Business
70% Of Global Business Leaders And Finance And Accounting Professionals Lack Confidence In The Data Used To Make Financial Forecasts
- Research from BlackLine shows that six in 10 C-level executives are concerned that their company's forecasts fail to provide an accurate picture of future
About this update from Blackline, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"- Research from BlackLine shows that six in 10 C-level executives are concerned that their company's forecasts fail to provide an accurate picture of future performance\n- More than a quarter of global respondents concerned that a mixture of remote and office-based working could lead to further inaccuracies \n LOS ANGELES, LONDON, SINGAPORE and SYDNEY, Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A global survey of C-suite executives and Finance and Accounting (F&A) professionals commissioned by accounting automation software leader BlackLine, Inc. (Nasdaq: BL) has revealed that less than a third (29%) of respondents are confident that the financial data they use for financial analysis and forecasting is accurate – even though a third (33%) indicate they are now under more pressure to provide an accurate picture of company performance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. \n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nThe survey of 1,300 business leaders and F&A professionals in seven markets (US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia) was conducted by independent researcher Censuswide and examined the impact of COVID-19 on a randomly selected sample of large organizations. Findings suggest that while businesses now recognize the critical role financial data has to play in informing business strategy and continuity, poor visibility and a lack of access to real-time data is hindering companies' ability to respond to volatile market changes.\nWhen asked about the impact the pandemic has had on their organization, four in 10 (42%) respondents globally said their organization has become more focused on financial scenario planning and stress testing because of the ongoing impact of COVID-19. A similar number (40%) said that F&A is increasingly being called upon by their boards of directors to help with scenario planning, highlighting the growing importance of financial insights as companies try to move from crisis mode into recovery. \nHowever, more than a quarter (28%) of respondents are worried that their F&A departments are not able to provide data quickly enough for their company to respond to unpredictable market changes. A mixture of remote and office-based working over the next 12 months could make this even more challenging; more than one in four indicate that hybrid working models will make it more difficult for F&A teams to collaborate (27%) and that th...