Evaluating Financial Management Software - Is It Time for a Change?

This whitepaper identifies key challenges business and technical management face with their financial management software. Whether your current systems provide inaccurate data and delays in gathering financial information, or if you just do not have the time or resources to keep your financial systems running smoothly, there is hope. This whitepaper walks through the key areas of a financial management solution so when you are evaluating current and future financial management software, you are prepared to avoid challenges and maximize your investment. INTRODUCTION Financial management software is the backbone of every organization and the foundation that helps a company manage and gain insight into the most important parts of their business. These applications streamline processes to help an organization manage business-critical functions such as accounting, project management, payroll, and human resources. When the financial management software of an organization becomes disjointed or broken, the implications can certainly impact the success and profitability of that organization. Evaluating financial management software can be an overwhelming task as there are many factors to consider. Some of the typical questions to ask about your system include: Does your financial system provide the latest and greatest functionality available? Are your users able to generate adequate reporting with the software's reporting tools? Is your system completely integrated or are you required to enter the same data into multiple places and multiple systems? Do you spend more time finding the data than analyzing and responding to it? Do staff members spend a lot of time entering the same data into multiple systems to allow them to extract and analyze that information?
Based on how you answered the questions in the preceding paragraph, you may determine it is time to make a change to your financial management software. This whitepaper was created to review these and other pertinent questions that will assist you in evaluating current and future financial management systems. It is divided into five key areas that should be included in the evaluation of financial software. Each topic includes a review of the challenges placed on organizations as well as how current financial management software can provide solutions to overcome those challenges. The five topics include:
-Reporting
-Business processes
-Modules and functionality
-System integration
-Total cost of ownership
Review each of the topics in this whitepaper and assess the strengths and weaknesses of your current system. If you determine it is time to make a change, then refer back to the section again to compare and contrast the options available for a new solution. A checklist comparison chart has been provided at the end of the whitepaper to support your review.
The Addendum to this whitepaper reviews the key modules and associated functionality included as part of financial software as well as the eight critical decision criteria to evaluate these systems. The list provided is not meant to be all-inclusive; rather it is a high-level listing of the key functionality required by many organizations. It can be used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of any financial management system.
One of the most common complaints about financial management software is the inability for users to generate reports. The type of reporting typically required can be categorized into the following groups: operational management, financial management, industry and governmental regulatory requirements, and executive management. Many organizations find that generating reports with older systems is cumbersome and time consuming. Some of the specific challenges organizations have with reporting include the following: 1. Challenge: It is difficult to report on data that resides in multiple systems. When reporting is required for data from multiple systems the process to extract and report on the information in a consolidated format is cumbersome, time consuming, or not available. Many systems are not able to accommodate the types of information required to support both managerial and financial reporting.
Solution: Current financial solutions offer users a broad footprint of modules that are completely integrated. This integration can minimize or eliminate the need to have data in a variety of disparate systems. Software is also built on more open technology that provides the functionality to import or export data in an expedited fashion.