New research shows continued inflation and economic turmoil are top concerns for more than half of organizations in 2023. Nonetheless, most organizations expect revenue to increase or stay flat this year. As a result, three-quarters of organizations plan to resume business travel in 2023, and half of those surveyed plan to invest in analytics technology to help navigate the uncertain economic climate.
The Outlook for Corporate Financial Decision Makers – April 2023 Half Year Survey was released by OneStream Software, a leader in corporate performance management (CPM) solutions for the world’s largest enterprises. Conducted by Hannover Research, the survey looks at financial leaders across North America to identify trends and investment priorities to meet the economic challenges and other forces of the coming year.
When asked about current business drivers and plans for 2023, financial leaders look at the following factors:
COVID-19 is still prevalent, but the impact on businesses is diminishing
As the world returns to some normalcy after the pandemic, organizations plan to reintroduce business travel, but supply chains remain vigilant. More than half of financial leaders expect COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions to continue beyond 2024 (54%), down 18% from the Spring 2022 survey. 75% of organizations plan to resume business travel in his 2023, and business travel is poised to return this year. In the Spring 2022 survey, most organizations (80%) planned to resume business travel, but the survey found that few are actually doing so. Planning (10%) cited the cost and lack of need for flights, hotels and meals.
Analytic technology is gaining attention to overcome uncertainty
Research trends foreshadow increased use of analytical technologies to improve productivity and support more agile decision-making across the enterprise. Cloud-based planning and reporting solutions remain the most used data analytics tool (91%), but most organizations rely on predictive analytics (85%), business intelligence (84%), and ML/AI (75%) I also use the tool at least intermittently. . About half of organizations plan to invest more in each of these tools this year compared to 2022.
The momentum of adoption of these tools began during the pandemic and shows no signs of slowing down. Spring 2021 survey shows organizations are investing more in artificial intelligence (59%), predictive analytics (58%), cloud-based planning and reporting solutions (57%), and machine learning compared to pre-pandemic Yes (54%).
Organizations are realizing the value of AI
The survey found that two-thirds (68%) of organizations are adopting automated machine learning (AutoML) solutions to meet some of their employee needs, up significantly from Spring 2022 (56%). Increased has. The Fall 2022 survey shows that the respondent kept his promise and was enthusiastic about the technology over the last six months, as 48% of him planned to explore AutoML solutions in the future. .
Finance leaders see opportunities for improvement in many areas with the help of AI/ML technologies, including ChatGPT. The tasks and processes they find most useful with these technologies include financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, sales/revenue forecasting, sales and marketing, and customer service.
In addition to investing in new technology, nearly all organizations (91%) have invested or plan to invest in new solutions specifically supporting finance functions. The most common solutions are cloud-based applications (52%), AI/ML (43%), advanced predictive analytics (42%), and budgeting/planning systems (42%).
“The current economic headwinds are making finance leaders very conscious of their investment decisions, weighing benefits and costs,” said Bill Koefoed, Chief Financial Officer of OneStream. “With economic uncertainty leading to higher returns, financial industry leaders are looking to invest in solutions that can support more agile decision-making while delivering a rapid return on investment.” AutoAI and other AI innovations that have emerged over the years have the potential to improve the speed and accuracy of predictions, supporting more informed and confident decision-making. We are proud innovators in our field and are partnering with organizations around the world to help them get through these challenging times.”
