INTHEBLACK July 2026 - Magazine - Page 37
Innovation must be tightly
aligned with strategy and
measured across inputs,
processes and outcomes to
ensure it delivers sustained
business impact.
Strong measurement
frameworks help finance
leaders direct funding
effectively, prioritise high-value
initiatives and scale ideas that
deliver results.
Innovation can be one of the
hardest areas to measure — and
without the right framework, one
of the easiest to get wrong.
Begin with setting strategic goals
and avoid “innovation theatre”,
where activity does not equate
to valuable outcomes.
Words Rosalyn Page
While AI is accelerating
innovation efforts, an
overemphasis on short-term
returns can limit longer-term
strategic value, growth and
competitive advantage.
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FINANCE LEADERS ARE HELPING TO STEER ORGANISATIONS
through macro shocks like interest rates rises, the introduction of
artificial intelligence (AI) and the energy crisis. In this climate, pulling
back on innovation spending can feel like the safe call.
In many ways, the opposite is true. Innovation is a pathway to growth
that helps organisations thrive in periods of uncertainty, according
to McKinsey research.
However, it should not fall into “innovation theatre” where activity
is mistaken for outcomes. Innovation needs to be aligned with strategic
organisational goals.
Kaushika Jayalath CPA, principal solutions consultant at Oracle
and a CPA Australia board member, believes that properly measuring
innovation is more than a reporting challenge — it requires the right
strategy and discipline. Organisations do not fail at innovation because
they lack ideas, he says, “they fail because they lack measurement
architecture that will force decisions when push comes to shove;
where capital is reallocated, initiatives are stopped and successful bets
are scaled”.
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 37
