Finance will continue to automate, but the focus will shift from operational finance to financial insights. Automation will target end-to-end processes affecting multiple business areas, not siloed activities. Blockchain won’t take off as fast as we predicted, given the cost of implementation and a lack of proven use cases, but the appeal of recording high-trust, touchless transactions will grow over time.
2018 prediction
Transactions will be touchless as automation and blockchain reach deeper into finance operations, simplifying how work gets done and freeing up people to add greater value. Traditional processes will disappear as Finance focuses on designing, configuring, and maintaining systems that automate business practices and governance models.
2021 reality
The lack of standardized processes and investment in data architecture has slowed automation, but it’s still proceeding apace. Having automated discrete activities, Finance has begun focusing on more complex processes. Skepticism about blockchain has limited its use, but the cybersecurity and automation benefits are spurring some CFOs to embrace it.
2025 implications
The finance factory will focus increasingly on using big data, analytics, and predictive modeling toin form business strategy and decisions. While few finance functions will have a truly touchless back office by 2025, mundane tasks will become easier to automate through ERP systems and other means, freeing up Finance to apply automation to planning, forecasting, and other higher-value activities.
