It is widely believed that we only use 10% of our brain, but science has without doubt disproved this fact. However, it is easy to see why we would believe it. We often find ourselves failing to achieve our full potential, whether this comes in the form of lacking productivity at work, the impact of stress or tiredness on our decision-making, or letting friends and family down. We are only human, we have our limits.

This then begs the question: how do we improve our potential? How do we build out our talents and achieve big goals? 

These very questions are why more leaders are turning to smarter technology solutions for help, such as embedding AI in their systems. CFOs in particular find themselves with ever expanding job responsibilities, all the while continuing to lead vital finance teams, but they have the same number of hours in a day as everyone else. We all know CFOs rely on their ERP systems, but embedding AI in ERP systems maximises their effectiveness.

Automating manual processes will enable CFOs to regain precious hours, dedicate time to critical decision-making and apply themselves to driving a competitive business. 

They need to focus on big picture decision-making based on strategic insights, rather than simple but time-consuming tasks. Technology enables this shift: AI and chatbot assistants that handle less strategic work can be built into ERP applications, helping CFOs focus on driving results. 

CFOs are ambitious by nature – they wouldn’t be where they are if they weren’t. But alongside this, they need to keep the finance function up and running. If the majority of their hours are spent doing this, their ambition can't reach its full potential. Requisitions, purchase orders and vendor invoicing are not going anywhere.

But CFOs can be handed intelligent financial management capabilities that can handle these routine duties that hold back productivity, by using cloud-based ERP with embedded automation. This frees up CFOs to focus on innovating and proving to the CEO exactly how valuable an advisor they can be.

CFOs are almost unique in a business, having access to data from every department, from sales to HR and marketing. In light of increasingly strict regulations and compliance laws, compiling data from all business units can be difficult. CFOs therefore have complete oversight of the connected data and processes, in an age where everything in businesses is driven by data.

As such, CFOs should be dedicating their energy to driving strategic business decisions from this position of insight, dedicating their productive hours and decision-making to the data they have at their disposal. At the end of the day, these insights translate into valuable guidance CFOs can give the CEO to help drive the business forward. 

Becoming a strategic advisor to the CEO and the board by tapping into this ambition and reducing lost productivity can manifest itself in many different ways. Joan Fitó, the Financial Director of Football Club RCD Espanyol, for example, saw his finance team become infinitely more flexible by automating repetitive tasks using a cloud ERP platform. Productivity went up by more than 20%, while reporting time was reduced by 50%, with over 25% fewer errors in finance processes. The team can now spend time focusing on analysing club data in real-time to become more strategic, as they work to become a globally-recognised name in the football world. 

Eighty per cent of an organisation’s transactions are processed in the back office, the home of the finance team. The opportunity is there for CFOs to lead the way to digitally transform and change operations for the better, with a clear path to make the most of being data- and automation-driven. This will make CFOs even more central to business operations, which is why they must be ready to make this jump now.

It is an ideal time for CFOs to showcase their ambition, by making the most of automation to handle time-intensive tasks and take full advantage of every opportunity to drive the business forward. Taking the leap and implementing a cloud ERP system with strong automated financial functionality is exactly the way to do this. It will ultimately enhance productivity and agility, allowing the CFO to be laser-focused on making the decisions that really matter – growing a successful business.