Cédric Rouzée shares his vision of current and future developments in the transformation of finance functions.
Finance Forward, the event that brought the corporate finance ecosystem together
On June 24, 2025, Finance Forward, organized by Micropole and Talan at the Musée National de la Marine in Paris, brought together over 150 decision-makers and finance function experts. The event brought together finance managers from private companies and the public sector to share experiences and visions for transforming the finance function by 2030.
A morning of keynotes, round tables, conferences and workshops explored themes at the heart of the function's challenges: modernizing technological tools, adapting to new regulations, performance management, strategic data exploitation, and the growing role ofartificial intelligence.
Participants were able to discover the technological solutions of our partners, including Anaplan, Board, Informatica, Jedox, Oracle, Pigment and Sage.
At this morning's event, Cédric Rouzée, Director of Finance for the City of Lyon, shared with us his valuable insights into the reality and ambitions of a finance department affiliated with the public sector.
Modernizing for greater productivity
For Cédric Rouzée, the priorities of the public finance function are clear: modernize tools and optimize financial processes. Current systems, some of which are aging, limit operational efficiency. The aim of modernization is not only to streamline workflows and automate certain tasks, but also to boost productivity in a context where the public sector is under strong pressure to control costs.
This quest for performance is essential, because local authority finance departments have to meet high expectations while working with limited resources. Modernization is therefore not a luxury, but an indispensable lever.
EPM as a catalyst for transformation
Cédric Rouzée insists on the key role of EPM (Enterprise Performance Management) tools, which he sees as real "game-changers" for the finance function.
These performance management platforms enable :
- gain agility in a changing environment,
- produce fast, reliable figures to meet the needs of decision-makers,
- prepare for the integration of artificial intelligence bricks to take analysis and forecasting even further.
In the public sector, agility is essential: elected representatives expect quick, well-argued responses. EPM offers the promise of this responsiveness.
I'm very involved in the digital transformation of EPM tools. I believe they are going to be game-changers for the finance function. I need to move faster, to be agile, to respond to my elected representatives, to be able to produce figures very quickly, and that's the promise of EPM today.
Artificial Intelligence: potential yet to be explored
While AI is not yet widely deployed in the public finance function, Cédric Rouzée nevertheless sees its potential. In particular, he identifies two priority areas:
- speed up reporting and analysis of figures,
- improve data quality, a prerequisite for taking full advantage of algorithms.
He reminds us that AI cannot compensate for poor-quality data: the reliability of upstream information remains an inescapable prerequisite. AI is therefore a vector of transformation, but its adoption will depend on the prior structuring and reliability of data.
Regulations: not systematically constrained, but proactively considered
Cédric qualifies the scope of regulatory changes for the public sector: the City of Lyon is not necessarily directly subject to all the new obligations (the CSRD, for example, does not apply in the same way as to the private sector).
On the other hand, certain operational projects - such as electronic invoicing - have been underway for over ten years. Rather than waiting to be forced into action, Cédric favors a proactive stance: anticipating future standards and thinking about how they will be applied "public sector-style", so as to transform these issues into levers for improvement (data quality, processes, reporting) when the time comes.
As he puts it, "I always want to be one step ahead".
Towards a "business partner" public finance department
Over the next five years, Cédric Rouzée envisions a public finance department that is fully "business partner" to the business lines. The aim is to move from a function focused on budget preparation and control to a player capable of discussing performance and strategy with the 250 different business lines that make up the City of Lyon.
This ambition is demanding, but it is based on the conviction that new tools, particularly EPM andAI, will enable us to better understand and support each activity. It's about creating a performance culture in an environment where mission diversity is the rule.
One word sums it up: "agility".
To sum up his vision, Cédric Rouzée chooses the word "agile". In a world marked by uncertainty and unpredictability, agility is the ability to rapidly produce reliable, quality information, to adjust responses and to constantly adapt.
