Financial transformation has been the talk of CFO roundtables for years; but why are so many sceptical about the subject? It can be daunting, ambiguous and simply aspirational, with a global pandemic upending everything during the last year.

However, a lack of time isn’t the only hurdle. In fact, something fundamental is standing in the way of implementing that high-performing, highly automated and analytics-driven revolutionary office of finance; understanding what financial transformation really means. Financial transformation should not be synonymous with another giant capital expenditure of large undertaking, and finding the right place to start is often the biggest task of all. Despite the challenge, seasoned CFOs recognise the need for them to take the lead on financial transformation to support overall business outcomes.

Digital initiatives have a virtual carnival of stakeholders; the CTO, CIO, the CMO, the business department-specific lead, the software lead, human resources, the sales team, and many more. And each of these personalities has an opinion on what needs to happen and where to begin, As the “bottom line” executive, CFO’s take a big risk by not leading the project with a defined roadmap to start the financial transformation journey and arrive at the right destination.

So why should CFOs take the lead on financial transformation? And where should we begin the financial transformation revolution, whilst continuing to support business resilience?

Join Workiva and a select group of senior thought-leaders to share best practice on how to start a financial transformation, to discuss peer struggles throughout the process and to understand how data accuracy, consistency, and transparency plays into financial transformation.