Companies in Motion: The Risks of Standing Still
By Paul Johnson
CPA, CGMA, MBA
Standing still may be the right thing to do in many business situations, but when your company’s financial systems aren’t keeping up with growth, standing still may be doing more harm than good.
When forward-thinking companies grow rapidly by offering tech-savvy products and services, they soon realize their current financial systems aren’t performing as well as they once did. These companies know they need to move to more relevant software, but often stay with their current, ill-fitting systems for fear of making a wrong decision. These companies might not realize that by standing still, they put their company growth at risk.
RISK #1: OUTDATED SYSTEMS CAN’T KEEP UP
As companies evolve to new products and services, their decision-makers find they need new data, answers, and processes. So they build all kinds of spreadsheets and workarounds. In short, their old systems don’t flex well to accommodate their new productivity demands.
RISK #2: CHANGING ROLES REQUIRE DIFFERENT SKILL SETS
Many CFOs see their roles changing, and are good with that, but don’t feel they are operating at peak performance because they aren’t confident their current tools and technologies handling tasks in their new roles. Their old systems are good at solving old problems, but not so good at solving new ones.
RISK #3: DIGITAL GROWTH CAN CAUSE FAST FAILURE
Finally, many businesses have the ideas and desire to grow with technology, but few find fast success because they don’t scale their internal systems to accommodate the new moving parts that come with diversifying their services. Their old systems are holding them back.
THE SOLUTION: GET MOVING
Companies in motion stay in motion and nothing screams yesterday’s technology quite like an Excel spreadsheet. If fast-moving companies are still using them to run their books, they may not be supporting their teams, or projecting an innovative image.
They need systems with strong automation that can flex and stretch with more complex compliance standards, and book closings– not another kinda-current report concocted from stagnant data housed on a clunky on-premises system.
They need user-customizable options to handle new products and a greater volume of subscriptions. You know, something that supports frequent and detailed billing and real-time reporting to show deep metrics on varying types of revenue recognition.
They need a cloud accounting system with longevity. Configuration-driven software, like Sage Intacct, maximizes user value compared to other cloud setups that require IT costs and frequent upgrades to stay relevant.
Finally, tech-savvy companies need fast answers, zero downtime, someone else handling updates and security, and not having to hire on more IT staff to stay competitive.
Drop us a line, or give us a call – We can help your business leverage its strengths by guiding you to the right tools your company needs to stay moving!