ThinkTWENTY20

According to an article in in the Sage Advice newsletter, posted March 9, 2022, accounting automation has transformed the roles of CFOs and controllers. “Finance leaders today aren’t just tacticians and strategists overseeing the financial health of an organization; their responsibilities have expanded to cover things like corporate planning, strategy, and harnessing the financial and operational data collected by their teams to drive business growth.”

Technologies like analytics and process automation are game changers for businesses of any size, the article says. “From better collaboration to data-driven decision making, real-time access to financial data means that CFOs and controllers can take a deep dive into transactions, cost, and revenues on demand”

The article suggests three ways that accounting software can help finance leaders succeed in today’s ever-changing business world:

Better collaboration: Through automation, cloud-based accounting software allows you to take meetings to the next level with access to vital information any time, on any device.

While static emails, chat, and phone calls remain the mainstays of communication, finance leaders and their staff are reaping the rewards that come with context-specific chat and dialog capabilities available through accounting software. According to the article, “these cloud-based tools bring the conversation into the dashboard or reporting screen and give context to the data and information being discussed. You can do everything from viewing and reconcile journal entries to reviewing invoices, planning and rolling out projects, and more, together in real-time.”

Save time and money: Data is one of the most valuable resources your business can have, but time is right up there with it. “CFOs and controllers need to provide accurate information to executive management teams and company directors regularly, and in a timely manner. That’s where accounting automation swoops in again to make life easier.”

Forward-thinking finance leaders are replacing spreadsheets with dynamic analytics that save time when it comes to consolidating and managing data, and streamlining collaboration to boot. Beyond that, advises the article, “the perks of accounting automation extend to areas like accounts payable, expense reporting, payroll, point of sale, budgeting and planning, through Sage Intacct’s marketplace partners and open APIs. The level of integration, connectivity, and data sharing capabilities between best of breed solutions and cloud account software has cut out the tedious task of manually rekeying data from one system to another.”

More strategic thinking: Truly effective accounting and finance teams need to not just keep track of past transactions but also make data-driven plans for how to move forward. The article points out that “cloud accounting software gives you the analytics you need to review and refine your operations and build a more robust strategy for the future.”

CFOs and controllers can tap into dashboards and reports to drive strategic initiatives across their organization. “With access to real-time data and analytics, you can cut through the noise to focus on trends and outliers. That gives you what you need to determine whether to pull back or expand programs, and plan for year-end audits more accurately.”

For the details, see  3 ways accounting automation can help CFOs and Controllers thrive - Sage Advice Canada (English).