Are you working closely with your CFO to determine the most efficient and effective methods for maintaining your business infrastructure? These questions will help you drill in.
Are your financial operations taking more time and effort than you realize? There are plenty of ways to reduce the overhead and operations cost of your finance team, but that starts with asking your CFO some tough questions. Finding the right business solutions to support your organization begins with a thorough knowledge of the landscape and the pressure points and redundancies that could be relieved through automation. The answers that your CFO provides to these searching questions will help you make the right decisions when you consider upgrades to your technology infrastructure.
1. Are we addressing compliance issues that are concerning for our business?
Business compliance goes far beyond the requirements for HIPAA, personal privacy and employee security. Today’s compliance requirements are varied and complex for even the simplest organization. If you are capturing or maintaining personal information — much less financial or health information — chances are your business is subject to California’s Consumer Privacy Act and those of several other states, besides. You’ll find a comprehensive state-based map online at the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Ensuring that your data stays safe and that you’re fully complying with these laws often falls to the CFO in terms of education, but the technology team in terms of implementation of the strategies.
2. Where do you see slowdowns during monthly, quarterly and annual closing?
Closing the books is a process that happens on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean it’s fully routinized. Even the simplest tweak to this ongoing process may be enough to save thousands of hours of productivity over a relatively short period of time. Looking closely at the business’s models for this ongoing operation can identify some weak points that can be addressed through automation or software updates.
3. What are the barriers to fully integrating metrics into our organization?
Using metrics throughout the organization is a great way to keep your business running smoothly — and also quickly identify areas that need a little extra attention. Are there systems that do not work well together? Perhaps a large variety of solutions providers whose “solutions” are causing problems with other business units? Whatever the issues are, identifying what it will take to get to a unified metrics system for the organization may point to some opportunities to apply consistency to your operations and platforms.
4. Are there opportunities to reduce the cost of delivering a secure and efficient infrastructure?
Providing a secure infrastructure for your business is a critical success factor, but are you currently knocking it out of the park — or falling down on the job? If your teams are frustrated with the speed of change and you’re concerned that your operations aren’t fully secure, you may have some work to do on your infrastructure. Even something as simple as slow WiFi or poor networking in conference rooms can reduce the effectiveness of your staff and boost frustration levels beyond the breaking point.
One key way to improve efficiency, reduce costs and heighten security is to work with advanced technical support staff to review your business operations and ensure that you’re taking full advantage of the opportunities available on the market today. Leaders at the largest organizations in the world routinely work with external service providers to ensure that they have access to the tools and technology needed to create a secure and consistent infrastructure for their business.