Accounts are experts when it comes to facts, figures, systems, and structures. That does not mean, however, that they are experts in terms of technology. Despite the proliferation of tech tools that accountants now rely on, their expertise is still more financial than technical.
That is not unexpected or necessarily even problematic. But it does mean that some accountants individually and some accounting departments collectively are averse to technology or unaware of the developments disrupting the business world. The sorts of technologies that are allowing manufacturers to produce more than ever with greater precision or helping marketing departments to motivate more sales while spending less to reach consumers are also available to accountants. Analytics is being integrated into a number of departments, and the results speak for themselves.
Explore how analytics is optimizing accounting, and consider whether this is a capability that could make yourself, your department, and your company stronger.
Use Accounting to Gain a Strategic Advantage
Today’s accounting departments are being asked to play a significant strategic role. Rather than looking backwards, accountants are asked to develop comprehensive forecasts and predictive reports that place finance at the forefront of decision making. The companies that do this well are at a significant strategic advantage because they make better use of funds and engineer success through management rather than through markets. Analytics makes it possible to create sophisticated forecasts with relatively little input and in relatively little time. Said differently, analytics makes it easier for accountants to become more important than ever.
Perfect the Reporting Process with Less Effort
Reporting is more important than ever. Accountants are responsible for reporting more broadly, more deeply, more accurately, and more often. Those reports are essential to decision making over the short-, medium, and long-term, but they also require a tremendous amount of time and input for accountants to compile. Analytics is the obvious and easy solution, because financial reporting is essentially an analytical process. The goal of both is to integrate and synthesize data in order to arrive at essential and immutable insights. When analytics is guiding the process, reporting is easier to do while becoming more valuable overall.
Manage Risks with Certainty and Sophistication
In the past accounting departments were asked to manage internal risks and focus on compliance issues. Today they are asked to manage a wide range of risks including supply chain issues, market fluctuations, and elements of business strategy. Accountants are the logical professionals to take on these tasks, but that does not mean the tasks fit comfortably into existing workflows. With this and other new responsibilities on their plate, accountants are scrambling to keep up with the demands. Analytics automates and expedites many of the heaviest workloads, enabling accountants to practice continuous auditing and real-time monitoring. Spotting risks early and reliably becomes an opportunity and not a burden.
Identify Fraud and Eliminate Errors and Omissions
The size and scope of the data sets that accountants deal with has always been an obstacle. Avoiding and eliminating mistakes is impossible to do entirely, and instances of fraud and malfeasance can easily be buried in oceans of information. Analytics is such an asset to accountants because it seeks out these anomalies automatically. Smart technologies are able to sift through massive data sets and pull out the red flags accountants need to be aware of. As a result, less effort goes into finding them and they are resolved before they cause any serious problems.
Analytics is clearly a tool that is valuable to accountants. The good news is that analytics is also a tool that is accessible to accountants. Technical advances have made analytics smarter than ever while also improving interfaces and the user experience as a whole. Even the most tech-averse accountant finds these tools easy to adopt and embrace.