Optimizing Your Tech Stack: 3 Tips for the Modern CFO

CFOs are no longer only responsible for driving down costs or planning strategically for next year’s budget—they now must also prioritize making important technological decisions for their organization. 

This includes optimizing the business’s tech stack. Unlike the current topic of “tech consolidation”, optimizing a tech stack focuses on evaluating current systems to ensure they’re solving real problems and providing positive ROI. Systems that are beneficial can be worked into the CFO’s future plans, while ineffective one should be eliminated or replaced.  

In this blog, we’ll take a look at the problems an ineffective tech stack can bring to an organization and share three tips for CFOs looking to expertly optimize their tech stacks for continued success.  

The Risks of an Inefficient Tech Stack 

An inefficient tech stack can wreak havoc on an otherwise steady, reliable organization’s internal workings. For CFOs, the following three risks can have long-lasting negative impacts—not only on employees but also on the health of the business itself. 

Risk 1: Fragmented Workflows 

Efficient workflows, especially in the finance department, ensure that payment, vendor information, customer information, and other vital data flow seamlessly and accurately throughout the organization.  

If a business is relying on systems that integrate poorly or not at all with each other, these important workflows may as well not exist. The flow of information will be stymied by incompatible records, different styles of data capture or management, or simply poor execution due to differing communication styles between the various systems. This results in more work for back-office staff, who now have to spend time manually correcting inaccurately paired data or dealing with frustrated vendors who have been paid the wrong amount or at the wrong time. 

Risk 2: Increased Potential for Fraud and Cybersecurity Breaches 

Similarly, if solutions in a business’s tech stack aren’t communicating properly, there is an increased risk of fraud and cybersecurity events. With no universal “rule” in place for flagging suspicious payments, duplicated files, or potentially malicious invoices, these fraudulent activities can slip through the cracks.  

Given fraud’s rise and the increased ingenuity of hackers, a vulnerable tech stack is a huge liability for any CFO—and the organization they’re responsible for.  

Risk 3: Unnecessary Costs 

Even as the role of the CFO has grown and changed in recent years, these professionals remain in charge of their organization’s long-term financial health. While having a diverse tech stack is common and often necessary, keeping systems and solutions in place that no longer serve the business’s output goals is an instant drain on important financial resources. 

Money that could be spent on hiring new staff, investing in new tools—like automation—that improve operational performance, or on office space is instead being funneled into systems that do nothing to enhance the business’s bottom line. As a CFO, failing to identify and remove these inefficient pieces of your tech stack can cost you more than just ROI—it can cost you your organization’s trust. 

3 Tips on How to Optimize Your Tech Stack 

Now that we’ve examined some of the biggest risks of relying on an unwieldy, inefficient tech stack, it’s time to discuss ways CFOs can avoid this pitfall. 

Tip 1: Audit Your Existing Systems 

Whether your tech stack involves two solutions or twenty-five, understanding the role that each one plays in your organization’s day-to-day operations is key. Without performing regular, thorough audits, your business is vulnerable to all three risks mentioned earlier. 

Not only is an audit a great way to evaluate how each system is performing, it also opens the door for more cost-effective solutions to replace outdated, legacy, or poorly chosen systems in your tech stack. 

Tip 2: Evaluate Potential All-in-One Solutions 

The popularity of all-in-one solutions is on the rise—and for good reason. Many vendors have created solutions that now cater to the entire back office, instead of siloed, one-off systems that only benefit the AP team, HR, or IT.  

Not only are all-in-one solutions often better for ROI, they also ensure that all of an organization’s sensitive, financial information is in one place. This centrality reduces security risks, increases staff productivity, and eliminates the miscommunication that often occurs between systems from different vendors. 

Tip 3: Identify and Reduce Barriers to Adoption 

Inefficient systems in your tech stack? Removed. New solutions that work to elevate your organization’s goals? Identified, purchased, and ready to take your back office to new heights. Your staff? Not convinced. 

Change is hard for many professionals, especially ones who are used to operating out of legacy systems (yes, even the headache-inducing ones). As a CFO, it’s important to cultivate staff buy-in when optimizing your tech stack. You'll need to have answers to common questions like: 

• Will we be trained on the new solution before it goes live? 

• Why was this system chosen to replace our old one?  

• How will this new solution impact my day-to-day tasks and responsibilities? 

Outside of staff concerns, it’s also vital that any new solutions address any issues caused by previous systems, while also empowering better performance and operational success overall. A band-aid style switch for a lower cost isn’t real tech stack optimization—any new solutions need to integrate, elevate, and energize the business at large. 

At DocuPhase, our suite of automation solutions is the perfect answer for CFOs curious about tech stack optimization. From AP to Document Management, integrated payments to human-in-the-loop OCR, our software has been designed to elevate your important back-office processes without adoption woes and headaches for your staff.  

Schedule a demo with one of our automation experts today to see how our solutions can benefit your business’s bottom line!