By Tim Dively by CLA

In Part 1 of this blog series, we focused on the importance of considering digital in your budget process by leveraging data to help identify organizational priorities. In Part 2, we’ll discuss foundational leading practices to get you on the right path during the upcoming budget season.

Working digital conversations and considerations into your institution can help identify and implement customer and member preferences while creating an innovative culture for your employees. Those wins can help light the path to your organization’s digital journey. Remember, digital isn’t just customer-facing solutions like an app, it’s a way to improve what you currently do, by doing it more efficiently.

Digital, IT, and cybersecurity plan helps organizational awareness of digital

Having a digital, IT, and cybersecurity strategic plan that looks out at a rolling 24 – 36 months is a great start to get in front of future needs. It can also help reduce cost and resource surprises when you’ve made your decision to move forward on a particular digital solution.

This plan can help the entire organization know what’s on the horizon for future spend — and the benefits it will have on your institution in the longer term. Most digital spend is not a “one and done” situation, nor does it always stand alone as an isolated spend. Look at scalable solutions that align with your rolling digital strategy as you mature in your journey.

Year-over-year, with the right strategic plan in place, you’ll continue to incrementally build with less significant budget impacts as a result of your foundational investments to support your digital journey.

Leading practices for considering digital in the budget process

Regardless of where you are in your digital journey and budget process, a continuous improvement mindset can help your institution be aware of opportunities year-round — instead of only considering them during your budget cycle.

If you’re only thinking about digital as it relates to cost, these leading practices could help put you on a better trajectory:

• Define what digital means at your institution.
• Develop an overall bank strategic plan for the next 24 – 36 months with specific measurables, timelines, and accountability defined.
• Develop a data strategy to help drive your digital journey.
• Develop a digital, IT, and cyber strategic plan that aligns with the overall bank strategic plan. (Review and update your plan monthly to align with any changes in the landscape or customer preferences.)
• Develop a place where employees and customers can provide suggestions on where processes and customer experiences might be improved.
• Find champions across your organization to foster an innovative culture with both internal processes and customer experience improvements in mind.
• Reach out to your vendors and make sure you are taking full advantage of the functionality of your systems instead of first looking at bringing in an entirely new solution.
• Align your IT or digital-related committee agendas with your data review, vendor management, and digital, IT, and cyber plan for consistency in planning and forecasting.
• Think about digital, process improvements, and the customer/member experience every day, not just at budget season. Allow your data strategy to ease that burden.
• Make sure proposed digital solutions are properly scoped to account for implementation costs, ongoing costs, internal resource availability, risk management, and overall cost savings/time savings/quality realized.
• Consider reinvesting a portion of your savings from efficiency efforts (10 – 20%) into expanding your digital solutions.

For more information on digital solutions, contact Tim Dively at tim.dively@CLAconnect.com or 704-816-8575.

The information contained herein is general in nature and is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, accounting, investment, or tax advice or opinion provided by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) to the reader. For more information, visit CLAconnect.com.

CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through our industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor.