Finance and accounting are functions common to all businesses. We all need to balance books and report. We all face regulatory and tax compliance challenges. This is why the financial department is usually one of the first targets of an automation program.
Indeed, automation can help businesses create the single source of information processing that is essential to succeed in today's innovation economy. Our technology partner UiPath is developing a platform that helps businesses exploit increasingly large data sets. Automation then makes it possible to go beyond the analysis of past trends to better anticipate emerging trends.
Multiple automation challenges in the financial and accounting fields
- Increasing volumes of data
In areas such as invoice processing, the volume of documents can reach millions. And not all of these documents have the same format. Extracting the necessary information, combining it with other sources, and consolidating it for relevant analysis can be a painstaking process.
- A mix of existing systems
A large number of different technologies are often deployed to make a financial department work. And not all of these systems were designed to work together. It is therefore necessary to extract information from several systems and feed data from one system from another to generate reports.
- The urgent need to do more without adding more
Here's what a lot of entrepreneurs say:
“We want to speed up the end of the month. We want to evolve our operations and adapt to revenue growth. We also want to limit costs and simplify reporting for tax authorities and regulators.”
But it's not always possible to increase headcount to cope with an increasing workload. Nobody has an unlimited budget. So you have to do more without adding more.
Innovation as a compass
Here are the types of tasks that robots are required to perform:
- Reconciling salaries for several countries and categories
- Generate reports for a control team
- Apply cash receipts to invoices issued
- The recording of accrued liabilities
- Data collection for inter-company transactions
- Forecast of daily revenue per contract
- Invoice processing
- Generate information on business performance and trends
What lessons can we draw from this shift in automation in finance and accounting functions?
First, there is no such thing as a “generic” business process. Everything takes place in a context specific to the industry. Meeting like-minded professionals who are facing similar challenges is a great way to explore the potential of automation.
- Don't just talk about what's possible
It may be a cliché, but it is true: to see is to believe. Seeing how real-world automation solves real world problems up close is the best source of inspiration for your own automation journey.
- New capabilities create new possibilities
New capabilities in document comprehension, AI,Exploring taskss and process exploration can radically change the way our customers do business. The enthusiasm of our customers at the idea of seeing these tools in action is a convincing validation of our vision.
What advice do you have for finance and accounting teams who are starting to automate?
You don't have to choose between a bottom-up, top-down, or citizen approach to automation. Go for all of these approaches. Don't wait for the perfect process. Robotic process automation (RPA) is flexible enough to evolve with you. Set goals, define your strategy, and automate. A systematic approach can help you gain buy-in from key stakeholders and maximize the impact of automation.
About StoryShaper:
StoryShaper is an innovative start-up that supports its customers in defining their digital strategy and the development of automation solutions tailor-made.
Sources: StoryShaper, UiPath
