3 Ways Automation Can Enhance Teams and Support Finance and Accounting Professionals

As technology is increasingly woven into everyday life, automation has become a hot topic, with particular speculation around its impact on the job market. Unfortunately, a common misconception is that automation will put people out of work. This couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Automation has massive potential to benefit workers, particularly individuals in the finance industry, including accountants, and transform the workforce as we know it.

Over the last decade, the pace of the workforce has become a pressure cooker for finance pros, controllers and their teams, as they have to face tighter deadlines, expanding compliance obligations, remote team members, and higher scrutiny from management. In fact, a Deloitte studyOpens a new window found that 70% of controllers say they are bogged down with non-strategic tasks.

Fortunately, automation can make life easier for finance and accounting professionals and redefine an industry that is often synonymous with burnout and turnover. Three benefits stand out:

1. Streamlines and shortens mundane or repetitive processes 

The pace of today’s finance operating model is rapidly increasing, as are the responsibilities of employees. While these responsibilities will likely never lessen, automation tools allow processes to be streamlined and shortened while also reducing the risks of missteps. 

For accountants, the monthly close process, when all financial transactions are accounted for, is arguably the most stressful aspect of the job. According to a CY Executive Resourcing reportOpens a new window , 51% of accountants feel elevated stress and anxiety levels. 

Fortunately, automation has the ability to standardize and shorten procedures, ultimately helping teams work more efficiently. Forrester, a market research company, has also previously noted that, when automation is introduced, close cycles take, on average, three to five days and audits take 40% less time. Tools like collaborative checklists and AI-driven transaction matching help teams stay connected and on track while delegating tedious tasks to automated systems that can process information quicker and more accurately.

See More: Why Automation Training Is an Essential Part of Today’s HR Processes and Workforce Preparation

2.  Improves work-life balances for employees

 Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout has been on the rise, and for many individuals in finance and accounting, contributing factors include onerously tight timelines, processing payroll, and producing monthly accounts. According to an ICAEW surveyOpens a new window , nearly a third of accountants (30.4%) suffer from mental health issues, and more than two in five (43.5%) accountants believed their job was a key contributor to their poor mental health. 

However, when teams can automate their processes, employees regain valuable headspace. They have about 25% more time to pivot to deeper and more purposeful tasks, like collaborating with colleagues on strategy, an increasingly integral part of their role, or brainstorming innovative ways to drive progress for their organization and the industry (Forrester). Additionally, when employees have a more positive headspace and time, they can uphold healthier work-life balances and combat burnout, something we’ve seen become considerably more important in the era of COVID-19.

3. Empowers companies to scale and innovate in an increasingly competitive industry

 Previously, financial technology, including automated accounting software, has been seen as time, skills and cost-prohibitive. Now, there are more and more options that give accountants AI-powered, no-code solutions with unlocking capabilities. A recent McKinsey & Company reportOpens a new window found that it’s already possible to automate 30-35% of activities, particularly provisioning testing, deployment, patching, and support. 

Further, organizations typically have less than a year, on average, to optimize business for digital operation before they start to suffer financially. Automation tools take control of mundane functions and allow teams to focus on scaling, modernizing and driving innovation, like expanding the organization through IPOs and mergers and acquisitions, giving them a leg up in increasingly competitive industries. 

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen more and more companies invest in technology and begin to implement it at a much higher rate. Unfortunately, this innovation has been accompanied by high levels of employee burnout and unstable work-life balance. Introducing automation can help remedy many of these issues and empower a team to be more productive and driven, two qualities companies need now more than ever. Operational excellence has become a mandate, especially in the finance and accounting spaces, and automation is a solution that can help teams achieve faster and more accurate answers, better teamwork and collaboration, and greater confidence.

How are you using automation to make life easy for your teams and employees? Let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window . 

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