Decision-making is key for any business: how the leadership of the business governs its management, how managers strategise and how the team performs overall depends on the decisions made.
The right decisions could lead to exponential growth; the wrong ones, to a failed business.
The most important tool for any business to make the right decision is data. This is why more businesses, from well-established companies to start-ups, are using more tools for gathering data in order to make the right decisions.
At the ICATT Annual International Finance and Accounting Conference at the Hyatt last week, panellists discussed data-driven financial management and how it benefits businesses.
Moderator Anthony Pierre, the managing director of Moore TT, said data analytics is evolving rapidly and being influenced by technological advancements.
“Big organisations are increasingly relying on the localisation of data and data analytics. To take strategic financial decisions, optimise resource allocations and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
“The ability to harness data does not only enhances decision-making, but also provides a competitive edge in a dynamic marketplace.”
Panellists included Michael Oderson, chief product officer of Enginuitty, which specialises in digital transformation; Kerri Maharaj, chief financial officer at the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC); and Nigel Newallo-Singh, acting head of security assurance and operations at IGovTT.
They all agreed data-driven management was not just about efficiently running numbers but about optimising business performance by taking a deeper look at operations, insightful analysis and making decisions based on the facts.
Getting the facts on your business
In the past, people made decisions based on market facts, financial statements and good old-fashioned intuition and experience.
Maharaj, in his presentation before the discussion, said the problem with this approach is there are often a lot of statements and beliefs in an organisation that become almost canon.
“People believe it and it becomes part of the decisions they make.”
[caption id="attachment_1123349" align="alignnone" width="1024"] GET THE FACTS ON YOUR BUSINESS: Kerri Maharaj, chief financial officer of Unit Trust Corporation, at ICATT's annual International Finance and Accounting Conference 2024 at Hyatt Regency, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain, on November 22. - Faith Ayoung[/caption]
He gave the audience at ICATT an example from Unit Trust, where it was always believed that its best investor was young and female.
“When we delved into the data, we saw there is a split of male-female.
"Then we looked at the amount of money invested by different age groups. It didn’t necessarily say they were younger.
“When we looked at the amount of money that the respective genders were investing, it was actually opposite to the first pie chart.”
The data, Maharaj said, brought the company to conclude male and female investors at UTC were relatively similar.
In another example, Maharaj spoke
