From navigating the fallout of geopolitical conflicts to managing the heightened uncertainty of at the moment’s inflationary setting, 2023 has confirmed to be some of the hectic years but for CFOs and their monetary groups.
On condition that lots of the disruptions companies confronted in 2023 are possible set to rollover into 2024 — if not longer — monetary groups want to verify their operations are working as easily as attainable because the calendar flips over to the close to. That is significantly true in terms of their know-how and ERP capabilities.
Serving because the hub for monetary operations throughout tax administration, core accounting, payroll and past, ERP methods have really revolutionized the way in which monetary groups are in a position to handle their workflows and ship higher monetary outcomes for his or her organizations. Nonetheless, as with every know-how, ERP methods should be consistently reassessed as enterprise wants shift and new priorities come up. That is simpler stated than achieved given how intricately intertwined ERP methods are all through organizations at the moment.
With that in thoughts, beneath are a number of key issues that CFOs and monetary groups want to remember as they give the impression of being to optimize their ERP methods in 2024.
Figuring out the objectives of your ERP well being test
Due to how broadly built-in right into a enterprise’s operations ERP methods are, to successfully stress take a look at ERP infrastructure and uncover areas for enchancment it is important for monetary leaders to take a step again and set up a exact scope for his or her well being test alongside a clear-cut listing of aims they need to obtain.
Every group’s wants will possible shift from 12 months to 12 months as they add service strains, adapt to new statutory necessities, revamp their company methods and deal with different rising priorities. ERP methods will should be tweaked in consequence. As a result of vastness of ERP methods, monetary leaders have to establish precisely which modules should be evaluated, upgraded or fully changed from the beginning. In any other case, with out these “to-dos” clearly acknowledged, well being checks can shortly grow to be unwieldy, and groups merely will be unable to make the required changes to attain the optimization and most ROI they’re in search of.
Overview focused module efficiency
With this framework in thoughts, monetary leaders and ERP groups want to start the method of evaluating the modules they’ve recognized as priorities. Key to that is guaranteeing stakeholders perceive the assorted limits and potential limitations their methods current over the brief, medium and long run. To do that, groups have to ask a number of key questions of every module together with:
- What capabilities are being carried out by the system?
- How a lot time does it take the system?
- How a lot work is being carried out exterior the system?
- How a lot time does a course of take from begin to end?
- If we elevated enterprise by 10%, 20% or extra, would our present course of be capable of deal with the expansion?
These questions will assist present the baseline understanding that groups have to conduct their well being checks extra successfully.
Carry out inner evaluations of consumer experiences
Alongside the efficiency of the modules themselves, finance groups have to look inward and assess how their ERP platform is impacting consumer efficiency all through the group. For ERP methods to offer the very best outcomes, they should ship a user-friendly expertise, so gathering as a lot suggestions as attainable on probably the most troublesome and time-consuming points customers face might be pivotal. When adopting developments to your ERP methods, this extra user-side intelligence will assist leaders higher perceive the place extra coaching could also be wanted to spice up end-user expertise and mitigate frustrations.
Safety assessments
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Present analytics and reporting
ERP methods have been a boon for monetary workforces in terms of streamlining their workloads, if they’re configured accurately. ERP methods should not a one-size-fits-all proposition and should be in-built a approach that enables customers to obtain the data they particularly want and shortly. Stakeholders should be certain that throughout their well being checks that platforms are sufficiently personalized and ship the real-time dashboards and insights in a role-based approach. That is additionally a good time for stakeholders to reassess their KPIs and broader analytics methods and capabilities to verify the KPIs are nonetheless acceptable and they can glean the interior and exterior information they should meet them.
Scalability planning
ERP well being checks shouldn’t simply be restricted to how properly your group is assembly its present objectives and targets. The simplest well being checks additionally think about how properly your group is about up for potential future progress and the way your group goes to ramp as much as meet these progress calls for. As soon as objectives are formulated in the beginning of the well being test course of, stakeholders have to ask themselves whether or not their ERP system is able to be capable of scale with them. If not, stakeholders want to ascertain a scalability plan that takes into consideration issues akin to finances, integration wants and customization preferences to establish which kind of ERP setting — akin to on-premise, cloud or hybrid — is greatest for them. From there, stakeholders can construct methodical plans for the way and when they’ll develop their methods and capabilities versus having to “construct the aircraft whereas it’s flying.”
Wanting forward
An environment friendly ERP system generally is a game-changer for organizations at the moment. And whereas well being checks might appear to be an onerous course of, by conserving these issues in thoughts, monetary groups can take away lots of the complications that may in any other case exist when conducting well being checks and emerge with extra refined ERP methods that may ship the long-term success their organizations deserve.
