5 Ways Automation Frees Up Finance for More Strategic Tasks

Introducing automation into financial processes can vastly improve services and yield a fast return on investment (ROI). On average, organizations that implement automation technology can reduce the cost of operations by 25%-40% or more — without having to make changes to existing SAP systems.¹

Automation is not only a positive disruptive force for finance teams, but also a benefit to other departments as the savings trickle throughout the business. Here are five ways that automation can drive value across the entire company.

1. Eliminate Manual Entry

Automating manual processes not only saves time and reduces errors, but also leads to cost reduction. It keeps the enterprise’s headcount down, which lowers labor costs and allows managers to do more strategic activities with the available staff.

2. Reduce Rework

Automation technology allows for faster and more accurate data synchronization, which gives data stewards more time to engage in active data management tasks. Without the need to spend hours checking for data consistency, employees can devote more effort to data preparation, which will drive down data fallout. Less data fallout translates to less rework and a reduction in issue triaging. Automation also allows for more time to be spent on critical post-processing activities such as additional data analysis and evaluation.

3. Improve Data Quality

Resolving data quality issues used to require sifting through data to identify and correct errors, before reposting data to the system. Now organizations can implement an active data governance model to find and correct erroneous data before entering it into the system of record.

4. Speed Up Audits

Manual processes require a higher level of scrutiny by auditors as human error is often a factor. When financial processes are automated, it becomes easier for auditors to sample events, create reports, and test policies and procedures. System-based application data management may even allow organizations to renegotiate audit costs.

5. Lessen Burnout

If employees are bored or overworked as a result of manual processes, they will look elsewhere to apply their talents. Automation gives employees the opportunity to focus on more highly valued work, therefore engaging their talents and retaining the most motivated employees. Leveraging the right tools and technology can help to avoid costly staff replacements.

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The benefits of automating certain tasks are numerous and far-reaching throughout the organization: It saves time, money, rework, and headaches for everyone involved.

To learn more about how Precisely can help enable your automation efforts and transform the finance function, visit precisely.com.