Chief financial officers (CFOs) will need to enhance their understanding of the role technology can play in improving efficiency and optimising costs, says a report by analyst Gartner.

And the uncertain economic climate will act as a catalyst for the process, because many businesses are considering outsourcing part or complete finance process structures, says the report.

The outsourcing market for finance and accounting services is yet to mature, but functions such as finance and accounting are becoming increasingly popular. However, companies willing to hand over those functions to third parties fail to plan properly and do not realise potential savings as a consequence.

Typical mistakes made by CFOs include not involving the IT team in the early planning stages of the finance outsourcing project or in the transition planning stages, and asking too many service-level agreements.

“It is important to avoid losing precious time at the start of the initiative through lack of preparation and to be able to cost accurately the business and IT implications of the outsourcing endeavour,” said Cathy Tornbohm, research vice president at Gartner.

“We strongly advocate a joint approach by finance leaders and the CIOs to ensure that business process outsourcing deals are successful,” said Tornbohm.