Read TCS’ study to know how global finance leaders are utilizing cloud-based systems & data analytics in finance to plug FP&A gaps & achieve sustainable growth.

1. TCS 2021 Global Financial
Leadership Study
The Next Era in Financial Planning & Analysis
November 2021
Key Findings Report
TCS Thought Leadership Institute

2. 2
About the TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
When the COVID-19 pandemic triggered extreme uncertainty, FP&A within the finance function played a key role for
organizations, from both a mid-term strategic and short-term operative perspective. As the ‘fog lights’ of the organization,
FP&A provided accurate outlooks on top- and bottom-line views – from sales to cash in hand — to more effectively adapt
to the turbulent environment.
New expectations: There is a renewed emphasis on strengthening the FP&A function.
TCS undertook a global survey of 750 senior finance leaders to better understand:
What is the current state of
FP&A?
What are Trendsetters doing
differently from their peers?
How are organizations preparing to meet
the demands of the next era of FP&A?
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
1 2 3

3. 3
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study: Top 3 key findings
Current FP&A capabilities are
falling short
A small group of respondents with
advanced FP&A data capabilities
(‘Trendsetters’) are reaping the
rewards
can consistently derive aligned and
robust budgets and do so without
significant errors
Most organizations are increasing
technology investments
to close FP&A gaps
of all respondents
plan to invest in cloud-based
systems and data and analytics
technologies for the FP&A domain
in the next 12 months
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
say they consistently fail to deliver
short-term forecasts or do so
without significant errors
50%
of Trendsetters of Followers
vs
78% 43% 2/3
of all respondents

4. 4
Key Finding 1: Current FP&A capabilities are falling short
Rigid processes, lack of scalability and inadequate
business insights are leading many finance leaders to
make significant errors in their planning and forecasting.
Our research exposed four areas where finance teams
need to rapidly strengthen their FP&A capabilities.
Adaptive FP&A Critical skills
Data quality
and management
Risk
and control
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study

5. 5
49%
Area 1: Organizations are struggling with adaptive FP&A capabilities
Nearly half of all finance
teams are struggling to
consistently and
accurately perform
essential forecasting and
budgeting functions.
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
49%
Reallocate resources quickly due to changing
business demands
Deliver short-term forecasts
Rapidly create multiple, detailed 'what-if' scenario models
based on different possible internal and external factors
Derive aligned and robust budgets
50%
52%
55%
Proportion of respondents who say they consistently fail to perform this task or they perform this task but with
significant errors

6. 6
49%
Area 2: Many organizations lack critical FP&A skills
Current skills are proving
insufficient for the
increasing demands on
FP&A, including the ability
to use advanced data
analysis and FP&A
technologies.
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Ability to use advanced FP&A technologies,
e.g. AI and machine learning
Ability to embed preventive controls 45%
Proportion of respondents who possess the following skills in their finance team to a significant or full extent
Advanced data analysis 52%
Risk assessment capabilities 54%
44%

7. 7
Area 3: A data disconnect is impacting decision making
The good news:
Is the data disconnect a result of immature technology capabilities … or do old habits die hard? Finance leaders are relying heavily
on their own intuition and that of others.
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Only 21%
of respondents
report a lack of
available robust data
The not-so-good news:
Manual, intuition-based
decision making is negatively
impacting the FP&A function.
57% 43%
Data & Analytics
Intuition

8. 8
Area 4: There are concerning risk & control shortfalls
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Just over HALF of those surveyed believe
they possess risk assessment capabilities
to a full or significant extent
Rigid risk evaluation practice is ranked
as the biggest GAP in FP&A capabilities
54% 46%
COVID-19 has highlighted shortfalls in risk management and control, an area organizations perceive as a top concern.

9. 9
Key Finding 2: Trendsetters with advanced FP&A capabilities are
reaping the rewards
What makes a Trendsetter? Firms (n=46) who rate the maturity of their data capabilities for cash/liquidity, revenues, operating costs, discretionary
spend and risk as a ‘4’ or ‘5’ on a 5-point scale, where 5 equals “widespread automation and advanced analytics” (e.g., utilizing AI, machine learning
and predictive modeling)
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Trendsetters have higher FP&A
maturity levels and rely more on
data and analytics, and less on
intuition, when planning and
forecasting.
The survey analysis revealed a small percentage of organizations (6%) that are further along in data maturity. This group –
what we've termed the Trendsetters — has mastered the basics and is poised to dominate the next era of FP&A.
Accelerated
Characteristics
of a Trendsetter
Trendsetters can more easily
adjust to swiftly changing
circumstances and execute FP&A
functions at speed.
Agile
Trendsetters have moved beyond
existing processes and are investing
more in transformational FP&A
capabilities for next-generation
finance functions.
Aspiring

10. 10
Trendsetters are Accelerated
Proportion of respondents who possess the following skills
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Trendsetters are more likely to possess all skills
than Followers, in particular the ability to use
advanced FP&A technologies.
Trendsetters are moving beyond intuition-led
decisions, using data and analytics capabilities
to drive fact-based decision-making.
57% 43%
Trendsetters Followers
Ability to standardize compliance processes 65% 42%
Regularly use AI to develop enterprise-wide plans and
forecasts
78% 60%
Have the right structure or practices to achieve digital maturity
in finance function
70% 53%
Ability to use advanced FP&A technologies such as AI /
machine learning
70% 43%
Scenario modelling capabilities 65% 42%
65% 35%
Data & Analytics Intuition
Followers Trendsetters

11. 11
Trendsetters are Agile
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Trendsetters have the ability
to swiftly respond to
changing circumstances, an
ability put to the extreme test
throughout the 2020
downturn.
Trendsetters Followers
Derive aligned and robust budgets 78% 43%
Rapidly create multiple, detailed ‘what-if’ scenario models based on
different possible internal and external factors
78% 46%
During the 2020 downturn, we were able to model for different
outcomes, durations and impacts in an agile manner
67% 51%
Deliver short-term forecasts 74% 48%
Reallocate resources quickly due to changing business demands 91% 48%
We include rolling, ROI-based decisions in addition to our annual
budget for investment planning
65% 51%
Proportion of respondents who possess the following skills

12. 12
Trendsetters are Aspiring
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Trendsetters are more likely
to have moved on to
transformational capabilities
than Followers, who are more
focused on making existing
processes faster and more
efficient.
Trendsetters have the data
and analytics skills and are
more aggressively pursuing
advanced technologies and
culture investments, leaving
Followers behind.
61
50
62
35
70 74 80
59
0
50
100
Data & analytics AI/ Machine learning Cloud-based
systems
Third-party
consulting
Where FP&A teams increased investments in the past 12 months
% of Followers
% of Trendsetters
67
55
68
37
67
83 83
57
0
50
100
Data & analytics AI/ Machine learning Cloud-based
systems
Third-party
consulting
And where they plan to increase investments in the next 12 months
% of Followers
% of Trendsetters

13. 13
Key Finding 3: Plugging the FP&A gaps
Finance leaders view rigid risk evaluation practices as the biggest gap in their FP&A capabilities. Scalability concerns and a
perceived lack of insights into business patterns indicate growing demands and more sophisticated what-if analysis for FP&A
functions.
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
Top ranked
FP&A concerns
Risk evaluation
practices are
too rigid
Lack of scalability
to meet new
business demands
Lack of insights
into business
patterns

14. 14
Respondents are increasing technology investments to shore up
capabilities
“It’s an absolute necessity that we invest in new systems and have technology on board that will help us make changes. But it’s not just about
gathering data – dashboards often have information overload. You need someone who can tell you: what are the key factors, and where do we go?”
– Michael Kreeft, CFO, BMW Japan
TCS 2021 Global Financial Leadership Study
The majority of organizations
are planning to increase
investments in technologies to
shore up current FP&A gaps,
including improving scalability
to manage new business
demands and gaining visibility
and insights.
61
52
63
67
57
69
0
20
40
60
80
Data & analytics AI/ Machine learning Cloud-based systems
% of respondents who increased investments in the past year or say
they are planning to in the upcoming year
Last 12 months
Next 12 months
Note: Percentages reflect total respondents, which includes both Trendsetter & Follower segments.

15. 15
Call to action: How can organizations meet the demands of
next-generation finance functions?
2021 TCS Global Financial Leadership Study
FP&A Trendsetters are setting the standard. Other organizations must now rise to meet it, with the agility to work
at the pace of business, deliver real-time insights, and drive elevated performance.
To achieve that, they must focus on:
Leverage machines to
build forecasts with
robust statistical models
that harness machine
learning and artificial
intelligence capabilities.
Develop the agility to
sense and manage
changing market
dynamics, ensuring the
enterprise can swiftly
recalibrate resources as
needed.
Consider multiple scenarios
and clearly articulate
financial implications of
business decisions with
agreed-on potential counter
measures for each.
Ensure all initiatives are
connected to enterprise
strategies with clear
expectations of the financial
impact and tightly linked
sales, marketing, operations,
financial plans and forecasts.
Integration Automation Adaptability Proactivity

16. 16
75
20
5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
$5bn to $9.99bn
$10bn to $19.99bn
$20bn+
Revenue size
Demographics – Country, role and revenue
2021 TCS Global Financial Leadership Study
37
15
13
10
7 7
4 4 4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
United States United
Kingdom
Germany Canada Netherlands Switzerland Australia India Japan
Country
Revenue size
35
30
25
4 3 2 2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Senior
Director/Director
Other type of
department role
SVP/VP CFO Head of
Accounting
Head of
Controlling
Head of SS/GBS
Role

17. 17 2021 TCS Global Financial Leadership Study
Demographics - industry
7
8
5
8
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
10
8
8
Energy and resources (oil and gas mining)
Healthcare
Hi-Tech
Travel, tourism and hospitality
Utilities
Retail
Manufacturing
Technology
Telecommunications
Media, entertainment and information services)
Consumer products goods (CPG)
Insurance (Property, casualty, life, re-insurance)
Banks and financial services
Life sciences (pharma, devices)
Industry

18. 18
TCS 2021 Global Financial
Leadership Study
The Next Era in Financial Planning & Analysis
Key Findings Report
TCS Thought Leadership Institute
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