CFOs Want and Need a Single Source of Revenue Truth. Why is it Still so Hard to Get?

CFOs on why the software explosion hasn't solved the problem and how market dynamics have only increased the pressure and urgency.

Despite all the software advances of the last twenty years, there is still no easy way for CFOs to create a single source of truth for the revenue data that their companies need to understand and drive the health of the business.

• Why hasn’t software alone delivered the big gains for finance teams that it has in other areas that drive growth?
• What would improve if creating a single source of revenue data truth wasn’t so difficult?

We partnered with Highland Insights, a customer discovery firm specializing in 1:1 inquiry with business leaders and their customers, to talk to CFOs and find answers to these questions.

We spoke with 30 CFOs (and some of their investors) with the following criteria:

• Small and Mid-Market Businesses (up to $500mm in revenue)
• With complex business models and revenue streams
• Representing a wide variety of categories from education, to cyber-security, fintech, hospitality, cloud mgmt, corporate governance and more.
• Using a range of systems including Salesforce, Hubspot, Netsuite, Quickbooks, Snowflake, Domo, SaaSOptics and homegrown solutions.

Theme Snapshot

CRM, billing and usage: three disparate systems that don’t always talk to each other and when they do, it's not seamless.

Why is creating a single source of revenue data truth so hard?

• Systems don't talk to each other well, if at all, leading to increased manual work to reconcile
• Software makers over-promise and under-deliver
• CFOs are trained not to trust
• A fully automated/big tech solution isn’t actually the north star

There would be no way to simply automate this without a huge lift for us on the customer side.

• Take action on what their data may already be able to tell them
• Put analytical talent to higher, better use such as forecasting and planning
• Remove friction between systems that hold revenue data
• Shorten time to value by getting to data clarity and trust faster
• Avoid preventable revenue loss

I could see some tremendous value in being able to potentially help companies more quickly cleanse the data and get the data in a format in a way that can be consumed more quickly.

The stories we heard, the insights we captured, and the patterns we saw are being synthesized and presented back in a full report available in early January. To read the report, including raw CFO feedback and our analysis, fill in the form below and we’ll deliver the research straight to you when it's released.