Welcome

What does good look like? Defining the forward-looking finance function for financial institutions

Sponsored by Sage
Thursday 3rd December 2026
Zoom

Finance teams in financial services are being asked to do more than report on what has already happened. As organisations face changing regulatory requirements, market volatility and growing demands for forward-looking insight, finance functions are increasingly expected to provide the data and analysis needed to shape what happens next.

But how far have finance teams actually progressed towards this role? Sage research has found that 82 per cent of financial services finance leaders want greater visibility into financial and operational data, while 90% want to improve how they communicate the financial implications of business decisions.

In this FStech digital roundtable, presented in partnership with Sage,we will bring together finance professionals from across the UK financial services sector to discuss the challenges they face, the approaches they are taking and what a more forward-looking finance function looks like in practice.

The discussion will explore where teams are making progress, where barriers remain and how better data, processes and technology could help finance spend less time looking backwards and more time supporting future decisions.

Topics for discussion:

• What is the biggest challenge currently preventing your finance team from moving beyond reporting the past and playing a more forward-looking role?

• How well does your finance team currently have access to the financial and operational data it needs, and where are the biggest gaps?

• When finance teams are under pressure to deliver more strategic insight, what tends to get in the way: data, systems, processes, skills or simply lack of time?

• What does becoming a genuinely data-led finance function look like in practice, and how far have organisations moved towards it?

• Where can AI and automation make a meaningful difference to finance teams today, and where is human judgement still essential?

• What should a high-performing financial services finance function look like in two to three years, and what needs to change now to get there?

Timings for the afternoon:

12:30 – 12:40        Editor’s Welcome
12:40 – 14:00        Topic Discussion

Brought to you by FStech