How is automation impacting accounting & bookkeeping?
Amaka Team
November 03, 2023
In today’s fast-developing automation environment, every profession is changing – including accounting and bookkeeping. In fact, the finance industry has always been one of the most dynamic.
Although it might seem that automation is about to replace people at work, accountants will still be in demand. Their competences and responsibilities, however, can change to a great extent. Read on to find out which tech trends will affect your work and how you can benefit from their implementation.
7 ways technology is improving accounting
Cloud accounting
Thanks to the cloud-based solutions, accountants can upload, store and manage all the information and documentation in the cloud. The resources are being updated in real-time which enables seamless collaboration. Moreover, there’s no need to maintain the infrastructure to store data on in-house servers. You also don’t have to worry about backups, as documents are synced in the cloud. Therefore, cloud accounting is more secure and cost-effective in the long run.
Not to mention that with cloud-based accounting software and tools, you can communicate with your team and clients faster. Urgent queries can be reviewed and answered much faster via other communication channels. It also gives executives access to statements and data immediately, so that all the information is transparent. Additionally, you can integrate your system with bank accounts to streamline the transaction matching process.
Big Data
It’s no secret that companies generate and collect all sorts of data. This makes a huge opportunity for executives to analyse available information and make data-driven decisions.
Luckily, online solutions do not only make it possible to store the voluminous data sets securely but also to make the most of their analysis. Dedicated systems allow faster and easier searching through the data and creating smart reports. In-depth reports can help you identify risks before they occur, as well as seize business opportunities.
At the same time, having this information at fingertips gives accountants an opportunity to advise their clients financially, providing them with key metrics for their businesses. It’s especially useful during the audit season. As data is collected throughout the whole year, it’s easier to access it and identify missing documents or human errors.
Automation
New technologies are game-changing for many business processes. The main benefit is automation. In fact, accounting software can automatically handle many of the repetitive tasks that before had to be conducted manually by professionals. For instance, you can automate expense entry, bank reconciliations, calculations, generation of reports and payroll.
Thanks to such improvements, some small and medium-sized enterprises handle bookkeeping themselves. Even though this may seem like a threat to the role of the accountants in business, they are essential to provide clients with insightful financial reports and consulting. Automation should be seen as a way to become more productive as an accounting professional.
Artificial intelligence
AI opens many new opportunities for business. It’s so much more than automation, as it uses machine learning to conduct even more challenging tasks. Thanks to machine learning algorithms, dedicated software uses data to learn how to solve problems. For example, AI-fueled systems are able to find anomalies, so that you can detect fraud automatically. You can either define abnormalities or use systems that can detect them unsupervised.
On the other hand, AI-driven solutions can analyse data and predict industry trends so that executives can be ready for the future. Artificial intelligence can help to optimise costs and to facilitate business processes.
Integration
An ecosystem of online solutions creates an outstanding opportunity to sync the systems you’re using and boost performance. For example, you can integrate accounting software with point of sale, inventory management, expense management, loan management, payroll, and customer relationship management systems. Synchronising accounting and finance solutions will help you manage finances more effectively and automate many processes at the same time. Accounting software integration has never been easier! Thanks to solutions like Amaka, you don’t even need coding skills to sync your systems in minutes. These platforms are often referred to as a “no-code platform”.
Blockchain
Among the most disrupting tech trends in the finance sector, we should definitely focus on Blockchain. It’s a computer-based record-keeping technology behind the cryptocurrency network. Blockchain ledgers are secure and updated in real-time, as transactions are being recorded and encrypted automatically.
Therefore, blockchain can have a large impact on all recordkeeping processes, financial reporting, tax preparation, and audits. Finally, this technology can improve standardisation and transparency in accounting and result in more efficient data analysis.
Mobile accounting
New technologies changed accounting also in terms of “time and location”. Nowadays, accountants, bookkeepers, and executives can access the necessary financial information anytime and anywhere. Many of the online accounting tools also offer their own mobile apps so that everyone involved and authorised can input financial data while on the move. Some tools within accounting technology enable collecting information from a photo of a receipt automatically, and uploading it to the centralised system.
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Key takeaways on how technology is revolutionising accounting
- Automation, including AI-powered solutions, can handle repetitive tasks and let accountants focus on the bigger picture,
- Machines are faster and more accurate than humans, which is especially needed while inputting data into the systems,
- Collecting data from multiple systems and analysing their correlation creates an opportunity for data-based decision making,
- Accounting software integration boosts efficiency and makes accountants more competitive,
- Blockchain decrease the possibility of fraud and human error,
- The cloud and mobile accounting software make it easier and faster to upload and access data these days.
As accounting technology empowers accountants instead of replacing them, professionals need to follow the tech trends and gain new competences. Think forward, learn how to use accounting software and make the use of data you gather to advise your clients. Take advantage of accounting technology to become more productive and data-driven – instead, you might soon lose the competitive advantage.