Achieving Digital World Class® Transformation in Finance With Gen AI

In times of economic uncertainty, the pressure on finance executives is more intense than ever. Strategic decisions must be made swiftly, and they must be backed by reliable insights and capable of navigating continuous market disruptions. While many organizations struggle with these challenges, some finance teams are not just surviving – they are thriving. These are the Digital World Class^® finance organizations.

These leaders in financial performance aren’t defined by luck or short-term decisions. Instead, they distinguish themselves through a combination of process excellence, digital enablement, customer-centric innovation and the rapid adoption of transformative technologies like generative AI (Gen AI).

The Digital World Class^® difference

Digital World Class^® finance organizations consistently outperform their peers across key business metrics. They operate with 45% lower costs as a percentage of revenue, despite rising costs elsewhere. But cost is just one dimension. These organizations excel across five critical performance pillars:

1. Effectiveness
2. Digital business enablement
3. Experience
4. Efficiency
5. Business process automation

So how do they do it?

1. Leading through process excellence

At the heart of Digital World Class^® performance is process excellence. More efficient processes free up time, empower staff to focus on strategic activities and generate sharper business insights (Fig. 1).

Digital World Class^® teams are able to accomplish the following:

• About 42% less time is spent on data collection.
• Approximately 68% of their time is allocated to data analysis – as opposed to 45% for peers.
• Strategic planning is deeply embedded within budgeting and forecasting, with a 54% higher likelihood of integration.

By aligning tightly with business goals and modernizing their digital architecture, these organizations gain real-time visibility and stronger control over capital allocation and risk.

2. Digital enablement powers the ecosystem

Digital World Class^® finance teams lead in modernizing digital infrastructure to improve user access and autonomy – for both internal and external stakeholders (Fig. 2).

• Two times more likely to let cost center managers enter budgets online.
• Nearly 100% customer access to web-based account applications (6X higher than peers).
• Suppliers are 7X more likely to use self-service digital tools.

This democratization of data and access reduces bottlenecks, improves efficiency and lays the groundwork for more informed decision-making.

3. Customer experience as a strategic lever

Customer-centric finance may sound like an oxymoron, but Digital World Class^® organizations prove it’s a winning strategy.

• 48% fewer billing errors and 25% more electronic billing
• 16% higher rate of receiving receivables within terms
• 2X more likely to provide internal stakeholders with self-service reporting tools

These enhancements significantly reduce friction for customers and internal teams, resulting in smoother operations and elevated business partner status (Fig. 3).

4. Efficiency through automation

Digital World Class^® organizations use automation not just to cut costs, but also to shift focus from routine tasks to higher-value activities (Fig. 4).

• While spending 57% less on planning and forecasting, they invest 24% more in business analysis.
• Forecast delivery is 57% faster than peers, enabling 74% quicker insights for executive decision-making.
• They also require fewer full-time equivalents across core domains: 24% fewer for revenue cycle, 29% fewer for accounting and 42% fewer for supplier disbursements.

Automation amplifies performance – not by replacing people but by freeing them to focus on what matters.

5. The automation edge

The most advanced organizations have completely reimagined core finance processes through automation.

• 56% higher automation of customer-to-cash processes
• 87% higher automatic cash application rates
• 43% more likely to have fully automated accounts payable workflows
• 99% automation of journal entries (compared to 85% among peers)

These automated operations aren’t just faster; they’re smarter, more accurate and more scalable.

Creating a Digital World Class^® operating model with Gen AI

So how can organizations close the performance gap?

By leveraging Gen AI, finance leaders can develop largely autonomous, insight-driven operating models. This means eliminating manual complexity, ensuring superior data quality, and reimagining how work is done in collaboration with both human and AI teammates.

To do so, enterprises must address the six essential elements of The Hackett Group^® Digital Service Delivery Model (Fig. 5):

1. Service design

• Emphasize customer-centric workflows.
• Introduce AI agents to handle repetitive or complex tasks autonomously.
• Reimagine services that allow humans and AI to collaborate seamlessly.

2. Technology

• Prioritize cloud-based solutions for agility and scalability.
• Implement Gen AI for forecasting, analytics and report automation.
• Eliminate data bloat and legacy tech debt to accelerate finance transformation.

3. Human capital

• Upskill and reskill the workforce to collaborate with AI.
• Build leadership acumen in managing digital transformation.
• Foster a culture that rewards innovation, collaboration and customer focus.

4. Analytics and information management

• Lead enterprise data governance.
• Build modern data architectures to support real-time insights.
• Deploy Gen AI for business analytics, risk forecasting and external reporting.

5. Service partnering

• Use third-party providers for efficiency but retain strategic control.
• Align with ethical, transparent AI partners for sustainable innovation.

6. Organization and governance

• Flatten structures to allow agile, AI-augmented workflows.
• Align teams around end-to-end processes that promote cross-functional collaboration.

Accelerating toward Digital World Class^® performance

We’re at a pivotal moment. For finance leaders, this is a rare opportunity to reshape the future of work to build organizations that are not only more efficient but more intelligent, agile and resilient.

To realize this vision:

• Take a top-down, enterprisewide approach.
• Prioritize disruptive automation.
• Reimagine old strategies and operations with Gen AI at the core.
• Encourage collaborative ideation to surface the best use cases.
• Move quickly from concept to implementation, with the right partners and tools, and build organizations that are not only more efficient but also more intelligent and agile.

Gen AI can’t wait. Neither can you.

Organizations that integrate AI into their operations will outpace those that don’t. Early adopters are already reimagining work, gaining a significant edge in performance and competitive advantage. While the risks associated with AI are genuine, they can be effectively managed. In today’s fast-evolving landscape, failing to keep up is the greater danger. By adopting a structured approach to ideation, use case development and implementation, businesses can seize opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.

It’s time to act. Contact us for more information or to schedule a demonstration.