500 senior finance execs (mostly VP and above) in 22 industries told us how and why they’re using enterprise performance management (EPM) in an annual survey. Their answers surface new themes in addition to showing the staying power of previous ones. We highlight the five most important below. (You can download a report on the survey results, including data on how Oracle Fusion Cloud EPM customers are using AI).  

1. Catalysts for EPM investment 

As in prior years, the single largest factor driving EPM adoption remains the need to improve remote work and collaboration. However, there’s a new development: 23% of respondents now identify digital transformation as a major factor. This suggests finance’s growing role in driving organizational transformation, especially in conjunction with the adoption of new technology. Cost reduction was another reason cited, including lowering total cost of ownership, dodging on-premises application upgrades, and avoiding infrastructure investments. 

2. Reinventing planning and budgeting  

Traditionally, organizations relied on spreadsheets and manual data reconciliation for planning and budgeting. This year, finance executives explicitly identified challenges inherent in this approach, including inefficient and disconnected processes, lack of access to timely data, and lack of budgeting and forecasting tools. 

However, survey respondents also indicated that Oracle Fusion Cloud EPM offers an alternative. Respondents using Oracle EPM have:  

  • 103% greater likelihood of using predictive planning  

  • 89% higher likelihood of connecting supply chain planning with financial planning 

  • Eliminated manual tasks (62% of respondents) 

  • Decreased spreadsheet use by an average of 40% 

3. Streamlining messy period-end close 

By an overwhelming margin, the most frequently cited challenges during period-end financial close are inefficient and manual processes. Further, execs identified cumbersome account reconciliation processes as the leading cause of delays.  

In contrast, Oracle EPM customers reported improvements, including:   

  • 62% improvement in transaction-matching efficiency  

  • 62% drop in spreadsheet use for reconciliations 

  • Reduction in the number of days to close per cycle (57% of respondents) 

  • Faster report production and delivery (77% of respondents) 

4. AI and advanced technology adoption 

This year, respondents also exhibited more aggressive adoption of advanced technology like predictive planning (mentioned above). And more than 70% of Oracle Cloud EPM customers are now using its AI features to: 

  • Automate analysis and gain faster insights 

  • Reduce errors with automated tasks 

  • Improve efficiency with intelligent automation 

  • Improve forecast, planning, and modeling accuracy  

5. Innovation, transformation, and the future

The survey revealed that Oracle EPM provides benefits that go beyond operational efficiency. Customers are using Oracle EPM to support new initiatives such as environmental, social, and governance investments. And Oracle EPM’s Enterprise Data Management is enabling transformative structural changes such as mergers and acquisitions.  

Additional resources 

For more information, download the new eBook “Measuring the Value of Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management,” check out the associated infographic, or click the “Learn more” button. 

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