Implementing automation in finance and accounting helps ensure that processes are efficient, data is accurate, reports are updated, and so much more. When it comes to automating the ‘keep the lights on’ activities – PwC’s Finance Benchmarking Report found that automating finance tasks can save 30%-40% of the time spent on doing the same tasks manually.
Excel is a huge part of the everyday work of finance professionals. There is comfort in the devil you know. However, there have been so many advancements in technology and automation over the past few years that it has opened the door for opportunities to eliminate archaic manual processes.
CFOs and finance professionals tend to be risk averse. It’s scary to give up doing things the same as they have always been done; however, there are many benefits to trying new processes and technologies. In fact, recently Gartner predicted that two technologies will play a central role in enterprise data and service integration in the next two years. They are Integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) and low-code application platforms.
“The shift to the cloud is boosting growth in the iPaaS market,” said Yefim Natis, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner. “iPaaS has moved to early mainstream adoption globally, reaching 20% to 50% of the global target audience who will use iPaaS offerings to integrate not only applications and data, but also ecosystems, APIs and business processes.”
Terms such as “iPaaS” and “low-code” might seem like fancy IT lingo; however, it’s going to have a great impact on your everyday life. According to McKinsey & Company, “Replacing manual work with automation not only improves efficiency, but also reduces human errors, and allows businesses to respond to fluctuations in demand.”
iPaaS is a catalyst for change in finance and accounting. According to Deloitte, “The technological transformation taking place in finance and accounting organizations is causing a major shift for professionals.”
Improving data accuracy can have a substantial impact on performance. A recent Gartner study found that breaking down silos and sharing data boosts business outcomes. Gartner predicts that by 2023, organizations that promote data sharing will outperform their peers on most business metrics.
By automating certain financial processes, “finance professionals can not only provide real-time insights into the current status of the business but, with advanced predictive algorithms, they can look into the future and proactively steer the business.”
In a recent case study, J2 Interactive stated that “accountants don’t want to spend time doing manual work. We want to review and check. This happens by implementing automated processes.”
Manual work can have negative impacts on finance and operations across all industries and sectors. Excel is still the overwhelming go-to finance tool, which is extremely vulnerable to human error. And out-of-the-box connecters for many finance-based SaaS products are a one-size-fits-all approach to integrations. You need simple connections for it to “work”. Unfortunately, that’s an unrealistic expectation for many organizations and how their systems are set-up to operate.
Automation Use Cases for Finance and Accounting
The term automation can be overapplied, thus making it vague and hard to understand how it can impact and improve your everyday work life. Here are a few examples of how integrating your finance and accounting applications and systems can positively impact your organization.
Improve Financial Planning and Analysis
By integrating systems and automating processes, you can maximize workflow efficiency, reduce data errors, significantly improve turn times on data transfers, and automate redundant tasks.
The Home for Little Wanderers was spending hours of time on manual data manipulation, such as extracting data from Dynamics SL, formulating equations and modifying data in excel, and checking for errors, field mapping and other Adaptive system requirements before uploading data back into the Adaptive system. The consistent, repetitive need to complete this manual work to get the job done was time consuming, redundant, and opened the door to data errors.
“Without having DataBlend to do the connection, to get actuals into Adaptive, it would require downloading the spreadsheet from the accounting system then upload again into Adaptive and doing that as a manual process is time consuming. There’s a lot of formatting issues to get the file to upload manually so with DataBlend doing it, I don’t have to worry about it, I don’t have to do it. It just happens,” says Jeff Aimonetti, Manager, FP&A, The Home for Little Wanderers. Read The Home for Little Wanderers case study >>
“DataBlend has helped us maximize efficiencies, eliminate manual data entry and errors, and accelerate data transfers. With DataBlend, we’re spending less time fixing problems and more time being proactive,” says Ryan G., Accounting Manager. Read the Nonotuck case study >>
Close the Books Faster
Data inaccuracies can delay closing the books and wreak havoc on the finance department. Pulling data from multiple systems enabled with failing out-of-the-box integrations, or riddled with manual processes, adds fuel to the fire. Integrating data across multiple platforms by connecting disparate systems can save time and reduce errors. The key to a faster financial close is to automate as much as you can.
“My controller can do final entries for month-end. Before implementing DataBlend, he had to wait for several people to finish manipulating the data before he could even start month-end.” Read the McCarthy-Bush Corporation case study >>
“It’s a domino effect in the organization – as more and more manual processes are replaced with automated solutions, we are able to reconcile quicker and have a faster close,” says Chasity Fagnant. Read the J2 Interactive case study >>
Deliver Faster, Deeper Insights
Reporting and visibility must be one of the biggest stressors a CFO/finance professional has to deal with. They have responsibilities to the board of directors, donors, and leadership team to maintain a level of transparency. Inaccurate and discrepancies can tarnish an organization.
CFOs need visibility into both financial and operational data to proactively manage performance and demonstrate accountability Implementing an iPaaS increases efficiencies and data integrity. Organizations do not need to redo charts, graphs, or data. iPaaS helps streamline this allowing CFOs and finance professionals more time to focus on strategic items instead of lower value manual items.
“We were up and running with DataBlend quickly. The DataBlend team did 95% of the work and we didn’t have to involve anyone outside of the finance team for the integration. It’s a testament to the finance and accounting subject matter experts at DataBlend. They’ve made the tool easy to use,” says Jacob Schuler. Read the Cloudmed case study >>
Don’t Limit Yourself with Out-of-the-Box Integrations or Manual Processes
Gaining faster insights, eliminating errors, and integrating disparate systems easily is all possible due to iPaaS. The next generation of iPaaS is flexible and scalable enough to handle any environment. iPaaS is climbing up towards the “plateau of productivity” and can automate business procedures from beginning to end without requiring coding.
You don't need to have a custom integration price tag to get automations that work. DataBlend builds connections that facilitate the movement of data from one application to another with a specific focus on finance and accounting.
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