AI adoption in finance often fails due to poor ROI measurement. CFOs who treat AI like financial infrastructure, not an IT experiment, unlock efficiency, accuracy, and long-term advantage.
Centida’s blog
Business Intelligence for Financial Management applications
Analytics That Drive Action: Beyond ‘Self-Service’
Self-service analytics promised freedom from endless data requests, but in practice, most projects stall in unused dashboards and unclear KPIs. This article breaks down the critical elements that make analytics deliver real business impact. From defining business questions to embedding industry context, building governance, tailoring outputs, and ensuring adoption, we outline a proven, start-to-finish approach used by leading analytics consulting firms.
Vertical Analytics is the Future of Planning
This article explains why industry-specific planning is essential in the age of modern analytics. It explores how vertical analytics outperforms generic dashboards, when to bring in external experts, and how to design models around real operational needs, not abstract KPIs.
6 Data and Analytics Trends That Will Shape 2025 and Beyond
The landscape of data and analytics is transforming. This article highlights six key trends reshaping how companies operate and plan in 2025. Learn how AI, decision intelligence, and vertical tools will drive the future, and what to do now.
AI Adoption Is Outpacing Data Literacy in Business
AI adoption is accelerating across industries, but data literacy hasn’t kept pace. This article explores the growing gap, the risks it creates, and how companies can build the skills and foundations needed to make AI work in real business environments.
Excel and Modern Finance: Breaking Free from Spreadsheet Dependency
Despite advances in finance automation, Excel continues to dominate budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. This article explores why finance teams still cling to spreadsheets, the hidden costs of staying stuck, and how to evolve toward a modern finance tech stack without losing control.
GenAI ROI in Finance: Turning Hype Into Real Business Value
GenAI spending is accelerating, yet many finance teams struggle to prove ROI. With 87% of leaders increasing budgets, the pressure is on to deliver real value. This article shows how CFOs and FP&A leaders can bring strategy, governance, and focus to AI efforts—and turn hype into results.
AI Adoption in Finance Leadership: A Strategic Role for the Future
As AI adoption accelerates, finance leadership must evolve. This article explores how finance leaders can move from enforcing budgets to enabling strategic AI deployment, ensuring that investments create measurable business value.
What is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) in AI and Why It Matters
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) is a powerful AI technique that reduces hallucinations by grounding large language models in trusted business data. Learn how RAG enhances accuracy, governance, and business impact.
AI Agents: Transforming Productivity
AI agents are transforming businesses by automating complex tasks, cutting costs, and driving innovation. This article explains what AI agents are, explores practical examples across industries, discusses key benefits and challenges, and offers strategic advice on successfully implementing AI agents to gain a competitive advantage.
Preparing for CSRD: Effective ESG Strategies
This article explains the shift from NFRD to CSRD and why the new regulation is a significant shift for ESG reporting in the EU. It outlines the key challenges companies face, including data management, resource allocation, and evolving regulatory standards, and examines various compliance options such as hiring external consultants and leveraging advanced software.
Why CFOs Cannot Ignore ESG Reporting Anymore
As ESG regulations tighten, businesses must move beyond checkbox compliance and embrace sustainability as a financial and strategic advantage. This article explores the legal and financial risks of poor ESG management, highlights real-world case studies like Outokumpu’s AI-driven sustainability strategy, and explains how AI-powered ESG reporting can help companies streamline compliance, enhance risk management, and drive operational efficiency.
Budgeting: Agile vs. Traditional
Agile budgeting is transforming FP&A, enabling companies to adjust financial plans in real time. However, without reliable, well-governed data, frequent re-forecasting can lead to poor decision-making, budget overruns, and lost credibility. This article explores why speed alone isn’t enough, the financial risks of bad data in agile planning, and three key strategies to ensure budgeting agility is backed by accurate, aligned, and timely financial intelligence. By centralizing data, automating validation, and enforcing accountability, finance teams can create a fast, flexible, and financially disciplined budgeting process.
7 Priorities for SMBs in Data Analytics in 2025
This article outlines 7 data analytics priorities tailored to small and mid-sized businesses. From effective governance to practical MLOps, each priority is designed to help organizations stay competitive and data-driven in the year ahead.
Controlling Microsoft Fabric Cost
As Microsoft retires traditional Power BI Premium licenses, small and medium-sized businesses face new cost challenges with the shift to Microsoft Fabric. This article breaks down the changes and offers simple, actionable steps to control expenses—such as starting small, mixing license types, monitoring usage, and considering flexible billing options. By focusing on these strategies, SMBs can confidently navigate the transition, maintain data insights, and keep their budgets in check.
Vertical Analytics is the Future of Planning
This article explains why industry-specific planning is essential in the age of modern analytics. It explores how vertical analytics outperforms generic dashboards, when to bring in external experts, and how to design models around real operational needs, not abstract KPIs.
6 Data and Analytics Trends That Will Shape 2025 and Beyond
The landscape of data and analytics is transforming. This article highlights six key trends reshaping how companies operate and plan in 2025. Learn how AI, decision intelligence, and vertical tools will drive the future, and what to do now.
AI Adoption Is Outpacing Data Literacy in Business
AI adoption is accelerating across industries, but data literacy hasn’t kept pace. This article explores the growing gap, the risks it creates, and how companies can build the skills and foundations needed to make AI work in real business environments.