Continuous and ever-increasing pace of change has led to a very different business environment in the 21st century.
Unprecedented developments in computer hardware and software capabilities, and international communications have meant that the ‘traditional’ functions of finance staff - transaction processing and ‘number crunching’ - can be performed almost instantly. The primary implication of this for finance staff is that their expertise will be called upon to add value and to contribute to strategy and business management decisions to a far greater extent than ever before.
Rather than just crunching the numbers, finance professionals will be an integral part of business decision-making. The outsourcing of many aspects of business activity is one of the strategies that have been suggested as a source of adding value and streamlining activities to maintain competitive advantage.