How has digital transformed the Finance workforce in government?
Digital modernisation investments appear to have paid off
Digital modernisation investments are transforming the Finance workforce within the federal government—making the finance function more of a strategic partner.
Key investments in digital modernisation are transforming the Finance workforce within the federal government’s largest civilian agencies.1 A decade ago, many agencies initiated significant digital transformation programmes, such as modernised enterprise resource planning migrations, that have paved the way for further modernisation. Deloitte’s experience working with many of these organisations over the last decade points to increased investments in cloud, process automation, and advanced analytics that are paying dividends and reducing the need for human intervention in the finance function.
The result is a smaller financial management workforce that is shifting from transactional roles to non-transactional, value-added ones. This is borne out by the decreasing trend over the last eight years: The number of financial management positions in the federal government’s largest civilian agencies has decreased by close to 12% overall, with transactional jobs decreasing over 16% (figure 1).2 Workforce allocation in these top agencies is also approaching top private sector benchmarks: The American Productivity & Quality Center reported that companies that fall within the 25th percentile allocate 70% or more time to non-transactional Finance activities.3
This trend highlights how the Finance function has been transforming into a cross-cutting business partner that can deliver insights and help increase speed and accuracy of decisions. While the data above demonstrates the impact of digital modernisation in the largest civilian agencies, smaller agencies have also been vaulted into digital modernisation, as the global pandemic has required the government to roll out solutions with unprecedented speed.
Governments can take advantage of the current momentum and lessons learned over the past year-and-a-half to continue on the path of becoming a truly digital enterprise. To learn more about this path, check out Accelerated digital government.4
Finance Transformation Services
CFOs know finance transformation can be difficult and time-consuming. But they also know it’s an effective way to keep up with the changing needs of the business. Whether it’s technology disruption, business model innovation, or a new industry ecosystem, Deloitte helps finance organisations look ahead to what’s next while keeping the ship on a steady course.
