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Key trends that will reshape finance in 2023

Technology adoption and automation will be the key to businesses remaining competitive over the next 12 months

Key trends that will reshape finance in 2023

Organisations around the world have transformed. As they forge ahead in 2023, companies need to continue to embrace change, find new ways to grow and prepare for what is ahead.

After speaking with industry thought leaders over the past few months, it is clear there will be several key trends that will be very important to finance professionals in the upcoming year.

Cloud is here to stay

The pandemic caused a seismic shift in the way businesses work. Many were forced to transition to remote work environments almost overnight, highlighting the need for reliable and secure cloud technology. As a result, the adoption of cloud-based systems has skyrocketed, and this trend is expected to continue.

Small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, have realised the benefits of cloud technology, such as increased flexibility and scalability, reduced costs, and improved collaboration. They will continue to refine their cloud infrastructure and seek additional cloud-based apps to fill any functionality gaps that arise.

The need for agility and resiliency has never been more apparent than it is today. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of having systems in place that can adapt quickly to changing circumstances. Cybersecurity threats are also on the rise, and this means that accounting and finance leaders must consider the security of their systems when adopting new technology.

Businesses that embrace cloud technology and prioritise agility and resiliency will be well-positioned to succeed in the years to come.

Labour crunch to speed up automation

As businesses try to navigate the ongoing labour shortage, there will be a renewed emphasis on investing in upskilling existing staff to meet new demands and implementing technology that makes the business more attractive to new recruits.

Automation will be a key tool in this regard. By automating repetitive tasks and using technology to improve accuracy and efficiency, businesses can ensure that they are able to operate with reduced staff numbers.

Automation will also be used to extend the reach of human staff, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks that require human interaction. Key technologies for automation in 2023 will include intelligent general ledgers and AI-powered anomaly detection to reduce errors and automate core accounting processes.

Robotic process automation (RPA) will be used to accelerate or eliminate repetitive tasks for users, while dynamic allocations and continuous consolidations will accelerate time-intensive manual tasks and ensure a faster close.

By investing in upskilling existing staff and leveraging the latest automation technologies, businesses can ensure that they are well-positioned to succeed in the years to come.

AI investment to grow

AI, RPA, and automation adoption will continue to accelerate in 2023 and drive industry transformation; investments will be tactical and focused on driving ROI from workflow automation and data management changes.

Industries that are traditionally late to adopt new technologies, such as retail and wholesale distribution, are planning to embrace automation in 2023. Those who adopt automated solutions for managing inventory and offer self-service capabilities in stores to help optimise multichannel operations with fewer staff will allow them to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry landscape.

Businesses that can successfully embrace these technologies will be those that are able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

Analytics to converge with automation

Analytics is not a new concept for most businesses entering 2023. As companies seek to maximise ROI and tackle operational issues with more insight, investment in analytics will continue. While the intelligence from analytics is significantly easier to make actionable than raw data, progress continues to automate and systematize the use of analytics, particularly around data automation.

Finance leaders’ roles will increasingly include working with other areas of the business and leveraging data held by finance to add insight, drive efficiency, or increase profitability.

The advanced data automation approaches being put in place help to summarise data and add more insight into the story behind the data. These techniques also integrate financial data with operational data and offer interactive data exploration, with the goal of enabling users to act in response to data from within the applications.

By leveraging advanced data automation approaches and the latest analytics tools, businesses can gain deeper insights into their operations and use these insights to drive operational improvements, increase efficiency, and boost profitability.

Blockchain on the rise

Accounting and finance leaders will continue the path to the adoption of blockchain technology within business apps for specific capabilities, based on its merits. Applications using blockchain will proliferate as businesses continue to recognise the significant benefits that can be achieved using this technology.

Consumer adoption of cryptocurrency will continue, and finance leaders need to watch how this affects inflation. Similarly, business-to-business cryptocurrency applications will begin to go mainstream as businesses seek to accept consumer payments in crypto and even begin testing check-free business-to-business cases in some industries. Investment-grade crypto opportunities will become more widespread.

Crypto is becoming increasingly attractive to investors who are seeking to diversify. However, banks and wealth asset management firms will proceed with caution in 2023 until policymakers provide more guidance/regulations.

While the use of blockchain-based cryptocurrency will remain cautious, we will see some legitimate use cases appear in the business-to-business transactional space. As businesses continue to recognize the benefits of using blockchain technology, we will see a proliferation of applications using this technology in various industries. This presents significant opportunities for businesses and investors alike, but caution is advised until policy makers provide more guidance and regulations.

 

 

 

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