Intacct is a critical factor for success.

More Time

A recent survey said finance leaders want to focus 50% of their time on strategy and business growth, but in practice, they’re so wrapped up in routine accounting tasks and period-end reporting that they spend only 25% of their time on those initiatives.

The Right People, Process, and Technology

Your team should consist of curious, creative, intuitive people who understand data and leverage it to create solid solutions.

The first step of your process should be monitoring the business and analyzing variances between projections and actual results. Isolate red-flag issues, discuss them, and course correct. And always test your solutions and examine the results.

Technology is the crucial, underlying piece of the equation. If you’re using outdated, inadequate software such as a small business accounting application, you’re wasting time and making expensive mistakes by relying on spreadsheets as workarounds.

To become data-driven, you need technology that offers automated financial operations, multi-dimensional analysis, and real-time data integration with other systems.

A Best-in-Class System

Data-driven finance leaders are delivering impressive results with Sage Intacct, a modern, born-in-the-cloud financial management solution. Built by financial professionals for financial professionals, Intacct provides a depth of financial capabilities you won't find in a traditional software suite.

Sage Intacct automates critical accounting functions, giving you more time to focus on the bigger picture. It also eliminates repetitive data entry by seamlessly integrating with your other mission-critical business applications. With Sage Intacct, you see real-time reporting across hundreds of consolidated entities and reduce close time by up to 79%. And Sage Intacct customers achieve an average 250% return on investment in six months or less.