Customer Value Framework for Modern Finance Tech

Customer Value Framework for Modern Finance Tech

In today's fast-paced business world, the finance function is more critical than ever. Financial data is a core component of business decision-making, and the speed and accuracy of financial information can make or break a company. Thus, software solutions have become increasingly important in the finance function.

Further, the role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has evolved beyond just managing finances. A modern CFO is responsible for driving growth, creating value, and enabling innovation across the organization. Again, one way to enable this is through the use of technology.

As CFOs and finance professionals look to select the best solution for their needs, they are faced with the challenge of having a wholesome framework through which they can evaluate such technologies. This blog will explore Krayo’s Customer Value Framework for modern finance technologies, including its five pillars and three key user behavior benefits.

Customer Value Framework

Our Customer Value Framework consists of two parts – Foundational Pillars and User Behavior Elements. One could think of Foundational Pillars as hard skills of the solution and User Behavior Elements as soft skills.

The five foundational pillars are Visibility, Control, Intelligence, Automation, and Compliance. Whether we think about master data management (system of record), workflows, data analysis, or visualization, these are the critical elements required in any new-age software solution to unlock the most return on investment dollars.

      Visibility

The first pillar of the customer value framework is visibility. Companies want to always have a clear view of their financial and operational data. With the increasing complexity and dynamism of businesses, having this view in real-time is getting critical. Modern finance tech solutions provide real-time updates and analysis on customer journeys, spend journeys, account balances, spending patterns, transactions, or investment performance. This level of visibility empowers CFOs to make better financial decisions and take control of their finances.

     Control

The second pillar of the customer value framework is control. CFOs need to have control over their organization's financial and operational processes. This means having the ability to manage workflows, approvals, and authorizations in real-time, ensuring that all transactions are compliant and auditable. Further, new-age companies provide tools that allow customers to set financial budgets and track expenses to have proactive controls.

     Intelligence

Intelligence is the third pillar of the customer value framework. Software solutions are maturing to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze large sets of data and provide insights into business performance and contextual recommendations for enhanced performance. Any solution not using AI / ML is just not future-ready. Intelligence through predictive analytics or anomaly detection can help CFOs identify trends and anticipate upcoming challenges. It also enables companies to “manage by exception” certain specific types of activities, which are high-volume and repetitive in nature, where regular course “expected behaviors” may not warrant regular resource commitment and attention.

     Automation

The fourth pillar of the customer value framework is automation. Time is the scarcest resource now. CFOs need to leverage automation technology to streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. This includes automating repetitive tasks, such as manual data entry, reporting, vendor payments, reconciliation, etc., so that Finance departments can focus on more strategic activities. Financial data is often complex, and even small errors can have a significant impact on business decisions. Automated software solutions can help to identify discrepancies and inconsistencies, enabling finance teams to address them quickly. This level of automation enhances the user experience and reduces the risk of errors.

     Compliance

Compliance is the fifth pillar of this customer value framework. We live in an environment of continuously heightened compliance and regulatory framework. The internationalization of businesses is only exacerbating this burden. CFOs need to ensure that their organization is compliant with all relevant regulations and standards. This requires the use of technology that can track and manage compliance-related activities and aid in audits and certifications.

SaaS solutions have gone through a massive evolution over the last two decades, from being hard-to-use systems of records to beautifully designed creative marvels unlocking collaboration, delivering contextual decision support, and elevating user delight. The three key user behavior elements of Krayo’s Customer Value Framework are Transparency & Real-time Collaboration, Improved Decision-Making, and User Delight.

     Transparency & Real-time Collaboration

A business is an aggregation of people and tangible resources working towards a common goal. In a globally distributed work environment, cultivating trust across teams is imperative to achieve this goal, and one of the critical tenets of trust is transparency. We no longer live in a world of top-down decision-making. Modern businesses understand the power of diversity, ideas, and perspectives, which fosters in an open and transparent culture.

By leveraging technology to provide real-time data and analytics, CFOs can collaborate with other departments to make informed decisions. This includes looking at the same pane-of-glass with sales, marketing, HR, product, or operations teams to strategize and improve overall business performance. These solutions enable companies to remove “opinionated data” or “whose data is right?” deliberations, as everyone collaborates on the same information. This level of collaboration enhances the customer experience and strengthens relationships.

     Improved Decision-Making

Modern Finance solutions should be intelligent and, at a minimum, able to harness data to support decision-making by the users, if not provide contextual recommendations based on company-specific and market data analytics. These solutions should be more action-oriented than just providing matter-of-fact data points. By having access to such intelligent tools and predictive analytics, CFOs can make data-driven decisions that are based on real-time insights. This can lead to improved business performance and overall increased profitability.

     User Delight

Modern solutions are prioritizing the customer experience and strive to create delight for their users. With the consumerization of technology, business users are more discerning about what they use and their day-to-day experience. Using a solution that makes the Finance department more efficient and effective through automation, intelligence, and workflow design can improve employee satisfaction and engagement, leading to a more productive and motivated workforce.

The finance function is critical to the success of any business, and the accuracy and speed of financial data are essential to effective decision-making. By using modern software solutions, finance teams can improve accuracy, increase efficiency, and enable strategic decision-making. Software solutions can automate repetitive tasks, centralize financial data, and provide real-time insights into financial performance, enabling finance teams to focus on more strategic activities. As technology continues to evolve, software solutions will continue to play a critical role in the finance function and enable businesses to make informed decisions that drive growth, create value, and enable innovation across the organization.

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