The worlds of finance and IT are becoming ever more interconnected. No longer do budgets, forecasts and reports need to be done individually by hand – thanks to technology, all of these can be done by computer and aspects can even be automated. All of this serves to streamline the day-to-day operations of finance professionals, meaning they can turn their attention to other tasks that will add greater value to their organisation or practice.

Beyond finance, modern technologies can generate additional value for the organisation as a whole. Computerised systems can speed up operations and reduce the resources needed to reach goals – all of this creates savings that can be passed onto customers or used to boost profit margins. Being pioneers in new technology can create a competitive advantage or prevent the organisation from falling behind competitors. 

As a finance professional, you may be involved in appraising new technologies for finance or organisation as a whole, giving input into specific matters such as data analysis and data protection or providing insights from financial analysis and advice to IT managers. All of this will require you to have a strong understanding of IT and information systems (IS). This is where this course comes in – we’ll be covering some of the key applications of IT and IS for modern businesses and finance departments, as well as looking at how IT and finance professionals need to work together to ensure finance and organisation gets the most out of technology.

What you’ll learn:

• The key benefits of using IT to transform an organisation’s operations so that you understand when and why new technology should be implemented 

• The costs and benefits of IT and IS to consider in a cost-benefit analysis to ensure the organisation invests in the most appropriate technology  

• McFarlan’s strategic grid for establishing how important information systems are to the organisation’s strategic success, now and in the future 

• The fundamental elements of an effective information strategy that ensure IT supports wider business goal.

• The critical areas in which the finance and IT functions should collaborate to ensure the organisation’s IT systems are as effective as possible

• How the performance of the IT function can be monitored and, therefore, improved, and the important role finance professionals play in this process

• The data protection and privacy responsibilities that must be considered to ensure the organisation avoids legal and ethical repercussions, including an introduction to GDPR requirements 

• Key security risks and how an organisation can protect its IT and IS from these

• The two main types of systems architecture: centralised and decentralised, and the advantages and disadvantages of each so that the most appropriate approach can be chosen for the organisation 

• Big data management and its importance in ensuring an organisation can utilise the data it collects