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Hey there,
Ever feel like everyone is “investing in data,” but only a few teams can actually use it without getting burned? Finance leaders are funding governance and platforms, yet readiness still feels rare, mostly because data quality, guardrails, and the day-to-day operating playbook lag behind the spend.
Take a moment to see why the real win is not tooling; it is being able to scale safely, consistently, and on purpose.
Quick Win For Your Finance Team
10-Minute Daily “One Question From the Numbers.”
In 10 minutes every day, turn yesterday’s data into one sharp question for your leaders so finance sets the agenda instead of just reacting to ad hoc asks.
Open your core “yesterday” view (cash, revenue, key costs, pipeline, product usage, or whatever you already track daily) and add a simple 7-day average or “vs plan” column next to each metric.
Scan for the single most interesting deviation: the metric that moved the most or surprised you, not just the one that looks worst, and log it in a tiny sheet with three fields: Metric, Change, First Hypothesis.
Write exactly one focused question about that change, aimed at the right owner, starting with “What changed in…?” or “Is this the start of a trend or a one-off?” and include the metric and time frame.
Drop that one question with a small screenshot into your exec or functional Slack channel, tag the relevant owner, ask for a two–to three-sentence response by the end of the day, and log the answer in your sheet.
Immediate payoff:
You will shift leadership conversations from vague “how are things?” to concrete, data-backed questions, train the organization to engage with numbers daily, and build a simple habit where finance delivers one meaningful insight or clarification every single day.
🔒 79% of Fund Data Governance, But Only 13% Are Truly Ready
CFOs are putting real money behind data discipline as new tools spread into daily workflows. Workiva reports 79% prioritize automation and governance, with 73% leaning on IT and 71% setting dedicated budgets, yet Cisco finds only 13% qualify as “pacesetters,” the group far more likely to scale pilots into real operations, which suggests a playbook gap finance has to close next. See full article.
Why this matters (fast take):
📊 Budget Is There: 79% prioritize data automation and governance, 73% have IT support, and 71% report a dedicated budget to execute.
🧪 It’s Already In Reporting: 65% fold tools into disclosures, 46% use them broadly, and 76% say internal audit teams are testing them.
🧭 83% Choose Platforms As CFOs Pivot to Data-First Ops, EY Finds
EY’s Stuart Lang and Dave Helmer share survey findings showing that finance leaders are moving toward “platform” approaches. Eighty-three percent plan to tap provider platforms for data tech, while 81% expect moderate to major operating changes within 24 months. See full article.
Fast move:
📊 Data Beats Budget: 64% cite executing on data tech as the main barrier, with talent strategy at 45% and advising the business at 21%.
🌍 Volatility Forces Redesign: 81% expect operating or supply chain changes, accelerating centralization and shared service builds for faster, coordinated calls.
🤖 6% Uplift Isn’t a Strategy: Finance Needs a Real Tools Playbook
Leaders love to cite incremental productivity gains, but the real risk is whether the operating model can safely absorb new tools. A columnist argues many teams roll out tech without answering the harder question: how does this change the business you are in, and what guardrails prevent misuse? The unlock is leadership clarity, capability building, and clear rules, not a box-check rollout that flatters metrics while leaving strategy untouched. See full article.
Fast move:
📈 A Few Points Won’t Save You: Small “uplift” stories can mask bigger model pressure if the work is not redesigned end-to-end.
🕳️ Shadow Inputs Spread Fast: When people paste sensitive data into chat tools, it is a governance and training failure, not a user failure.
Automation Play Of The Week
Daily Coding & Mapping Sweep in Your Inbox
Automate a one-page daily view of mis-coded or unmapped transactions so you stop discovering data issues at month-end and instead fix them while they are still small. This sweep uses your existing ERP/GL data and can be owned entirely by finance.
Define your error rules: Decide what should never appear in “final” reporting (e.g., blank cost centers, suspense accounts, uncategorized departments, invalid project codes, missing tax flags) and write simple yes/no rules for each.
Set up daily GL exports: Configure your ERP to drop a CSV of prior-day transactions into a shared folder with consistent columns (date, account, department, cost center, project, amount, tax code, user, description).
Build a single “Coding Sweep” tab: Use Excel or Google Sheets with data connections/Power Query to pull in the file, apply your rules, and show only problem lines on one summary tab sorted by size, age, and owner.
Automate refresh and email: Use Power Automate, Zapier, or a scheduled macro/script to refresh the file each morning and email you, the controller, and whoever fixes coding issues a summary as a PDF or a link.
Benefits:
Keeps your P&L, margins, and department reports clean by catching bad coding before it rolls into dashboards and board packs.
Speeds up month-end close because most coding issues are corrected along the way, not in a last-minute scramble.
Control Check:
Once a week, have the controller compare a day’s Coding Sweep to a full GL report to confirm major miscoded lines are not slipping through, then tune rules or thresholds if you see either noise or gaps.
📊 Take This Edition’s Poll:
Would you rather invest first in controls that prevent mistakes or systems that speed delivery?
Why It Matters
When only a small group can turn pilots into real workflow change, governance becomes an advantage, not just a compliance chore. Centralizing data and enforcing simple rules help teams move faster in volatile markets while preventing risky behavior, such as using sensitive “shadow inputs” that quietly erode trust.
In 2026, the strongest finance teams will look less excited about new tools and more serious about using them well.
Until the next financial insight,
Corrine Maxwell
Editor-in-Chief
CFO Executive Insights
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