Financial Executive International’s 2017 Current Financial Reporting Issues Conference co-chairs, Sharon Virag and Heather Dixon, speak with EY’s Myles Corson on how the financial reporting function can help their organizations evolve and change in the era of disruption.
Key takeaways
- Constant technological advancements and structural changes suggest that there is no longer a status quo in the financial reporting sphere, and that adaptability is of the utmost importance.
- The controller role is expanding beyond traditional accounting and bookkeeping practices, requiring controllers to be involved in incorporating new technologies and honing nontraditional skill sets such as project management and in-depth understanding of other business practices.
- The role of technology within reporting has developed from a regulatory, assistive aid to a partnership capable of stretching the automated function of finance.
- The balance between technological and human contributions comes from using technology to gather tremendous amounts of data, but relying on human talent to interpret and contextualize these results.
- Success as a modern reporting practice requires a keen understanding and functional partnership with the IT practice.