In a recent survey with over 1000 financial professionals, including 250 charities and not-for-profit organisations, carried out by finance software solution Xledger UK and Censuswide UK, it was founded that 53% of charities have not undergone or even started digital transformation within the finance function. Is this due to a lack of funding, motivation, resource, or because they are not sure where to start? All these factors are common issues within the sector when it comes to digitisation.
Through our research, we also discovered 52% of respondents in the charity sector do not have the tools they need to forecast ahead of a recession and the biggest reason (20%) for this was because their systems were outdated.
Access accurate data fast
In our research, 51% of charities said they were not able to access data as fast as they desired. Meeting stringent reporting demands from regulators, trustees, donors, or the public requires accurate fund reporting capabilities, and fast access to real-time data. The right finance technology system can help you ensure you get real-time data you can trust in an efficient manner by saving time and reducing risks around manual processes.
The power of integrations
Having an integrated tech stack where your finance system and other core systems seamlessly share data to provide you with the business insights you need, can reduce the risk of errors but also free up time from your teams which can be spent elsewhere.
In tech, integrations are like bridges between two pieces of software that allow them to talk to each other and share information. When looking to implement new tech, and to get the most out of a system, integration capabilities should be high on the priorities list.
Save time with automation
With the staffing issues affecting charities, finding tech that saves your staff time can go a long way. Having successful automation in place to unlock time, will not only highlight cost efficiencies in certain areas, but will give you visibility on what is ahead, it will also help optimise your finance function and users will thank you for it later!
Lead with a digital transformation mindset
We have seen many successful digital transformation projects within the charity sector, and something that is an incredibly important success factor is when senior advocates within the business have a clear vision and understand what tech can truly offer. Understanding the pain points of your finance function now and in the future will help find the right finance solution partner with the right capabilities to support your evolving needs. Get in touch to discuss how you could benefit from a best-of-breed finance system.
Tim Wright is head of operations at Xledger UK
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