7 Key Financial Services Trends to Watch in 2021

September 17th, 2021

Currently, technology applied to financial companies, or "fintechs," continues to grow exponentially and transform the financial services sector within companies, evolving from a purely back-office function to one deserving a front-row seat in the strategic mission of today's businesses.

Oracle NetSuite and Deloitte recently joined forces to host a webinar aimed at discussing the key trends that will impact the financial services industry later this year.

In this text we will detail the seven main trends raised during the webinar, which we should observe in the financial services market in the coming months:

Mobile finance apps

Self-service financial applications focused on risk management, international payments, analytics, and other services have helped financial companies serve a broader customer base. a They are becoming more demanding every day.

Self-service applications, once a "nice-to-have" concept, have become essential to ensure that financial transactions move quickly and efficiently from desktop to laptop and mobile device, according to the time and needs of each user.

“Wherever you go,” said Rakesh Shetty, a partner at Deloitte Canada, “your applications, systems, and processes will relentlessly follow you wherever you are.”

This is a trend that is only expected to grow, and with the increase in cloud systems, it has become a reality in today's market.

However, some enterprise management systems are still not prepared to meet this market trend.

Improving the employee experience is always the goal.

“Our work experience is very important, especially when it comes to motivating talent,” said Shetty, who recommends that companies provide new finance talent with the “Amazon-like experience” with the technology they use in their day-to-day work.

Nowadays, employees, who are increasingly connected, expect a system that is easy and quick to use and available to be accessed anytime, anywhere.

The focus should always be on ensuring ease of use of the system, considering flexibility and scalability, all within a single system.

Real-time analysis and decision-making

Nowadays, in finance roles, it's no longer enough to simply "close the books and have an effective month-end cycle," Shetty said during the webinar.

However, with a centralized data source, such as the one Oracle NetSuite provides with its cloud-based unified enterprise resource planning platform, companies can bring together data from finance and other departments to gain an end-to-end view of real-time data. This, in turn, can support a better decision making.

With the constantly significant advancement of technology in recent years, the importance of collecting real-time information is immeasurable. A company that is not attentive to current trends does not stand out as it once did.

Competition across markets as a whole is very intense. It's necessary to stay abreast of all relevant news and information, ensuring speed and efficiency in decision-making to achieve a positive differentiation and create... competitive advantages for the business.

More automation

In the webinar, Shetty also mentioned that he sees the need a There is a growing trend towards creating more tools and solutions that automate processes to help improve the overall user experience.

We know that process automation is here to stay, and nowadays we also have no doubt that companies that manufacture systems and do not offer this possibility in their products will have their days numbered.

Users have experienced automation in many processes over the years and have realized the numerous benefits achieved in all operations.

One of the main benefits perceived by users with automation is the reduction in time for issuing reports and, consequently, productivity gain throughout the operation.

In the past, finance departments were full of employees, and they performed many manual tasks, meaning they were subject to human error.

With the increase in process automation, these manual processes have become automated, and as a result, these same employees now spend more hours of their day analyzing reports than preparing them.

Global operations

We know that there is a strong trend towards globalization of companies, and the financial services sector is spreading its wings and accessing more and more international networks every day.

“Our customer base comes from all over the world, so we want to make sure that the technology that supports our financial functions is also geared towards globalization,” Shetty emphasized.

Given this scenario, a new and pressing need arises: to have the right systems, with well-established processes, to fully support the globalization of business.

We know that international expansion, mergers, acquisitions, and market growth are hampered by your system of... on-premise ERPBecause they generate complexity requiring support across a wide variety of subsidiaries.

Often, local data centers must meet data residency requirements, which makes the operation even more complex and involves high costs.

However, with the right cloud-based ERP, it's possible to enable the sharing of corporate information, with fluidity between operational areas and all business units, including the company's headquarters.

Predictive modeling

“I see many Fintechs migrating to forecast-based models to really handle some of the decision-making when it comes to cash flow,” said Shetty, who identifies weekly profit and loss (P&L) reports and weekly forecasts as two areas where predictive forecasting can be successfully applied in the financial sector.

We know that forecast-based modeling will allow companies in the financial services sector to use historical data to improve business decision-making, planning, and forecasting.

Finance in the cloud

Thanks to the cloud, Shetty said the focus in applications has shifted from implementation itself to operationalization, modernization, and continuous evolution.

"The beauty of cloud technology is that it was developed to add value and speed to all operations," said Shetty.

Cloud technology has another major benefit, which is drastically reducing the system implementation process.

In the past, a system implementation used to take an average of 12 to 18 months. Currently, we have a much faster process, which takes an average of 20 to 24 weeks for implementation.

When we think about a management system, the benefits of the cloud are even greater, since with this type of technology we gain access to information in real time. Anytime, anywhere.

Conclusion

Given this scenario, it is imperative for companies to continue growing that they stay updated, taking into account the best practices used by competitors and leading companies in the market. Therefore, it is mandatory for a company today to have access to a modern and agile enterprise management system.

Oracle NetSuite, as a leader in the global ERP market, has a robust suite of cloud-based financial management solutions, offering companies the tools they need to address the trends mentioned in the text.

Considering everything from real-time metrics and reports to automation and self-service features, and a platform accessible from anywhere, the ERP system accelerates daily financial transactions, speeds up the financial closing process, and ensures compliance throughout the company's operations.

Oracle NetSuite also puts financial data in the hands of the people who need it, without forcing them to request this information from the finance department. “Users can see everything on their screens and use this data to perform their jobs more effectively,” said David Silver, principal solution consultant at Oracle NetSuite. “If someone needs a specific report monthly, for example, they can run it whenever they need it,” David points out.

Oracle NetSuite also provides "access from anywhere"—a feature that has become increasingly important for remote workforces. And the platform includes native mobile apps for iOS and Android.

In addition to all these benefits, Oracle NetSuite offers multi-entity accounting, helping organizations manage an increasingly global environment.

Want to learn more about how Oracle NetSuite can help your company meet the challenges of today's market?