Fear of data loss a key concern for digital finance transformation

There are many considerations for financial decision-makers to evaluate when changing accounting software. In fact, more than 12,000 UK organisations are struggling with outdated accounting software, as many financial directors fear losing data if they move to the cloud.

Our research has revealed that over a quarter of UK finance decision-makers (26%) were concerned over data access – with 14% citing historical data loss and 12% citing having to pay to use historical data as major barriers to changing accounting systems.

The sizeable survey gathered experiences from 1,000 UK-based finance decision-makers working in organisations that employ between 50 and 500 employees. 

The survey showed the top three reasons why UK finance decision-makers are hesitant about changing accounting software including 14% who are afraid of losing historical data. 

Financial decision-makers were also concerned about the cost of having to pay a Right to Use licence (RTU) in order to access historical data and the expense of changing accounting systems as part of their digital finance transformation journey.

The industry needs to do more to ensure finance teams have access to their historical financial data, especially as an RTU licence costs typically 50% to 100% of the standard software licence.

It begs the question, ‘why are finance software providers holding customers to ransom?’

Ultimately, a hesitance to change systems may be holding the finance function back, seeing as finance leaders are trapped using legacy, on-premise software in their finance departments - all to the detriment of their organisation. 

But, there are a host of benefits to using the cloud for your organisation, which may help persuade others on the board that a change is required.

Why is data security better in the cloud when implementing your digital finance transformation project?

Finance leaders are often divided when it comes to using the cloud for finance digital transformation, which can come down to understanding the benefits that cloud accounting software can offer. 

Embracing change is essential to move forwards. The cloud provides the most reliable form of data security – far greater levels of security and redundancy compared with legacy on-premise systems, and there are a host of other digital finance transformation benefits of migrating to cloud-based accounting software. 

The reason that the cloud is so secure for data is because servers are often located in highly secure locations, and files stored on the cloud are encrypted so they are harder for data criminals to access.

Tips to note to make the transition to the cloud easier to manage as a finance director

UK finance decision-makers need to have the ability to export and store historical data and immediately overcome this barrier.

Financial decision-makers looking at changing accounting software should make sure research is carried out and that legacy data can be accessed without requiring a costly and unnecessary RTU licence.

The full results of the independent market research are available to view in our report, titled: ‘A study 1,000 CFOs - the finance function and the limitations of current accounting systems'.