has been top-of-mind throughout 2019, particularly as digital transformation remains high on the agenda of C-suite leaders. How do you react to uncertain market conditions when change is the only constant? How do you build the tools and processes that will allow your business to deliver new digital products and services? And, of course, all of this happens against a backdrop of continuous innovation.
I’ve definitely seen a move toward a more dynamic approach. Even at Alight, we used to conduct business planning as a once-a-year process. Now we are constantly evolving our thinking and planning 12 months ahead. Earlier this year, when we were less than halfway through the year, we were already thinking about 2020. Given the economic environment, you have to continue to evolve your plan and have the right tools and processes in place to be able to refine plans as the market evolves.
You gave a nod to it in your last answer, but do you think that as tech such as, artificial intelligence and machine learning , become widespread, finance professionals will be less from traditional accounting backgrounds and more from data science disciplines? One of the key components of organizational agility is the ability to make faster decisions, which means the need to move decision making closer to the customer. Do you think finance leaders are empowering their teams to make decisions, or is hierarchy and top-down management still a barrier to that?