Reimagining Real Estate: How innovations in finance and new system implementations are reshaping the property sector.
Have you accounted for the transformation of your finance department, processes and business systems in your FY25/26 budget?
The real estate sector has suffered from several external hits over the past five years. First, it was majorly affected by the dwindling occupancies of offices brought on by the Covid pandemic, then through lower investment in the space as global economic conditions have worsened. Within real estate finance and accounting departments, they’ve had to pivot their offerings to deal with great variety across portfolios and deal with the lack of qualified candidates coming through to manage this change.
This year, however, from the conversations we’ve had so far, seems to be the year that organisations across the real estate spectrum are taking back control, as they begin to allocate time and resource towards the transformation of their finance functions and systems they’re operating with.
Why are transformation projects proving so popular now?
Transformational projects are coming to the fore for a number of reasons.
Innovation in technologies
AI might be the buzz acronym of the moment, but it’s only part of what’s influencing the transformation.
Within real estate specifically, we now live in a data-driven sector, where investors and boards are demanding real-time analytics to understand the true performance of assets. This is both influencing the skills people in the real estate sector need, with modelling capabilities needed now across many real disciplines, and the technologies they’re utilising to give them this accurate data.
The tech can provide improved compliance and risk management capabilities
The real estate sector is subject to a multitude of regulatory requirements, from planning complications to overly complicated tax and accounting standards. Periodic evaluation of a company’s financial processes and systems can provide organisations with the tools they need to stay compliant with changing laws and regulatory protocols, minimising the risk of costly fines or legal issues.
Cost Reduction and Optimised Resource Allocation
With cashflow being decimated through market inactivity and portfolio demands, the ability to manage headcount and automate processes to reduce costs has become more important than ever.
Finance transformation provides real estate companies with a better understanding of their resource usage. With enhanced reporting and analysis, they can make data-driven decisions about where to allocate resources, whether it’s in property acquisitions, renovations, or technology investments. This optimised resource allocation leads to higher returns on investment and greater profitability.
Timing and the fear of missing out
As if the reasons above weren’t factors pushing the change enough, we’ve spoken to numerous firms that have embarked on their transformation journey now because of relative stability in their organisations – at least in comparison to the past 5 or so years.
This next financial year is proving to be a ‘line in the sand’ moment for many to prioritise the transformation of their organisations, with a view to the next year being where they can truly reap the rewards of these changes. If they’re not implementing these changes, there’s fear that the competition will, and that they’ll be able to gain an advantage because of it.
Budgeting for it as part of an organisation’s FY25/26 strategy ensures that it’s something that will be tackled during the next year.
What technology and systems are being implemented?
This year alone we’ve picked up on various new technologies being implemented across finance teams and, indeed, whole real estate organisations.
Financial planning tools like Anaplan and Oracle are being rolled out to help reduce time and create more robust budgeting, forecasting, and cashflow management processes.
Specific data visualisation and business intelligence tools like Tableau and Power BI are helping businesses make better decisions by manipulating data efficiently.
And organisations are migrating their entire suites to new systems, with Microsoft Dynamics 365 proving most popular amongst those we’ve spoken to so far.
We’ve seen these changes because we’ve been working with organisations to find their next Finance Transformation Leads, Data Leads, PMO Leads, Transformations Directors, and more – the senior people skilled across specific finance or business systems and the management of their implementation.
How can I stay ahead of the curve?
The curve is already happening, but if you’re budgeting to adjust to the curve, you’re on the right track.
We have a network of professionals who are already at the forefront of these new technologies in their day jobs - the interim and permanent finance personnel who have experience in managing process changes, and the change management/business system professionals who are used to being accountable for the rollout of new systems across departments and entire organisations.
Understand the transformation projects that are being worked on by organisations in the real estate sector, or find out more about the professionals that are helping them scale at pace by getting in touch with us here. Or, keep your eyes peeled for our next piece on transformation in the real estate sector coming soon.
