SAS, the global leader in Business Intelligence solutions, on Wednesday announced the launch of SAS Financial Intelligence, an advanced portfolio of software solutions that helps organizations achieve more predictive, accurate and timely results from their finance functions. By using SAS Financial Intelligence, the finance department can deliver a comprehensive perspective for performance management and transform itself into a confident, trusted adviser that supplies valuable intelligence to the entire enterprise.
 
 "SAS Financial Intelligence is our biggest SAS9 solution launch to date," said Sudipta Sen, MD & CEO, SAS India Pvt. Ltd. "With new government regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Basel II, CFOs have both increased organizational power and added responsibility. With this new focus on finance, organizations need to have unwavering confidence in the financial data they create and in the analysis of this data for making timely and accurate business decisions. SAS Financial Intelligence helps CFOs prepare for the unexpected by providing better enterprise planning and optimizing performance management."

CFOs need to anticipate and respond effectively to changes in business and market conditions. To do so, CFOs require a cost-effective way to gather, analyze and report accurate and timely financial information. SAS Financial Intelligence helps CFOs plan better by providing integrated forecasting, optimization and planning capabilities delivered through one common platform: the SAS9 Intelligence Platform.
 
The suite of SAS Financial Intelligence solutions collects and consolidates financial data from across the enterprise more quickly and efficiently while providing time for value-added analysis and planning. Finance groups can develop accurate, cost-driven and demand-driven forecasts, and then complement those forecasts with alternative cost and profit scenarios, helping develop an informed opinion on how to adapt rapidly to any business situation.
 
John Hagerty, vice president at AMR Research, observed three top concerns for CFOs. "The first is alignment and accountability, the second is risk management, and the third is managing and communicating business performance. Faced with these challenges, CFOs need systems that integrate financial data and performance management while helping them meet current and new regulations.