Finance & IT: The Transforming Power of Technology

It is undeniable that since the formation of The Controllers Institute of America 75 years ago, much progress has been made in conducting business and, specifically, in the finance function. However, regardless of the changes, the basics remain: Every business needs its finance department to produce financial statements, develop budgets, manage the company's cash cycle and interact with the financial markets. From information technology's (IT) earliest iterations, there has been a perpetual "man-versus-machine," which-drives-which struggle. Finance has become more of a business partner to the CEO than it was 75 years ago. This should not be overstated, however, since many of today's finance departments have yet to achieve this transformation. Having said that, finance has traditionally supported the business by generating information to manage operations, liaising with banks and other capital sources, managing relationships with regulators such as the SEC and the Internal Revenue Service, overseeing customer billing and collection and assuring that employees get paid.