Trying to leverage technology to enable a flawed process is a current and common mistake both large and small enterprises are making today. Challenges arise when organizations attempt to deploy automation for the sake of automation – this only enables disconnected processes to continue running, which exposes them to risk.

During an organization’s digital transformation journey, finance teams can increase transparency across the organization by documenting standardized processes. This then allows management to ensure that teams follow established procedures regardless of location. Through this optimization, the financial close process enables finance teams to become more organized and equipped, utilizing the correct data and technology to increase their strategic value to the business.

Build a Strong Foundation

Laying down intentional and proper groundwork through the evaluation of processes ensures that finance teams will be ready to implement automation successfully – enabling more efficient, reliable, and accurate reporting that helps create a healthier financial close process.

An in-depth, standardized process helps finance teams mitigate talent churn and ensure that knowledge stays within the organization even if people don’t. Furthermore, reliable processes allow for increased collaboration and saves time, as manual tasks can be automated and procedural.

Standardization is Key

A lack of standardization increases disparate manual activities, which consume the finance team’s time and energy, while also adding no strategic value. To better standardize processes, organizations must look for automation solutions that encompass all critical components of the financial close process. A comprehensive tool allows you to address all key areas and ultimately move away from an ad hoc process to a well-defined, controlled, and compliant period end. When the books are closed, this is the only way you can be confident that your financial statements are reliable.

Standardized workflows further grant you more agility and scalability in times of organizational change, such as mergers or acquisitions or a department reorganization. By integrating automation within your processes, finance teams become empowered with a solution that reinforces and supports the standardized processes, thus allowing them to focus their time and effort on higher-value activities.

People, Process, and Technology Shape the Business

Companies with centralized and standardized systems through automation greatly improve the quality of their data, which also increases its integrity. When executed correctly, the goal is to eliminate low-value, menial work to free up your high-value resources to become strategic accountants that can drive the business forward.

To discover more about how people, processes, and technology shape your organization’s financial transformation, download our eBook.

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Written by: Mikayla Jordan