For years, finance leaders have been seeking ways to leverage technology to make their organizations future ready. The current pandemic exposed the shortcomings of outdated platforms and accelerated the pace of innovation, even as some organizations battle for their very lives.

In the second of the five-part webcast series Agile Finance Reimagined, produced by Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA & CIMA) and sponsored by Oracle, top experts discussed innovative ways finance organizations can reimagine their businesses and adapt to the sweeping industry and regulatory changes ushered in the COVID-19, with the end goal of outperforming the market. Joining Ash Noah, Managing Partner at AICPA, for the webcast were Kyle Hawke, a partner in McKinsey & Company's Corporate Business Function practice, and Rondy Ng, Senior Vice President of ERP Applications Development at Oracle.

The bold moves draw from research conducted by McKinsey & Co. on the financial performance of 1,500 companies following the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, to understand how the top 25% in terms of total returns to shareholders, were able to outperform their competitors after the downturn. These "Resilients," the research found, shared key characteristics, including an aggressive approach to reallocating resources and investing in productivity initiatives within the organization.