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Future finance: creating a digital powerhouse

By Busie Mhlanga-Mjimba, Senior Conference Producer, ITWeb.
Johannesburg, 16 Apr 2015
It is important not to fall into the trap of technology for technology's sake, says T-Systems' Jiten Lala.
It is important not to fall into the trap of technology for technology's sake, says T-Systems' Jiten Lala.

How well South African companies implement digital processes into an organisation's workflow varies widely.

So says Jiten Lala, head of solutions sales and portfolio management at T-Systems SA, who notes the implementation is often dependent on the maturity of the CFO, CIO and organisational culture as a whole.

"Well-run, mature organisations tend to maximise their investment and, therefore, make full use of their systems and resources available to them. We do, however, still encounter many organisations on the other end of the spectrum in SA; for example, finance departments that are still completely paper-based."

Tailoring financial systems to operate effectively in a digital economy provides measurable benefits, Lala says.

"When an organisation begins to leverage the information and systems available to them in a digital world, they can immediately see increases in accuracy and reduction in time and manual labour."

As an example, he cites one of the largest construction companies in SA that has benefited from this. "The company significantly reduced the time taken to reconcile monthly statements and invoices, from a week (per vendor) to under an hour."

Another company went from being levied hefty penalties in a SARS audit to having a clean audit the following year, and not even knowing the auditors were there, he adds.

As the old adage goes, charity begins at home, notes Lala, who explains that T-Systems is implementing digital processes within its company, as well as for its customers.

"Internally, at T-Systems, we have reduced our debtors' book by 10% - even before implementing the solution for all customers."

Lala says it is important not to fall into the trap of technology for technology's sake. There should always be a close partnership between business and IT. In the case of finance departments, businesses know exactly where their challenges lie, and the processes they must adhere to, but nothing of the IT landscape. Simultaneously, IT understands the technology that can solve these problems, but not always how it should be implemented or what to prioritise.

"Bringing business and IT together is where we play and where the magic happens. Systems and services inside an organisation do not have to be painful and onerous - they can provide a good user experience, while maintaining high standards and saving money for the bottom-line. And this is never truer than our solutions within the financial space."

Lala will delve into more detail on how companies can prepare their businesses for the future when he speaks at the ITWeb Digital Economy Summit 2015, taking place on 21 and 22 April, at The Forum, in Bryanston.

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