Search
START TYPING AND PRESS ENTER TO SEARCH

Adopting Technology Solutions for FP&A: A Ten-Year Retrospective

  • Adopting Technology Solutions for FP&A: A Ten-Year Retrospective

    Adopting Technology Solutions for FP&A: A Ten-Year Retrospective

    Is your company’s financial planning and analysis (FP&A) team ready for the future, or stuck in the past?

    The value of good, forward-looking FP&A is clear, but many companies still struggle with ineffective FP&A strategies. This is especially true of companies that aren’t taking advantage of the features offered by modern Business Process Automation (BPA) software.

    Back in 2015, we reported on several surveys examining “CFOs Dissatisfied with Ineffective FP&A Strategies.” Now, ten years later, we’re reexamining this topic.

    FPA in 2025 How BPA AI Solve Modern Financial Planning Challenges BPA SaaS

    New Investments in FP&A Solutions

    In 2015, a study of 99 companies conducted by CEB revealed that, despite a 10% increase in investments in analytics compared to the previous year, frustration with FP&A also continued to rise. This study found that FP&A “investments have produced better analysis and decision support” even for companies that were dissatisfied. The problem was that those improvements were “just not good enough, or where they wanted it to be when they made the investments.”

    Today, adoption of technology for FP&A is still happening more slowly than in accounting. In a rapidly shifting global economy, FP&A professionals need to capitalize on technology tools that will support their modern roles. Roles evolve over time, currently putting “cross-collaboration and strategic decision-making” at the center of FP&A. BPA software and certain types of artificial intelligence (AI) can help FP&A teams meet new challenges.

    AI and Other New Technologies

    Technologies that make FP&A more effective have been available for more than ten years. The difficulty lies in implementing these technologies. A report by Grant Thornton and the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) in 2015 found that only 24% of finance leaders use any predictive analytics techniques. Instead, most relied on data reporting that happened in the past.
    Companies that hesitated to adopt new FP&A technology typically worried about the potential financial loss. Implementing new technology requires investments of time, manpower, and finances. Now, though, it’s becoming more costly not to have access to technology solutions.

    Rapid technological advancement and changes in the role of FP&A professionals make investing in new tools a top priority. Adopting AI and other technologies are key trends defining FP&A in 2025. Savvy FP&A professionals and CFOs recognize that AI won’t replace human workers, but will instead support them in being even more effective in their roles.

    Combating Insufficient Data for Forecasts

    Back in 2015, 31% of companies that participated in the APQC study cited insufficient access to operational metrics. Without access to reliable data, FP&A departments have a hard time delivering actionable financial analysis. In addition, only half the companies polled by APQC used rolling forecasts. While the vast majority of companies that did use rolling forecasts were “effective or very effective at business analysis,” only 50% of companies that didn’t use rolling forecasts described their analysis as effective.

    Collecting timely and accurate data is a perennial challenge for financial departments. BPA software makes the whole process much easier. Automating financial processes also means automating data collection. Every process that goes through the system is automatically logged and checked for errors. BPA software can even generate some reports for you. It won’t take over data analysis, but it makes it much easier for CFOs and FP&A teams to access the data needed for accurate analytics and reporting.

    Modern Solutions for Modern FP&A

    Even ten years ago, we knew companies that saw little or no return on their investment typically focused on finding one answer to a specific question. FP&A strategies that prioritize technical rigor to develop one definitive recommendation are inefficient. In contrast, good FP&A analysis is dynamic and problem-focused.

    Modern FP&A teams are focused on integrating new technologies, moving past traditional silos, and embracing a strategic role that drives innovation, resilience, smart financial planning, and agile recommendations. Implementing NextProcess’s end-to-end procure-to-pay solutions provides reliable data, streamlines financial processes, and supports finance teams to take on strategic and analytical roles. Contact us today to learn more or set up a free demo.