Hyper-automation in Financial Planning & Accounting
The new-age CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is standing on the brink of a digital revolution that is facilitating sweeping changes in their area of their work. Most CFOs now function as strategic enablers that drive innovation and automation in their organizations. In this regard, CFOs are exploring opportunities for intelligent automation to enhance productivity and decision-making.
The fusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities with process automation platforms has resulted in superior automation solutions and services. While robotic process automation (RPA) is limited to automating rule-based tasks, Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) goes a step ahead and brings cognition into the picture.
Financial Planning and Accounting (FP&A) processes are the perfect candidates for IPA, considering they are often labor-intensive and complex. IPA handles the high variability and manages unstructured data and other complexities with more ease and efficiency.
Further, because FP&A functions are intertwined with several other organizational processes, deploying IPA across them will encourage enterprise-wise implementation, boosting overall operations.
Digitalizing FP&A is vital to a business’s financial transformation. It is necessary to ensure that finance teams spend less time in gathering data and more time in analyzing it for informed decision-making. This is now being done by harnessing modern predictive analysis tools instead of using traditional methods or relying on past records. When deployed properly, IPA lowers costs and improves accuracy, speed, and quality of FP&A processes.
Intelligent automation capabilities can also be deployed alongside other large-scale technological operations. It is a good idea to implement an integrated automation solution that unifies cognitive tools, Big Data, AI, and ML to provide: • Predictive and prescriptive data analysis of financial performance • Real-time monitoring of compliance • Insights into the business’s key metrics
An AI-powered, real-time, and visualized FP&A platform is the perfect accompaniment to existing business systems and technologies. It is enabling organizations to function optimally and with minimal human interference. Cognitive technologies generate faster and more accurate reports and analysis over time. ML enables the constant progression of reporting and analytical processes, establishing more robust overall financial outcomes and compliance. Advanced cognitive technologies are also being harnessed to analyze data from various sources and enable educated decision-making.
While there is immense scope for implementing AI-powered technologies in the FP&A arena, advanced accounting and regulatory compliance skills are the need of the hour. These are necessary to ensure that technologies are managed in a compliant and organized manner.
Use Cases
IPA has found uses in the following Financial planning & Accounting processes.1. Segment Reporting
• Intelligent automation is enabling more accurate assessment of profits, devaluation, expenditures, revenues, tax, and more across segments
• It is now easier to report information about financial outcomes and the performance of the different verticals of the company on a digital platform
• Organizations can evaluate performance and allocate resources to optimize their various verticals
2. Cost Analysis
• Organizations are analyzing the financial viability of company projects over a digital platform
• It is now possible to build different scenarios and models digitally by considering opportunity cost during decision-making
• Tangible as well as intangible costs and assets are factored in when considering potentials and risks
3. MIS and BI Reporting
• CFOs can create and schedule tailored reports to monitor business ecosystem trends
• IPA tools are enabling the measurement of gaps in processes and those between predetermined goals and the actual results
• Creating and engaging with interactive reports and dashboards is helping businesses better understand the performance of their verticals
• Detailed business reports are enabling CFOs to successfully perform root cause analysis
4. Budgeting and Forecasting
• The digital platform is being harnessed to formulate strategies, plans, and enterprise blueprints as well as to budget for resources
• Monthly budgets considerations, such as revenue, cash flow, expense, and debt reductions can be monitored round-the-clock with IPA
• IPA platforms are allowing CFOs to make accurate forecasts based on current market conditions instead of relying on historical data
5. Preparation of Financial Statements and Analysis
• Functions, such as preparation of statements for income, retained earnings, cash flow, and so on are being increasingly automated
• IPA technologies are ensuring greater transparency in and accountability of all financial operations
Benefits of Incorporating Intelligent Process Automation in FP&A
Inefficiencies in your FP&A functions will hinder the growth of your business. Fortunately, with intelligent automation, organizations can avoid this fate. Mentioned ahead a few key benefits of using IPA to drive FP&A processes.
1. Greater Speed IPA tools interact with existing data and systems just like humans do. But these tools can complete tasks in a fraction of the time humans would take. This is because they are operational 24/7.
2. Higher Accuracy Manual processes may be riddled with human errors, but when you deploy the right IPA technology, you can eliminate mistakes. Basic FP&A functions and processes can be automated, and effective models can be created. This will result in more accurate analysis and informed decision-making.
3. Improved Controls and Governance IPA platforms ensure that all the applicable regulatory compliance and automated manual controls are brought into effect. This helps in fortifying governance over financial processes.
4. Faster Financial Outcomes IPA tools allow FP&A personnel to deliver financial data on demand. This enhances external reporting and the overall decision-making process.
5. Higher Business Resilience IPA platforms enable organizations to embrace and adapt to change by removing repetitive, manual, and data-intensive tasks from processes.
6. Improved Cash Flow Finance and accounts departments can streamline their accounts payable and accounts receivable functions by automating their invoicing and reconciliation processes, saving time and eliminating errors.
7. Reduced Costs Manual processes and data validation procedures within the FP&A function can be automated to enhance the efficiency of financial operations.
8. Improved Employee Morale Automation of routine and manual activities enables employees to focus their effort and time on more strategic and high-value tasks. Organizations can entrust mundane jobs to their digital workforce, who will ensure that they are performed quickly and without errors.
How Hyper-Botz Can Help You
Hyper-Botz is among those pioneering the incorporation of FP&A and intelligent automation. We are equipped with the tools and the skills to help you reinvent your FP&A function in keeping with the era of automation.
As a leading technology provider, we have enabled a number of digital transformations, with top-notch FP&A services that are reinforced with IPA-driven innovation. Our technologies, methodologies, and talent pool allow us to collaborative with you most efficiently and effectively.
Our competencies in the area of FP&A empower us to deliver accelerated value while minimizing business risks. Our experts use a combination of advanced algorithms, data analytics tools, and cutting-edge reporting technologies to enable your systems to promptly and accurately process data from multiple sources. These include business annual reports, stock market filings, and media reports.
Hyper-Botz delivers all-inclusive financial performance analysis tools that adhere to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Our solutions and services equip organizations with reliable and current financial insights for optimal decision-making. You can depend on our Financial Planning and Accounting solutions for transparency, comprehensiveness, uniformity, and compliance in financial reporting