Redefining finance for Economy 4.0: Lucanet’s platform for the next-gen CFO

Published Sep 16, 2025 | 4 min read

Lucanet

As Economy 4.0 redefines industry standards, finance and tax teams face unprecedented demands for agility, transparency, and strategic influence. In this context, CFOs are rethinking their tools and processes, embracing new ways to accelerate value creation while ensuring compliance and data integrity.

As a leading provider of future-ready finance software, Lucanet is part of the Handelsblatt “Economy 4.0” campaign, presenting its vision for the future of finance in a short film. In this spotlight, Lucanet illustrates how tax and finance functions must evolve – and how modern CFOs can harness digital solutions to transform finance into a true engine of growth and resilience.

To realize this transformation, organizations need to master several critical areas – from breaking down data silos to unlocking the full potential of automation, ensuring regulatory agility, and safeguarding financial information. The following factors are proving decisive for teams determined to lead in the age of Economy 4.0:

Building trust through integrated finance

The backbone of a future-ready finance and tax function is seamless data integration. Disconnected data sources and siloed ERP systems are still common challenges, but unified platforms now empower finance teams to base decisions on trustworthy, real-time information.

Our approach at Lucanet is that we have an integration layer that basically integrates all of those different systems of record into a single source of truth. That becomes the basis for trust in terms of the data quality and accuracy.

As Kevin Smith, CTO of Lucanet, stresses

Automation: The foundation of strategic finance

Finance teams are no longer measured only by compliance and reporting. They are strategic partners in value creation. Intelligent automation and AI are key drivers, freeing up capacity so finance professionals can focus on advanced analysis, planning, strategy and growth.

We automate compliance so that the team can make the space that is necessary to really become a strategic partner.

Lucanet CEO Elias Apel underscores this point

From regulation to advantage: Embracing change

Where some see regulatory complexity, leading CFOs see opportunity for differentiation. Newly evolving standards – such as ESG compliance and international tax frameworks like Pillar 2 – demand agility and foresight.

Regulation is here to stay. This is why CFOs have to level up their capabilities... I recommend every leader to consider regulation not only being a necessity but also a driver for growth and value.

Elias Apel offers clear advice

Real-world example: A.I. Fitness’s success with Lucanet in uncertain times

The journey from complexity to clarity of financial data is best illustrated by companies like A.I. Fitness, one of the largest fitness chains in Germany. When the pandemic hit, agility and real-time planning became non-negotiable.

I implemented Lucanet in 2016 and was really impressed by the advantage we saw in the planning process. It was easy to integrate all the different departments and see live results in the system. During the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, financial planning was crucial to lead us through uncertainty. As our strategy shifted from building our own companies to a buy-and-build approach, Lucanet became essential – not only for internal due diligence and evaluating new acquisitions, but also for integrating them efficiently.

Holger Kunzmann, Head of Finance and Controlling of A.I. Fitness, explains

The platform additionally supports ESG compliance and has enabled A.I. Fitness to turn regulation into actionable insights and competitive advantage.

Shape

Protecting financial data in a connected world

Digital transformation brings not just innovation but new cyber risks. In Economy 4.0, robust cybersecurity is a non-negotiable requirement for finance.

Given our scale at Lucanet, we’re able to acquire and deploy absolute state-of-the-art cyber security tooling across our entire software estate to protect and defend against adversaries.

Kevin Smith emphasizes Lucanet’s commitment

Conclusion: Finance as a growth engine in Economy 4.0

Finance departments will define tomorrow’s market leaders. By embracing end-to-end integration, automation, and regulatory innovation, today’s CFOs can transform their functions into engines of growth, resilience, and collaboration.

Want to see digital finance transformation—from integration to real-world results—in action?

Watch the whole Lucanet story now

Lucanet

Lucanet is a global software provider for financial consolidation, planning, and reporting. Our user-friendly CFO Solution Platform is designed to match the exact requirements of finance teams by providing accurate and consistent information effectively. For more than 20 years, 6,000+ customers in 50 countries have already trusted Lucanet.

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