The Cloud Provides Big Potential of Automating Workflows In Finance
Digitalization and digitalizing work processes have been key subjects within the finance business in recent years. The main idea behind digitalization is to automate tasks and workflows to increase efficiency.
Making your workflow digital makes your workforce flexible and also lets entire groups, departments, and teams adapt to new, unforeseen situations like the recent COVID-19 crisis.
The automation of workflows is often a result of a wish to speed up a process, reduce errors, and gain a more flexible and efficient work process. Most CFOs implement digital tools to reduce the time used on the financial consolidation of a group, to increase the data quality, and to ensure easy access to financial data.
You can choose to digitalize your workflows through a number of different digital tools and technologies. But one trend to look out for is the cloud. Cloud technology has become increasingly popular due to the flexible and efficient workflows it creates as a part of the IT infrastructure in the finance department.
Finance leads the digital transformation towards cloud technology
The well renowned consulting business, McKinsey Digital, estimates that 86% of the retail sector’s bookkeepers, accountants, and auditing clerks activities have a technical potential to be automated. This does not mean that digital tools and computers will replace employees. On the contrary, implementing digital tools will allow you to channel time and resources more effectively. Take, for instance, financial consolidation. By digitalizing this process, financial controllers can focus on in-depth financial analyses instead of checking data for errors.
Incorporating cloud-based digital tools into workflows is not something new within the finance business. Insights’ Global Digital Transformation Survey Report from 2018 shows that the finance sector leads the digital transformation compared to other sectors and industries.
PwC Denmark reports similar results. From 2017-2019, there was a tremendous increase in finance departments using cloud computing. In 2017, only 34% of financial departments used cloud computing as a part of their digital infrastructure. In 2019 more than 50% are using cloud computing for storing financial data, software, tools, and systems, and this number is set to be increasing in 2020. These figures do not stand alone, but they instead support a general trend towards cloud computing solutions.
Why workflow automation through cloud technology is the future
As mentioned above we see a clear trend: More and more businesses choose to digitalize their finance function using digital tools built on cloud technology.
9 out of 10 companies on a global scale are converting to cloud-based software solutions. Companies who have already transitioned to cloud technology solutions experience huge advantages such as:
– Easy accessibility and a high level of mobility
– Instant access to new updates and features
– Lowered costs
– No long-term binding periods
– High levels of security
Learn more about cloud-based finance software here: Read the Top 5 Reasons Why Cloud-based Financial Software is the Future.
When looking at the benefits of cloud technology it is no wonder that the finance sector is leading the digital transformation. It is also understandable that finance departments are increasingly implementing cloud-based software. A smooth and efficient workflow is needed to keep deadlines within finance, and here, cloud-based software can be a great help. Work can be done at any time and from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.
As the entire world continues to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and its huge impact, we have discovered the true value of cloud technology, when we were forced to stay and work from home. Here the high level of mobility and easy access proved themselves indispensable.
The funny thing is that we use cloud-based software every day without even thinking about it. The apps on our phones like Spotify, Outlook mail, or the different social media apps are all cloud-based digital solutions. But it took a crisis for us to realize the advantages of implementing cloud-based software into the IT infrastructure of our corporate groups.
Now, it is important that finance professionals take learnings from the recent pandemic and implement them in their finance function. If you have not gone digital with your finance department yet, then you should consider what steps are needed to start. Investing the time now can futureproof your finance function so that you are prepared when unforeseen circumstances arise.
