By Jessica Berroth
Updated on July 25, 2025
Prioritizing Digital Finance Transformation Investments in Tech Innovation
Digital transformation has rapidly redefined the accounting and finance landscape, introducing next-generation operating models, digital-first customer experiences and agile workforce strategies. Foundational shifts are driving finance transformation as a core business imperative. Simultaneously, digital trends bring an added layer of complexity and urgency to readiness for business transformation in the finance space.
Key trends shaping finance business transformation in 2025 include:
- Accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption to automate transactional work and support strategic planning
- Developing autonomous finance capabilities using predictive and prescriptive analytics
- Modernizing cloud-based and ERP systems while adopting blockchain to reinforce cybersecurity and data protections
- Addressing digital talent gaps through specialized hiring and upskilling initiatives
To stay competitive, accounting and finance leaders must leverage these strategies to improve efficiency, resilience and ROI. Two core pillars stand out: advancing finance automation initiatives and extracting ever-greater value from financial data.
Embracing AI Business Transformation
As part of business transformation in finance, companies are integrating artificial intelligence and automation to increase operational efficiencies, streamline decision-making and address talent shortages.
According to the KPMG Global AI in Finance Report, 71% of finance functions already use AI in some capacity, with 41% embedding it to a moderate or large extent. In 2025, Vena Solutions reports that 57% of finance leaders reported they are actively refining AI in finance use cases.
AI-Automated Finance Tasks and Strategic Decision-Making
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technique that takes manual processes and allows them to be automatically repeated at a large scale. In the world of finance, RPA automates repeatable functions such as bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, invoicing and payroll. By reducing reliance on hard-to-fill, entry-level roles, businesses can redirect talent toward higher-value, strategic-minded touchpoints like forecasting and risk analysis.
This shift not only supports cost-efficiency but also unlocks career development pathways for employees focused on this type of strategy-focused work. Successful adoption requires a shared commitment to upskilling and reskilling to thrive in an AI-enhanced environment.
Shifting to Autonomous Finance and Advanced Finance Data Analytics
In conjunction with business transformation initiatives, more organizations are moving beyond simple automation in finance data analytics. Instead, they are leveraging autonomous finance — AI and machine learning — to influence real-time decisions with minimal human oversight. Functions like forecasting, analytics and data insights are at the helm of this digital financial transformation.
Autonomous Forecasting vs Automated Forecasting
Innovative organizations are using both automated and autonomous financial forecasting to gain speed and accuracy in predicting future outcomes. While similar in name and their ability to harness data to support financial planning, autonomous forecasting and automated forecasting differ in execution and sophistication.
Specifically, automated forecasting still requires manual input and oversight, while autonomous forecasting independently builds and deploys models, adapting to new data and improving accuracy over time.
Advanced Finance Analytics to Empower Decision-Making
Modern finance teams are leveraging a full spectrum of advanced analytics to support critical business transformation milestones, such as:
- Descriptive analytics to understand what happened
- Diagnostic analytics to determine why
- Predictive analytics to anticipate outcomes
- Prescriptive analytics to guide future actions
These capabilities are central to enabling faster, data-driven decisions.
Breaking Down Data Silos Across Finance Functions and Insights
To fully realize the benefits of autonomous finance, organizations must address persistent data silos. When finance, operations and other business units operate in isolation, they limit the ability to derive valuable, enterprise-wide insights. Dashboards and business intelligence tools play a role in unifying disparate datasets, but bridging the talent gap between finance analysts and data scientists remains essential to surfacing actionable intelligence that supports real-time decision-making, predictive accuracy and organizational digital finance transformation.
Adopting New Finance Technologies and Scalable Infrastructures
Foundational and new finance technologies play a pivotal role in enabling game-changing digital finance transformation.
To sustain the momentum of digital transformation, organizations must invest in both foundational systems and new finance technologies. Cloud-based platforms, modern ERP systems, enhanced cybersecurity protocols and blockchain innovations are becoming key enablers of a resilient, future-ready finance infrastructure that support overarching business transformation.
Shifting to Cloud-Based Systems
With major software vendors phasing out on-site finance systems, cloud-based finance platforms offer scalability, cost-effectiveness and improved functionality. These systems enhance fraud detection, support risk forecasting and contribute to an organization’s efforts to protect the business and remain ahead of the competition. Additionally, moving to cloud-based platforms has the potential to reduce top talent burnout — not to mention accompanying turnover rates — by easing labor-intensive workloads.
Find out how a large, overstaffed nonprofit used an Oracle Cloud upgrade for their accounting and financial work to optimize performance and decrease headcount.
Modernizing ERP Systems
A cohesive ERP environment empowers finance leaders to manage financial tools, data systems and applications more effectively and respond quickly to business needs. Cloud-based ERP systems enhance efficiency by enabling seamless workflows and real-time insights, while also laying the groundwork for automation and analytics across departments. Alternatively, outdated systems slow down productivity, expose organizations to cybersecurity risks and frustrate employees.
Upgrading to a modern ERP platform is a necessary step in building a more agile and forward-looking finance function.
Find out how a fleet management organization launched a new ERP system to successfully enable automation, artificial intelligence and advanced analytics in their processes.
Strengthening Cybersecurity in Finance and Risk Management
As digital finance systems grow more interconnected and data-reliant, cybersecurity is swiftly emerging as one of the most critical areas of risk management. A 2025 poll found that 71% of senior executives expect financial crime risk to rise over the next 12 months. This underscores the urgency for stronger safeguards for cybersecurity in finance and accounting functions.
Reducing Risk with Blockchain Technology in Finance Services
Once primarily associated with cryptocurrency, blockchain technology has more recently evolved into a trusted tool for enhancing transparency, security and efficiency across financial services. Now, finance teams are increasingly leveraging blockchain’s decentralized data storage and real-time validation capabilities to minimize the need for third-party verification and mitigate the risk of fraud or manipulation.
Blockchain enhances financial service operations by:
- Enabling faster, automated transactions with fewer intermediaries
- Providing tamper-proof, immutable records and smart contract capabilities
- Maintaining compliance through decentralized finance and cryptographic security
- Facilitating asset tokenization, increasing liquidity and creating new investment avenues
As finance leaders seek to strengthen governance and reduce exposure to cyber threats, blockchain technology in finance offers a compelling, future-ready foundation.
Hiring and Upskilling Digital Finance Talent to Fill In-Demand Skill Gaps
Finance technology is only as effective as the people using it. And the continued shortage of skilled digital finance talent has made talent a critical pillar of finance business transformation.
Attract, Develop and Retain Digital Finance Talent
Employers must offer competitive compensation, career advancement pathways and training opportunities to retain right-fit talent.
While automation reduces the need for some entry-level roles, demand remains high for professionals with advanced accounting and finance expertise, particularly those with experience using automation and AI tools.
However, these digital finance skills are brand-new and not everyone possesses them — yet. Team members and candidates lacking the latest skill set right now, but showing promise in their ability to learn quickly, are worth developing. Upskilling initiatives, including training in new finance technologies and cross-functional collaboration, are essential to keeping experienced professionals engaged and future-ready and to ensuring the digital finance transformation outlook remains sustainable over the long term.
Consulting a Strategic Accounting and Finance Staffing Partner
Partnering with a workforce solutions firm like Aston Carter helps businesses address short- and long-term finance talent needs. A combination of deep connections to skilled digital finance talent, process optimization and strategic best practices supports even the most ambitious digital finance transformation journeys. Our consultative approach ensures accounting and finance teams are set up for success, from project inception to execution.
With access to one of the industry’s largest specialized talent networks and robust project oversight capabilities, we provide tailored solutions to help your organization navigate today’s evolving finance landscape.
Contact us to learn how Aston Carter can help guide and execute on your digital finance and business transformation initiatives.
*The original version of this article was published on August 16, 2023
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