Julie Devol
Welcome to HBR Video Fast Take. I am Julie Devol, particular initiatives and webinars editor at Harvard Enterprise Evaluation. Right this moment we’re with Eric van Rossum, Director of Advertising and marketing and Options at SAP Cloud Enterprise Useful resource Planning. We’re right here to speak about what finance leaders at midsized firms have to succeed. Eric, thanks a lot for becoming a member of us as we speak.
Eric van Rossum
Thanks for having me. I am excited to speak about what all this implies for mid-sized companies.
Julie Devol
First, what are a number of the points that preserve CFOs up at night time?
Eric van Rossum
Nice query. On the finish of the day, what retains a CFO up at night time, with all of the subjects all through the day, and what’s on their thoughts? CFOs are in a tough place. We’re in a low-growth inflationary financial atmosphere. However stakeholders and shareholders nonetheless anticipate income development.
CFOs are considering: “How can I create the proper technique and roadmap for development on this risky and unsure financial system?” They face some challenges from this angle. First, they should create dependable forecasts and monetary fashions when issues are unpredictable. Secondly, there’s a want to make sure the provision of ample capital to help the expansion technique, in addition to day-to-day operations, which, as rates of interest rise, means a extra targeted overview of varied monetary devices and their alternative prices. , and time horizons.
Julie Devol
How can finance leaders at mid-sized firms leverage applied sciences like Cloud ERP to handle as we speak’s wants? But in addition, driving future development?
Eric van Rossum
I feel there are three issues: First, Cloud ERP shouldn’t be restricted to only a second in time. Second, Cloud ERP places companies on a journey of steady innovation. Lastly, third, Cloud ERP gives standardization.
Let’s begin with this primary level, which is that Cloud ERP shouldn’t be restricted to a single second in time. Options like S/4HANA Cloud, the general public model, are rising with You. It permits firms to undertake the capabilities they want as they develop. Particularly for mid-sized companies, they will begin with the fundamentals they should function as we speak and construct from there.
Pace is the secret. It is about going stay in two to 3 months and iterating from there. This results in the second level, which is that Cloud ERP places firms on a journey of steady innovation. Corporations can leverage quarterly innovation cycles to deploy new capabilities. That is how we ship software program as we speak, at common intervals.
Lastly, there may be monotheism. Mid-sized companies will get the identical time-tested processes as their bigger opponents with Cloud ERP with out costly customization. SAP is understood for outlining business greatest practices in ERP, and we’re additionally working to outline next-generation ERP greatest practices. As I discussed, prospects get these merchandise out of the field, which accelerates the analysis course of based mostly on business greatest practices.
Julie Devol
I discussed how a corporation’s finance and accounting groups can prepared the ground to make sure development and resilience, as we speak and tomorrow. However what can finance do to get the strongest social and environmental outcomes?
Eric van Rossum
For monetary leaders, there are three issues they will do. At first, perceive their position. Monetary leaders play a key position in reaching social and environmental outcomes. They are going to be stewards and decision-makers serving to to set objectives and KPIs for his or her enterprise, whether or not that is carbon accounting or key metrics round social commitments, range and inclusion or environmental impacts.
Second, they will lead by instance by incorporating sustainability into discussions about monetary planning, bringing the rigor for which they’re identified in finance and accounting and making use of that to ESG necessities and company-level controls as properly. Third, they will accomplice and collaborate. As ESG necessities evolve from voluntary to obligatory world wide, there’s a want for standardization and transparency.
This may work greatest when firms collaborate and accomplice with like-minded organizations inside their very own parameters and past.
Julie Devol
Eric, is there something you’d prefer to say as we speak in closing to our viewers?
Eric van Rossum
undoubtedly. At SAP, we take a really lively position in supporting efforts to attain better standardization for sustainability. We just lately introduced plans to introduce what we name the Inexperienced Ledger, which is ledger-based carbon accounting. Companies can handle the carbon coming into and out of their techniques and stability their tasks to society and the atmosphere, often known as “carbon ledgers”, in the identical manner we deal with monetary ledgers.
ERP has at all times been the usual system for finance, and with this inexperienced ledger, we’re working to make it a regular system for sustainability as properly.
Julie Devol
Eric, this has been an awesome dialog. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us as we speak.
Eric van Rossum
In the identical vein. I loved it very a lot and I hope to speak to you once more quickly.
Eric van Rossum is the Chief Advertising and marketing and Options Officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.
