Finance teams face even greater pressure to automate their workflows and reduce operational risk without sacrificing speed and agility.
Sebastian Dewhurst shares his thoughts on how finance teams could explore the option of no-code platform to transform their spreadsheet models into collaborative and secure web applications.
The Rise of Digital Finance
Modern finance departments must deliver their value faster. The demands for real-time scenario planning, cross-functional forecasting and other tools are increasing. It is a problem that traditional tools haven’t kept up. Spreadsheets are widely used, but they cannot provide the automation, collaboration and auditability needed by today’s businesses.
Centime’s CFO report states that in 2024, cash flow forecasting will still be done manually for nearly 99%. * This type of dependency limits real-time decisions, delaying updates for a few days.
Version control is one of the biggest problems that spreadsheets have. Multiple copies of the same spreadsheet are edited and shared between teams. This creates confusion, and increases the chance of using outdated or incorrect data. Security is another major issue. The financial data of an organisation is extremely sensitive and crucial. However, spreadsheets lack proper access controls that prevent unauthorised sharing.
Manual data handling is also prone to human error and lacks the ability to track a process if something goes wrong. Spreadsheets are not scalable. They’re not designed well for multi-user environments, or real-time collaborative work. This is essential when working with teams.
When ERP systems reach their limits
ERP systems can provide structure and compliance but they often fall short when it comes to agility and customization. These tools are powerful in terms of reporting and controlling, but they do not have the flexibility necessary to adapt to the work processes of a team without extensive development.
Implementing enterprise tools can be a long and expensive process. External consultants are expensive and IT teams can be overwhelmed. This lack of flexibility is a big problem for finance departments who need to respond quickly to business changes.
No-Code Platforms: Financial Agility’s New Weapon
No-code platforms help solve this problem by allowing finance professionals convert their spreadsheets into cloud-based applications. These features include built in capabilities such as user accessibility controls, workflow automation and audit trails. These features can be used by finance teams without any programming knowledge.
The finance team benefits from this shift in culture for a number of reasons. First, professionals can be more agile by building and launching new tools in a matter of days instead of months. They can create solutions that use the same logic as the ones they use every day.
Ownership control is also improved, as teams are no longer reliant on IT for changes. Better yet, these platforms offer better governance, control and auditability, thanks to their centralised data, stronger security and built-in auditability. Finance teams are using more no-code platforms to modernise their critical workflows.
A New Financial Era without Code
The age of financial systems being used for everything has passed. Finance teams are ushering in a new age by using no-code solutions to replace outdated enterprise tools and fragile spreadsheets. These platforms allow finance departments to build secure and scalable solutions, which can evolve as quickly as the business. All without having to write a line of code.
Finance functions need to become more agile and data-driven as business demands increase and become faster. Finance departments are leading this transformation with no-code platforms. They do not replace spreadsheets, but rather empower and evolve them into something more powerful and durable.
References:
*https://www(dot)centime(dot)com/posts/why-real-time-cash-flow-forecasting-is-a-must-have-for-finance-teams
The first time this post appeared was on HR news.
