How to maintain business continuity with ongoing disruption

No one can predict what will happen to the economy until we beat the latest wave of coronavirus infections. The only certainty in today’s chaotic world is change. Business operations could cease and restart at any time, especially in industries such as travel and hospitality. Today’s hybrid workforce requires people to be productive from anywhere. Supply chain delays and other mini-crises run the gamut from illnesses and quarantines to fluctuating demand for goods and services. CFOs face more challenges than ever to keep their companies profitable.
Amidst this turmoil, the role of the financial controller also continues to evolve. Today’s CFOs are taking strategic roles in technology selection and management, risk, human capital resource management, and supply chain management. More than three-quarters (78%) of controllers saw their responsibilities increase; 73% of CFOs also faced the challenge of increasing responsibilities, according to the Controllers Council’s benchmark study, The Contemporary Controller – Changing Roles & Responsibilities.
Cloud-based companywide financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting tools can help CFOs, controllers, and their teams gain some certainty to retain business continuity. While business disruption is not easy to manage, companies who embrace fit for purpose software and digitization may find themselves ahead of competitors.
Digitization gives finance teams to-the-minute data
Knowledge is power. Financial tools that integrate with your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software help finance teams and everyone from sales to operations. Dynamic reporting features in cloud-based finance software help teams customize content and layout to produce and automate reports to give teams the big picture. By informing financial plans with operational data (and vice versa), the financial impact on business strategy is better understood and plans are more agile and dynamic.
Work from anywhere
Even as offices re-open, workers have grown accustomed to the freedom and flexibility of remote work. Many working parents still grapple with childcare concerns after working from home for more than a year. Some employees have even relocated during the pandemic.
Cloud-based SaaS solutions for data analytics make it possible for a company’s team to work from virtually anywhere and remain productive. CFOs can manage cash flow daily, drill down into transactions, and complete regular financial forecasting to try to get a handle on what the future may bring in an uncertain economy.
Managing cash flow can help mitigate rapid changes in demand for products and supply chain woes to maintain business continuity regardless of operational changes vendors might make.
Financial planning and analysis provide companywide accountability
Even though the duties of CFOs and controllers have increased in today’s ever-changing business climate, they have shifted some responsibilities to other departments. Modern financial planning and analytics (FP&A) software make it easy to share data between departments while protecting the integrity of legacy data. It breaks down interdepartmental silos by providing not just raw data but data analysis that can get teams talking and brainstorming.
CFOs managing teams working from different locations know that everyone has access to the same real-time data. Together, departments can quickly analyze and predict the businesswide financial, supply chain and talent implications of sudden changes to assumptions.
Ultimately, the vast benefits of FP&A software enable finance departments to stretch their budgets and do more with less.
Embrace business continuity amidst disruption
Empowering workers with data, CFOs, controllers, and managers can encourage employees to take more responsibility for their roles and departments. Employees can view analytics and make changes that can increase efficiencies, manage crises, and benefit the company’s bottom line.
By taking steps now to prepare for what’s to come, you can ensure business continuity amidst constant change. To find out more about how data analytics plus Financial Planning and Analysis can help, download our eBook, Modern financial planning and analysis.

Katrina is a professional writer with experience in business and tech. She explains how data can work for business people without all the tech jargon. She is always on the hunt for great customer data stories.

Financial statement analysis: what's changing?
Financial statements are scorecards for businesses, allowing the finance team to interpret and analyze financial performance.
Read more
We'll do the data wrangling, you do the analyzing
In today’s business world, we are faced with the constant struggle to bring our data into line. The sheer volume of data that businesses generate can be overwhelming to simply manage, never mind analyze. A survey by Phocas revealed that 60% of businesses identified ‘no expertise in-house,' and 33% said, ‘too much data to unravel' as the main obstacles that prevent them from breaking down data silos.
Read more
Break down data silos and improve business planning
The amount of data generated by finance, sales and operations teams is vast and complex, making it difficult for everyone to work together, plan and make data-driven decisions. The time spent on extracting data from multiple systems, formatting into spreadsheets and then loading into other programs is excruciating, and the time lost doing it, is taking its toll. Welcome to the world of data silos.
Read more
What are your company's most important financial ratios?
Companies that make data-driven decisions do better. While this is a common-sense opening line, you might be surprised at the number of businesses that only look at surface-level data like total sales. We’re not saying that in order to be successful you have to be data-obsessed, but sometimes you have to dig deeper into the data to make those bigger, more impactful decisions. Financial ratio analysis is an effective way to use data from your company’s financial statements, such as balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement, to gain vital information about your company’s performance and financial health. Today, we’re going to dive into the important financial ratios that can help you make revenue-generating decisions that get results.
Read more
Find out how our platform gives you the visibility you need to get more done.
Get your demo today