Summary: Proper solution selection, implementation, and roll out are all critical to the success of your new financial management software package. Read on for some valuable tips to help you every step of the way.

Plan for Success with Your New Financial Management Software

For finance departments today, a financial management software application is crucial to the effective management of operations on a global scale, as well as compliance with increasingly complex regulatory laws and guidelines. Yet, with numerous vendors and solutions to choose from, selecting the one financial management software system that will best meet their needs, then implementing and rolling it out to end users, can be a long, complicated, and challenging task.

How can you ensure success with your financial management software solution?

Key Features to Watch For

Not all financial management software packages are created equal. While every company’s financial processes – and the features and functions needed to support them – are somewhat unique, there are still some key capabilities you need to be on the lookout for. These include:

• Advanced security, to preserve the confidentiality of sensitive financial data at all times.
• Tight integration with other enterprise business systems, so financial data can be seamlessly shared with other departments.
• Flexible reporting capabilities, to ensure regulatory compliance as existing guidelines change, and new ones emerge.
• Cutting-edge forecasting and analysis, so your company can enhance strategic planning by predicting future financial activities and events, assessing “what-if” scenarios, tracking how market conditions impact the state of the business, and more.

Customize, Customize, Customize
Financial processes and procedures vary greatly from industry to industry, and from company to company. So, it is very important to choose a financial management software package that can be easily tailored to address specific requirements. Selecting a financial management software vendor with expertise in your specific line of business, or hiring an outside consultant to help, can ensure that your solution is customized exactly as you need it to be.

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
If your financial and accounting operations are effective, and you’re just looking at financial management software to help automate, streamline, and accelerate them, then don’t let a vendor convince you that you need to re-structure your processes to fit the way the software works. There are plenty of financial management software solutions on the market that are flexible enough to adapt to unique procedures.

On the other hand, if your operations aren’t working as they should be, then the implementation of a new financial management software system provides a great opportunity to “start from scratch” by re-shaping and restructuring processes as needed.

Data Governance
In today’s age of stringent financial reporting guidelines, nothing is more crucial than the quality and integrity of data entered into and stored by a financial management software system. Leverage your new financial management software to set and enforce formal data governance policies, so all accounting and finance-related information is properly maintained to ensure the utmost accuracy, timeliness, and consistency.

Train Users in Advance
Financial operations are the focal point of most businesses. Therefore, the deployment of a new financial management software solution cannot hinder productivity and efficiency in any way. Make sure all users are trained on the new system long before it is implemented, so there is absolutely no “downtime” as the conversion is taking place.