What Your FP&A Team Could Be Accomplishing

According to a 2016 survey by HR firm Robert Half, office workers in the United States spend an average of 22 minutes every day dealing with IT issues. While that may not sound too bad, these time-wasting activities add up to more than two weeks of work every year.

These problems don’t just include trying to figure out why your computer won’t turn on. In particular, finance and IT professionals spend a great deal of time dealing with the idiosyncrasies of complex software such as Oracle Hyperion Financial Management in order to meet customer demands and impending deadlines.

What could your employees – particularly your Hyperion administrators and managers – get done with an extra two weeks of productive time?

If you’ve ever felt like your IT infrastructure is working against your organization and not for it, this article is for you. Here’s a look at what your finance team could be doing if they didn’t have to waste time putting out Hyperion fires – and how they can spend more time doing what matters.

Training and Education

Study after study has shown the value of investing in your employees; it’s an intelligent long-term move. According to a study by Accenture, for example, workers at health insurance company Cigna who used the company’s tuition reimbursement program were more likely to be promoted and retained.

Long-Term Strategic Projects

Long-term initiatives are those located in the upper-right quadrant of Stephen Covey’s time management matrix. They are tasks that are “important but not urgent,” which far too often means that they get set aside for more pressing concerns. Your finance and IT workers could be contributing their valuable domain knowledge and strategic vision, both as part of a team and individually.

ROI-Based Initiatives

Businesses these days are living in a golden age of IT, and there’s no reason to stick with an underperforming investment any longer. Instead of implicitly putting up with a disappointing software purchase, the relevant departments can choose to do an in-depth study of the application’s return on investment. This allows them to understand exactly what it does for them, how much that’s worth, and how much would be involved to make the switch.

Optimizing Reports for KPIs

Although your data-reporting analysis and solution may be plugged into the right places, there’s no guarantee that you’re actually reading actionable, relevant information. With more time to focus on what’s being reported, instead of how to do it, employees can make sure they track the company’s key performance indicators that offer the most value to the CFO.

Researching New Technologies

Not only can finance and IT professionals provide valuable input about which metrics and KPIs to track, they also know best about their own needs and objectives for software like financial management applications. Your employees can spend their time investigating new solutions and tools to streamline your workflow.

Final Thoughts

Whether it’s two weeks of wasted time or more, the potential gains in productivity that you’re leaving on the table can no longer be ignored. By working with a partner organization with IT expertise, you can reorganize around the core competencies of your business.