Leveraging Technology and AI for Finance Teams

Supercharging Your Finance Team: Leveraging Technology and AI for Finance Across your Close, Consolidate, Report & Plan Process 

In an era where agility, accuracy, and real-time insight are essential, finance teams must do more than just keep the books—they need to drive strategic value. Today, leveraging technology and AI for Finance isn't optional—it's a game-changer. From closing books faster to planning with precision, let’s explore how modern tools like BlackLine, Workday Adaptive Planning, Anaplan, Fluence, Workiva and Power BI are transforming finance functions. 

Close – Streamlining and Automating with BlackLine 

The financial close is often a high-pressure, resource-intensive process. Enter BlackLine, a leading financial close automation platform that eliminates tedious manual work and reduces errors. 

How BlackLine Helps: 

• Automated reconciliations: Replaces spreadsheets with intelligent workflows. 

• Standardised journal entries: Ensures consistency and compliance across entities. 

• Real-time visibility: Dashboards let controllers and CFOs track close status and bottlenecks. 

AI in Action: BlackLine uses AI to flag anomalies, suggest automation opportunities, and continuously improve close processes based on historical data. 

Result? Shorter close cycles, fewer errors, and a finance team free to focus on analysis over administration. 

Consolidate – Speed, Accuracy, and Compliance with Fluence 

For multi-entity or global businesses, consolidation can be a massive challenge—especially when working with fragmented systems. Fluence Technologies offers a purpose-built consolidation platform that integrates seamlessly with your financial data. 

How Fluence Helps: 

• Fast, accurate consolidation: Automates intercompany eliminations, currency translation, and minority interest calculations. 

• Audit-ready: Built-in audit trails and workflow approvals simplify compliance. 

• Integration with ERPs: Pulls data from systems like NetSuite, Dynamics, or SAP with ease. 

AI in Action: Fluence applies machine learning to detect inconsistencies and errors in data mapping and intercompany entries—helping teams close and consolidate faster. 

Result? Reliable, timely consolidated financials that empower better decision-making. 

Report – Turning Data into Insight with Power BI and Workiva 

Once data is closed and consolidated, it’s time to turn numbers into narratives. That’s where Microsoft Power BI and Workiva comes in. 

How Power BI Helps: 

• Interactive dashboards: Slice and dice financial data by region, product, or business unit. 

• Real-time reporting: Connects to your live data sources, ensuring reports are always current. 

• Collaboration-ready: Share dashboards across teams, with embedded commentary and alerts. 

AI in Action: Power BI’s AI capabilities include: 
- Natural language queries (e.g., “Show me revenue trends by region”). 
- Forecasting and anomaly detection. 
- Automated insights highlighting what’s driving changes in KPIs. 

Result? Data becomes more accessible and insightful, fostering a data-driven culture across the business. 

How Workiva Helps: 

• Connected reporting: Links data across spreadsheets, documents, and presentations to ensure consistency. 

• Audit trails and controls: Maintain version history and ensure compliance with SOX, ESG, and other regulatory frameworks. 

• Collaboration tools: Enable multiple contributors to work simultaneously in a secure environment. 

AI in Action: Workiva uses AI to suggest formatting, validate data linkages, and highlight inconsistencies before final submissions. 

Result? Reduced risk, improved accuracy, and a smoother reporting process across the organisation. 

Plan – Driving Agility with Workday Adaptive Planning & Anaplan 

Planning today isn’t just about setting a static budget—it’s about dynamic, continuous forecasting and scenario modeling. Workday Adaptive Planning and Anaplan are leaders in this space. 

How Workday Adaptive Planning Helps: 

• Driver-based forecasting: Connect financial outcomes to operational inputs. 

• What-if scenarios: Evaluate multiple business cases in real-time. 

• Departmental collaboration: Built for self-service across functions. 

How Anaplan Helps: 

• Enterprise-wide modeling: Ideal for complex businesses with interconnected plans (finance, sales, supply chain). 

• Real-time scenario planning: Instantly model the impact of market changes or strategic decisions. 

• Connected planning: Aligns goals across departments for a unified approach. 

AI in Action: Both platforms use predictive analytics to improve forecast accuracy and uncover hidden trends. AI also suggests anomalies in budgets and flags outliers based on historical patterns. 

Result? Finance moves from reactive budgeting to proactive strategic advising. 

Conclusion: From Reactive to Strategic 

By adopting intelligent technologies like BlackLine, Fluence, Power BI, Workiva, Workday Adaptive Planning, and Anaplan, your finance team can transform the way it closes, consolidates, reports, and plans. 
 
✅ Shorter cycles 
✅ Fewer errors 
✅ Deeper insights 
✅ Greater agility 
 
The future of finance isn't just digital—it's intelligent. Now is the time to invest in the tools that empower your team to lead with insight.