We’re approaching the end of 2017. It has been a year of change and growth, but of course you’d expect nothing less with the pace at which the business seems to go these days. So, what can the modern-day CFO expect for 2018? We’ve covered a few of the most important points:

In 2018, CFOs will continue to move towards a focus on optimizing business performance and strategic activities, analyzing and providing insights that inform the entire business model. This means less time carrying out basic administrative tasks and more time looking at big data.

On that note, big data is getting bigger (or, just becoming more common). CFOs are going to further grasp the value of the analysis and insights obtainable through big data. This data, when analyzed effectively, has the power to provide important information on trends, and can significantly improve your ability to predict fluctuations. Continual tech advancements have made the collecting and examining of this information much easier, enabling you to use it more effectively, making decisions in real time based on real stats and facts.

Automation. It is all about streamlining your processes, making your systems ensure you complete your tasks, freeing up team members for other things. Again, technology has advanced in such a manner as to make this fairly easy. With corporate performance management systems, the collection and migration of data becomes much safer, and you’re able to ensure a greater degree of control over your numbers, thereby reducing your overall risk. Automation can also dramatically reduce redundancies, driving cost reductions.

Rolling forecasts. Today, budgets become outdated quickly and annual forecasts just don’t cut it anymore. Rolling forecasts are more flexible, giving you the ability to adapt to a changing economy or changing market conditions. Again with big data, you have the numbers, and those numbers are changing all the time. So use the most up-to-date figures to ensure a budget that best reflects your business.

Departmental diversity. With a range of available skills, experience and training, 2018 is a year for merging and creating departments that draw on the diverse skillset of your employees. Rather than segmenting according to generation, work on building a cohesive unit that draws on the talents of all. That being said, millennials are your future workforce, so encourage them to learn what they can from those who’ve been around a while (and share their own knowledge with their predecessors in the process).

As with every new year, new trends necessitate change. Keep pace. At True Sky, we can help you get there. Find out more by visiting www.truesky.com today.