Excerpt from an Oracle Whitepaper & Case Study (www.oracle.com)

Four challenges facing CFOs today:

• Expanded regulations: Financial services organisations that let critical data slip through the cracks face costly fines, increased scrutiny, and reputational risk.
• Outdated business models: Traditional finance operating models are rapidly becoming outdated and are unable to deliver the level of data and insight that banks need to operate competitively.
• Aging business applications: Financial services organisations are always looking for opportunities to modernise their finance function so they can spend less time closing the books and more time driving growth and performance.
• Inability to adopt advanced technologies: Many outdated systems lack artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive capabilities, hindering innovation and placing a heavier emphasis on daily manual transactions that could be automated.

Essentials for finance modernisation

1. Centralised financial accounting management: Eliminate time-consuming manual processes by avoiding data silos and multiple repositories. Present critical KPIs to senior management in a consistent format via a centralised platform.
2. Integrated data planning: Understand how data flows—from source to usage—with a full audit trail and drill-down capabilities. Use a common data model across the bank, including the risk, finance, treasury, and customer service departments.
3. Connected enterprise planning: Connect planning across lines of business to run scenario planning, forecasting, and budgeting. Get a complete view of planning from workforce, CapEx, projects, marketing, sales, and the balance sheet.
4. Streamlined procurement and cost: Streamline, standardise, and automate the source-to-settle process through modern technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain. Improve cost management practices, including IT project financial planning, IT shared service allocations, and charge-backs and analysis.

Finance transformation at a glance
Standardisation: Adopting cloud functionality has allowed the financial institution to simplify and standardise their processes and benefit from quarterly cloud updates.

• Costs: The financial institution reduced software costs, reduced the number of licenses, and cut their managed service costs.
• Simplification: Reducing cost centers from several thousand to 350 has reduced input errors.
• Security: Oracle’s top-rated security cloud applications help the financial institution keep the confidence of their customers.
• Accessibility: Employees are able to access Oracle anywhere, anytime, and manage their daily duties efficiently and effectively.