LOS ANGELES, June 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, FloQast
(https://floqast.com/), a Finance and Accounting Operations Platform provider
created by accountants for accountants, announced the results of its latest
survey, Embracing Financial Transformation: What It Is, Why Organizations Should
Want It, and How to Achieve It (https://get.floqast.com/asset-embracing-
financial-transformation). The survey explores factors of both awareness and
understanding around the concept of financial transformation among accounting
and finance teams, as well as the steps teams may take to achieve it.
Additionally, for the first time ever, FloQast has adapted academic frameworks
for the accounting industry to further evaluate financial transformation,
resulting in two new models that may be adopted by teams everywhere:
1. The Financial Transformation Framework: Four essential components for
effective transformation
2. The Financial Transformation Belief Model: A process for giving time and
attention to true transformation
In this survey, FloQast found that accountants play a critical role in
motivating, determining, and implementing new solutions that modernize their
work and ensure their organizations are competitive and compliant in a complex
and dynamic environment - and helping the CFO and others understand the
transformation imperative.
Conducted in partnership with the University of Georgia Consumer Analytics
Program (https://www.fcs.uga.edu/fhce/applied-consumer-analytics), the survey
includes the perspectives of 385 accounting and finance professionals, including
CFOs, controllers, and their teams. FloQast looked for individuals and
organizations that varied in tenure, company size, certification status, and IPO
status.
"CFOs and their teams are under immense pressure to transform financially, but
we've found there's often a lack of understanding about what exactly
transformation means and how to achieve it," said Mike Whitmire, CEO and co-
founder of FloQast, CPA. "It's a team effort that requires collaboration,
awareness, and cohesiveness from all members of the team. But perhaps the
biggest catalyst to this transformation comes from accountants themselves, who
have the most intimate understanding of the record-to-report landscape and stand
to be immensely valuable to CFO-driven transformation initiatives with the right
resources."
FloQast found that there's still a significant gap for many teams when it comes
to becoming this catalyst. Data demonstrated that accountants overwhelmingly
need to gain a greater understanding of what financial transformation means for
their organizations and revealed that few organizations have a cohesive
financial transformation vision in place. Key insights include:
Accountant familiarity with the idea of financial transformation lags behind the
CFO's familiarity:

  * 96% of CFOs have heard of financial transformation, and 61% are very
    familiar with it, showcasing the pressure on CFOs to guide their
    organizations through organizational change.
  * In fact, CFOs are 2.2 times more likely to be aware of financial
    transformation than accountants.

CFOs and accountants are feeling the pressure to incorporate financial
transformation initiatives into their future company plans:

  * Both CFOs and accountants recognize the importance of financial
    transformation, with 39% and 42%, respectively, seeing it as a top priority
    for their organization.
  * For both groups, just over two-thirds indicated that such an initiative for
    financial transformation exists for their organizations.

Both accountants and CFOs are optimistic about the role of AI in accounting and
its potential to benefit the workplace:

  * Both groups believe in AI's potential: Both believe AI will increase
    productivity - 37% and 30%, respectively - and is a critical component of
    financial transformation for both groups (32% and 28%, respectively).
  * Financial transformation initiatives primarily focus on automated processes
    for both accountants (54%) and CFOs (63%).

"Disparate workflows that address narrowly defined needs won't deliver
transformation," said Razzak Jallow, CFO of FloQast. "The CFO's role in this
process is to collaborate with accounting teams to facilitate and add structure
to all transformative efforts across the department. Transformation truly
happens when the CFO empowers accountants to optimize cohesive financial
transformation - not singular efforts they think will drive change."
FloQast is committed to publishing industry research on today's most pressing
topics in the accounting and finance ecosystem. Last year, FloQast released the
final installment in its Controller's Guidebook survey series
(https://floqast.com/controllers-guidebook/dare-to-dream/). It provided an
overview of the pressures, challenges, and opportunities accountants were
currently facing in the industry and focused on key themes such as burnout,
technology, and ideal work environments.
For additional findings, an eBook with more detailed survey results can be found
here (https://get.floqast.com/asset-embracing-financial-transformation). Explore
more about the survey's development and findings on our blog
(https://floqast.com/blog/study-accountants-understand-financial-
transformations-importance-but-lack-cohesive-adoption-plans/).
About FloQast
FloQast, a Finance and Accounting Operations Platform provider created by
accountants for accountants, enables organizations to operationalize accounting
excellence. Trusted by more than 2,700 accounting teams - including Twilio, Los
Angeles Lakers, Zoom, and Snowflake - FloQast enhances the way accounting teams
work, enabling customers to streamline and manage the Financial Close, Finance
and Accounting Operations, and Compliance Programs. With FloQast, teams can
utilize the latest advancements in AI technology to manage every aspect of the
month-end Close, reduce their compliance burden, stay audit-ready, and improve
accuracy, visibility, and collaboration throughout the financial function.
FloQast is consistently rated #1 across all user review sites. Learn more at
FloQast.com (http://floqast.com/).
Contact:
Kyle Cabodi
FloQast Director of Corporate Communications
kyle.cabodi@floqast.com (mailto:kyle.cabodi@floqast.com)
MEDIA CONTACT:
Agata Porter
Matter Communications
Email: floqast@matternow.com (mailto:floqast@matternow.com)
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