RI Pernod Ricard

By Nina Trentmann and Ezequiel Minaya 

Corporate finance chiefs say forming a cohesive and complete assessment of a company from proliferating data streams in an increasingly digital workplace has emerged as a top challenge.

Faced with the mission to modernize systems and processes to keep pace with competitors amid increasing global risk, only 39% of more than 670 finance executives around the world said they are highly confident about managing their company's risks, according to a survey by Workday Inc., a digital technology provider, released Thursday.

Data and the ability to make sense of it has become critical for companies in recent years, as the digitization of the global economy picks up pace. Risks such as international trade frictions or volatile currency markets put the spotlight on CFOs and their ability to swiftly assess available information and respond to these threats, a task made easier with advanced analytics and visibility across both operational and financial data.

Finance chiefs often lack the relevant skills within their teams, and those in the C-suite fail to collaborate effectively, according to the survey. Workday and Longitude Research Ltd. surveyed executives in 17 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany and China. Over a third were from companies with annual revenues of more than $1 billion.

"Finance as a department is lagging behind in supporting the transformation toward more digital companies," said Betsy Bland, a vice president in Workday's financial management division. "Businesses will be at risk of not surviving if they don't make changes," she added.

Companies including recruiter Hays PLC, containership lessor Seaspan Corp., drinks maker Pernod Ricard SA, pharmaceuticals firm Roche Holding AG and insurer AXA SA are already streamlining data to increase visibility into their operations.

Hays started its data transformation process in 2008 and invests about GBP10 million ($13 million) a year on updating its systems, the company said. Part of that goes toward integrating nonfinancial information, which is automatically loaded into the finance system in a process that doesn't require the information to be reconciled.

"We all have one version of the truth... our systems talk to each other" Chief Financial Officer Paul Venables said. "If your systems don't talk to each other, you will end up doing a lot of work in excel, outside of your systems," he said.

Seaspan is spending a "significant" amount on improving its data to maintain its current share of 8% of the global containership letting market, at a time of heightened technological change, said finance chief Ryan Courson. Seaspan analyzes reams of data -- for example on pricing, vessel speed and fuel consumption -- that all converge in the finance function.

"CFOs sit on a tremendous data asset," said Eric Dowdell, global head of trade credit at Dun & Bradstreet Corp. He advises companies on how to manage their data to reduce credit, fraud and other risks, a process that takes six to 12 months before yielding the first results.

Bryan Corkal, finance chief of fertilizer maker Anuvia Plant Nutrients, said he would "love to have real time production data," from manufacturing operations as the company is seeking to expand aggressively. He is looking to fine-tune the usage of chemicals and other raw materials, to assess the efficiency of labor and ferret out any bottlenecks to production.

"I think it has to do with the life cycle of a company," he said. "At what time does cost management become a strategic driver? I know that the quality people feel the same way in the use of data to improve quality."

Mr. Corkal, who joined the Zellwood, Fla., company in June, plans to expand to Anuvia's data landscape. Anuvia spends roughly 1% of annual revenue on software and consultants. Four employees currently dedicate about a fifth of their time to the data initiative, though Mr. Corkal expects that to increase as he seeks to gather real-time production data.

Hiring and training the right talent is key when making these changes. Nearly 75% of survey respondents said that finance roles will have to be redefined amid the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence. CFOs need to hire data scientists, statisticians, data security professionals and IT delivery specialists to master the transition of their department, the Workday survey said.

Seaspan is bringing in people with a background in computer science, said Mr. Courson.

Write to Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com and Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2018 06:18 ET (10:18 GMT)

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