Data Strategy and Finance: Why Business Teams Must Regain Control of Financial Data
Publié
Le 04/06/2025, par :
- Anne Marie Diom
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In most organizations, digital transformation has placed data at the heart of business processes. Data drives decision-making, fuels innovation, and is widely recognized as a strategic asset. And yet data management often remains confined to IT departments, with little integration into business needs.
This disconnect is especially striking in the financial sector. A recent study revealed that 90% of insurance companies manage their data strategy independently of their business strategy, while nearly 60% are now taking steps to bridge that gap (Deloitte). While the study focuses on insurance, this finding applies more broadly to financial data management in large corporations, banks, and retailers.
At Calixys, we believe it’s time to give business teams—especially Finance—the ability to fully govern their financial data. Only then can data become a true lever of performance, compliance, and resilience.
If they’re not, discrepancies pile up, closing processes get delayed, and finance teams face unnecessary complexity.
In this context, intercompany reconciliation becomes a strategic issue for Finance departments. While many companies rely on tools dedicated exclusively to this use case, they often suffer from a lack of flexibility and scope. It’s time to rethink intercompany reconciliation in a more comprehensive, end-to-end way — one that serves both consolidation needs and operational efficiency.
Data Strategies Still Too Tied to IT
In many companies, data strategies are still owned and managed by IT departments. This is historically understandable, given concerns around infrastructure, security, quality, compliance, and storage. But such an approach often reduces data to a technical object—detached from its business impact.
As a result, finance teams—the primary users and interpreters of financial data—are left waiting. They depend on IT to update tools, access datasets, or implement new reporting capabilities. This slows down processes and holds back innovation.
The Risks of an IT-Only Approach to Financial Data Management
Financial data is not like other data. It is:
- Sensitive, governed by strict confidentiality and traceability requirements
- Regulated, in accordance with accounting standards, tax laws, and reporting obligations
- Complex, due to its volume, variety of sources (ERPs, PSPs, business tools, NOSTRO databases, etc.), and the need for detailed reconciliation
Entrusting it solely to IT limits its strategic value. Finance professionals must continuously analyze, reconcile, explain, and act on this data. If it’s not easily accessible, actionable, or adaptable to their needs, the entire financial value chain is compromised.
The consequences are tangible: extended closing cycles, unaddressed discrepancies, increased workload, and most critically, a loss of agility in financial operations.
Aligning Data Strategy with Business Goals: A Financial Performance Lever
Things are evolving. Many companies now recognize the need to better align their data strategies with operational priorities. As the study highlights, nearly 60% of organizations have launched initiatives to bring their data and business strategies together.
This alignment requires a shift in governance. Business teams must be involved early in shaping the data strategy—not only to express their needs but to co-lead the definition and implementation of concrete use cases. The goal is no longer just to collect and store data, but to leverage it intelligently for operational and regulatory impact.
Financial Data: Why Business Teams Need to Regain Control
At Calixys, we’ve seen that Finance departments are too often placed at the end of the data pipeline. And yet, these are the teams with domain expertise, compliance requirements, and accountability for results.
Regaining control over financial data is a strategic necessity, enabling finance teams to:
- Ensure a consolidated, up-to-date, and granular view of all financial flows
- Quickly model reconciliation rules, set thresholds, and generate new reports—without IT dependency
- Identify and resolve accounting discrepancies at the source
- Proactively manage risks and reduce the time spent on closing, controls, and audits
But this ownership is only possible if the right tools are in place. The solution lies not in offloading responsibility from IT, but in building a smart co-governance model, supported by flexible, secure, and business-centric platforms.
What Makes a Successful Financial Data Strategy: Tools, Governance, Culture
To enable finance teams to take ownership of their data, three success factors must be in place :
Tools Designed for Business Users
Financial data must be accessible to the people who understand it best. This means user-friendly interfaces, automation capabilities, and the ability to manage data without excessive IT involvement.
For example, Calixys solutions allow finance teams to independently model reconciliation rules, adjust matching criteria, and monitor discrepancies in real time. On a broader scale, they can adapt their processes and data strategy as business needs or regulations evolve, shortening validation chains and improving agility across the organization.
Shared Governance
This isn’t about pushing IT aside. Instead, it’s about building structured collaboration between IT and Finance. That means clearly defined roles, joint governance processes, and tools that meet security, scalability, and business usability standards.
A Strong Data Culture Within Finance
Lastly, business teams must be empowered and supported as they take on greater responsibility. This includes training, awareness of data quality and usage, and a shift in mindset: data is not just an operational necessity, but a strategic asset.
Conclusion
Financial data can no longer be treated as purely technical matters. It lies at the core of performance, compliance, and strategic decision-making. That’s why it must be governed by business teams—with the right tools, a shared governance model, and a strong data culture.
Giving Finance teams more control over their data doesn’t weaken IT—it strengthens the entire organization, building a balanced partnership that enhances value and resilience.
🧩 Quick Check: 5 Questions to Ask in Your Organization
- Who truly controls financial data today?
- Can business teams access it easily and securely?
- Are they able to model and adjust rules without IT intervention?
- Do we have a secure platform tailored to their needs?
- Is data treated as a strategic asset—or just a reporting burden?
