Good finance leaders ensure accounting professionals complete necessary processes on schedule and to industry standards. Great finance leaders invest in the correct tools that automate processes and allow accounting professionals to add value through reports, analysis, and commentaries.
We explore how finance leaders can create and nurture efficient finance teams by implementing accounting automation software.
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Promote data analysis through agile reporting features
How can CFOs and finance leaders create a shift from transactional-focused accounting professionals to a team of consultative and analysis-focused experts? The answer is to promote analysis over manual tasks by leveraging agile technology.
The vehicle: true-cloud accounting software that creates real-time reporting dashboards at high and granular levels. These features enable finance experts to consult and advise key stakeholders during investment applications, forecasting, data analysis, and budget discussions.
Many finance teams will have experience creating complex financial reports for weeks, just for the figures to become outdated as soon as they are pulled into the report. Not only is this frustrating for the employee creating the report, but it is also an inefficient way of presenting and analysing data because, among other things, it does not offer real-time insight into what the financial information is showing.
However, accounting teams with access to accounting automation software will discover tools that help them drill down into one data set from multiple perspectives. They can then offer better commentary to CFOs regarding business health. For example, automated accounting systems can present a data set as a graph, pie, pivot chart, or heat map, in real-time, offering far more meaningful insight than a lengthy and complex manually created report.
With built-in BI tools, flex screens, and configurable dashboards, finance leaders can rest assured that their accounting teams are working efficiently. Complex reporting often demands in-depth commentary, and a leader who can correctly allocate time to finance experts for such demands will find that the translation of financial statements — from expert to stakeholder — becomes efficient and digestible.
Build trust in automated technology
One thing is true of accountants and finance experts: these professions rely on trust and honesty, rules and order. Accountants may wish for efficiency, and jump at the chance of implementing a new accounting automation software. But, when faced with automated processes that change the way they are used to working, they may become reluctant to change.
Finance leaders and CFOs should encourage their teams to trust automated accounting systems by allowing them time to compare manual and automated figures. In our experience, when accounting teams compare month-end figures with manually inputted ones, and witness the increased accuracy, speed, and traceability of automated accounting tasks, trust in automation grows exponentially.
Leaders who can empathise with the perceived lack of control accounting teams may feel after handing over lengthy manual processes to automated software are one step closer to creating teams that believe in the benefits of transition. After this, finance teams can experience a multitude of automated processes that require minimal manual input, including:
- Monthly fixed asset depreciation
- Balance sheet reconciliation
- Bank reconciliation
- Real-time cash flow statements
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
- Recurring invoices
- Dashboard reporting, including consolidation of group reports
- Automation of purchase order approvals, journals, invoices, and intercompany postings.
Trust in the automation also leads to more confident navigation of the accounting software and, consequently, more user buy-in. As a result, finance teams can work more efficiently and effectively together. Teams can offer value-added advice to key stakeholders on balance sheet costs such as accounts payable and accounts receivable can be better managed.
Understand the benefits of consolidated data
Financial data consolidation is a significant challenge finance leaders face, particularly when accessing top-down information about growing or multi-entity businesses. Many legacy or on-premise accounting systems were not built with multi-entity structures in mind, and do not offer appropriate consolidation functions when organisations begin to grow in complexity.
CFOs can streamline data flow by investing in true-cloud accounting software with a hierarchical structure built for proper data consolidation. For example, stakeholders in multi-entity companies demand both broad oversight and granular detail about business finance and operations. Accessing this data demands excessive manual input, is time-consuming and, as a result, is often dotted with human error.
Xledger can be configured based on a structure of inherited rules — rules can apply to every single entity. This structure enables rules (for example, mandating a cost centre object to be attached to all journal entries) to flow down from the parent company’s functions to each entity below. Automatically consolidated data then flows upwards to the parent company’s dashboard, giving high-level oversight of each entity’s finances.
CFOs who communicate why data consolidation is essential for operations can help their accounting team create and maintain accessible, meaningful consolidated accounts. As a result, finance leaders can present real-time consolidated financial reports to stakeholders that show an instant overview of an organisation’s financial health.
Focus on streamlining workflow to enhance control
Streamlining workflow is a daunting task for any finance expert, particularly newly-appointed CFOs. But efficient finance leaders should constantly evaluate workflow, and discuss with their teams about which processes to hone and which to discard. Regular re-evaluation ensures that the accounting team controls their accounting processes, and not the other way around.
Accounting automation software streamlines workflow by automating various processes, from bank statements and expense reports to invoicing and purchase orders. Xledger’s workflows allow finance leaders to automate internal controls around expense approvals and cash release meaning that your team can manage the entire lifecycle of a project.
Workflow tools ensure that data is always traceable for full audit trails, leading to better, more compliant reporting. Additionally, Xledger’s automated workflow can be configured to force a posting in intercompany transactions or asset register entries. This forced posting reduces the risk of forgetting to add important cost centre data, for example, thus ensuring that double entries are balanced and justified.
Although not a direct catalyst of agile reporting, automated workflow reduces human interaction with data and mitigates human error. This produces more accurate and compliant data which, in turn, ensures reports are trustworthy and reliable — a win-win for CFOs looking to streamline accounting processes in their organisation.
View upskilling as a top priority
Investing in new technology isn’t a one-stop-shop that eradicates inefficiencies in your organisation’s workflow. Educating and upskilling your accounting and finance teams should be prioritised because every system needs an end-user.
Upskilling your team brings many benefits, including staff buy-in, learning and development prospects, and growth in departmental knowledge. Not only does regular investment into your team’s skills enhance teamwork, but it also sparks conversations about processes.
As a finance leader, you should aim to foster collaboration within your team, and upskilling can aid this. It also means that your team is armed to handle changes to technology, business focus, stakeholders, and market and industry demands.
Accounting professionals with access to Xledger can develop their industry knowledge by gaining Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points on Xledger’s learning platform, Equip. By prioritising upskilling, finance leaders can tackle the growing shortage of accounting talent in the U.K. and promote continuous education, low staff turnover, and efficient accounting practice within teams.
Contact Xledger’s automation experts
At Xledger, our consultants understand the challenges that outdated accounting tasks can bring. Inefficient software can only lead to inefficient finance teams. Accessing the best accounting software can improve efficiency, data manipulation, and overall business health.
Contact our Direct Sales Manager, Tom Whewell, or book a demo to begin creating an efficient and effective finance team.
+44 (0)7442 911 588
