Better technology, better information.

• Position: Technology - Brief Article

A study earlier this year of 150 of the world's largest organizations, both in the U.S. and Europe, has concluded that technology is the main driver for improvements in information flow. Just under 80 percent of respondents chose technology, compared to specific, topical needs such as improvements in corporate governance (named by 29 percent) or more complicated accounting requirements (45 percent).

The study, commissioned by business performance management (BPM) specialist Cartesis SA, also found that 91 percent of respondents said that technology had significantly improved the quality and relevance of financial data available to them over the last couple of years. Yet the vast majority of respondents (89 percent) said that the finance department could add more value--and 78...