Through a combination of people, process and technology, organizations are becoming more effective and getting better insight as they embark on their digital transformation journey. 

The speed at which business is conducted moves at a faster pace than ever before, so the need for efficiency and higher productivity in the workplace needs to keep up. Company CFOs are expected to take the lead in these initiatives to deliver real-time information for data-driven decision-making. Increasing efficiencies is often easier said than done, and today’s CFO doesn’t always have a ready answer for it. 

With more digital finance organizations emerging and an increasing number of accounting tasks being automated, CFOs finally have a solution to ongoing problems as the business world continues to spin faster.

Manual entry pitfalls

Simply stated, manual processing and spreadsheet reporting is every CFO’s enemy. Not only do manual workarounds take a tremendous amount of time to manage, but they’re also the greatest source of error and bad data in the accounting system. 

Let’s be clear, any process reliant on humans is subject to human error. Applied to the accounting functions, manually entering and extracting data from spreadsheets and dizzying, number-filled data cells is particularly open to mistakes, not to mention a cause of major headaches for staff and company leadership.

Switching to the cloud for better decision-making

CFOs need to remain focused on scalability and solving problems, thus they don’t have time to wait for the required data used to make decisions. Real-time data is vital for fast and intelligent decision-making and to stay ahead of similarly fast-paced and agile competitors.  

Read More: It’s time to move to a cloud-based financial system for your business

On-premises accounting systems make it hard for CFOs to run their organization effectively. Instead, operating from a cloud platform gives CFOs and their teams the insight and automation needed to deliver value-added and strategic data for evolving demands of the digital business environment.

Automation and robotics can improve processes for CFOs

Automation, unlike manual entry, is generally error-free by its very nature. While errors can still occur with automated means, they typically arise as a result of mistakes in the setup of automation parameters. Once correctly set up, however, automated data processing reconciles to a single source of truth for CFOs and the rest of the C-suite. 

Robotics is a form of automation that enables CFOs and staff to configure their software to recognize and learn patterns from repetitive situations. General ledger allocations and payable distributions are great examples of repetitive tasks that are done the same way each time, making them optimal candidates for robotic automation.

Once the CFO dials in a system of automation, error-free accounting comes at the push of a button.

Accounting for today and tomorrow

Modern accounting software solutions, like Sage Intacct, feature extensive automation options. While basic processes, such as compiling financial data into reports, have been automatable for some time, new advancements in machine learning and AI-assisted accounting have expanded what can be done by accounting software when untethered from manual operation. 

Integrating artificial intelligence systems into accounting software empowers CFOs to present data visualizations generated in real-time from accurate, real-time business data.  

Data analysis and predictive forecasting is an essential skill for humans, but it’s also one of the biggest challenges for any accounting department. However, AI can be used to derive tremendously in-depth data analysis that would otherwise take human operators ages to generate. 

Sage Intacct is an AI-enabled accounting solution that delivers information faster and more accurately, giving CFOs more ways to leverage data. 

Run the Numbers

One of the most compelling reasons to make the shift to modern accounting systems is in trimming inefficiencies and cutting costs. Adding automation to the system means reducing the number of working hours spent on manual processes, which inevitably cuts down overhead. Not only that, the accounting staff is freed to engage in far more critical activities instead of time-consuming manual data entry. 

The accuracy with which automated processes are performed reduces the incidence of error and vastly reduces the amount of risk associated with the work itself. 

Sage Intacct is the cloud accounting package you need

Voted #1 Accounting Software Product in Customer Satisfaction by G2 Crowd, Sage Intacct is built for finance professionals by finance experts. Through automation of your core financial processes with advanced functionality and accessibility in the cloud, you can get away from manual spreadsheet accounting to increase productivity, save time and reduce erroneous reporting so you can drive your business forward.

As a Sage Intacct Partner, e2b teknologies is a best-in-class provider to move your business to the cloud. Find out more about how e2b and Sage Intacct can transform your business into a digital finance organization.