CFOs aren’t getting access to the right data in order to measure critical element of their business.
Critical elements such as customer and brand sentiment data can only be accessed by 25% of CFOs, leading to them needing to rethink how they measure the health of their organisations in the digital age.
Key point indicators are therefore becoming increasing important to measuring intangible assets that hold increasingly significant information.
According to research by Chartered Global Management Accountant, intangible assets account for 80% of the value of companies that make up the S&P 500 Index.
Respondents to the survey believe that the top value drivers for their businesses are customer satisfaction (76%), quality of business processes (64%) and customer relationships (63%).
Despite the importance of the intangibles, finance professionals say that only 25% are able to assemble and analyse data on customer sentiment, while only 20% have access to data about the impact of their brand on their business.
Rondy Ng, SVP, Oracle Applications Development, said: "Finance is running the risk of sitting on the sidelines while more digitally-savvy lines of business deliver the insights that management needs to differentiate and grow."
According to Rondy Ng, companies need to unlock the value of their data by using a complete cloud-based ERP and performance management system.
Dr. Noel Tagoe, Executive Director of Education at CIMA and one of the report’s authors, said: "As digitization makes it more difficult for businesses to differentiate and earn a premium, the quality of decision making has become essential to success, and finance can take the lead in ensuring this quality.
"It has the enterprise-wide overview and skill required to work with diverse internal stakeholders, ensuring that the business assembles, analyzes, and applies data to improve performance."
The study is based on the insights of 744 executives in 34 countries, from companies including LinkedIn, Walmart eCommerce, Shell and Southwest Airlines.
