The Field of Finance in 2023
Finance is an enormously complex field. It spans from traditional banks and credit card companies to fintech start-ups; some of the major names include JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America as well as EY, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte who represent some of the Big Four accounting firms based on revenue.
Financial institutions have cut budgets and prioritized cost control in 2023; however, innovation still exists within their budgets and workforces. Financial teams prioritize collaborative solutions which facilitate easier access to information, faster turnaround on tasks, and enhanced reporting processes as a priority for 2023.
Finance leaders today are focused on driving transformation, automation and AI initiatives to make their teams leaner and more agile. Additionally, they’re prioritizing finance technology and human-centric work projects as part of an economic risk mitigation strategy.
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, more people are turning to home finance management as an alternative solution, creating an unprecedented opportunity for both established banks and new entrants alike to enhance their digital offerings and make themselves more competitive in this space. As such, finance has become more of a battleground than ever.
2023 will bring more financial institutions experimenting with innovative new technologies to reduce costs and stay competitive, such as robotic process automation (RPA) and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools to automate manual, repetitive tasks. We will also witness more finance departments adopting cloud-based solutions or SaaS models which enable team members access data anywhere at any time – which in turn creates cost savings and competitive edge.
Rising prices remain one of the greatest challenges to businesses and finance teams alike in 2023, forcing many organizations to assess expenses and make tough choices about which expenses can be afforded. According to insightsoftware and Hanover Research’s estimates, finance teams have become approximately 5% less efficient at performing 100% of recurring tasks this year compared with last.
2023 presents many global finance teams with new challenges due to increased regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty. We anticipate an upsurge in risk management practices across financial departments; with implementation of stress tests, risk modeling tools and simulation software.
Finance teams will continue to prioritize ESG and sustainability alongside business strategy. This may entail closer cooperation between finance and HR, and an increased emphasis on diversity and inclusion so as to reflect customers of different backgrounds in their finances. In addition, training and development programs for finance professionals that enable them to support these new priorities may also be essential.
