Well, it’s finally here. According to an article from Forbes Magazine, we have reached the age of automation. From AI and machine learning to financial automation and robotics, we’re officially an automatic civilization. Please, be kind to our new robot co-workers.
Okay seriously, this is important stuff, even if we did all see it coming. Especially when it comes to the ever-expanding world of finance.
In every industry, every business, and every firm, finances and how they are managed are vital to the growth and development of a company. Whether you’re a business owner, CFO, or part of the finance department, the role of automation in the future of finance is vital to your role, growth, and the evolution of your organization.
Financial automation doesn’t just mean automating payroll, although it doesn’t hurt to do that as well. Automating financial processes incorporates much more, including risk assessment, audit, and compliance among many other aspects.
An article from DigitalistMag outlines the capabilities of today’s financial automation services, describing the ability to “gain new insights from existing data to optimize credit decisions and improve financial risk management, automating business processes that previously required manual human intervention, and improving the customer experience.”
Financial management has evolved rapidly since the advent of computational technology. As this technology evolved, financial experts and professionals soon recognized that process standardization and centralization are absolutely necessary to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of modern organizations. As efficiency grew into a central tenant of management processes, financial automation became the next logical step for businesses and organizations.
In 2016, McKinsey estimated that 60% of all occupations have approximately 30% or more capabilities that can be automated with existing technology. Moreover, there has been a significant change in the understanding of what can be automated and what should be automated, which has become increasingly evident due to the unprecedented effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on work.
For businesses looking to hire and outsource their financial processes or professionals who want to simplify and streamline internal processes, it may be time to look at automating them instead. For many, this has already begun, as “CFOs around the world heavily invest in financial automation software as a next step in the evolution to enable enterprise transformation.”
In this way, financial automation could lead to a complex or fundamental shift in how an organization’s core business is conducted.
Taking the first step toward financial automation can seem daunting. However, with more businesses adopting automation into their day-to-day financial practices, it’s clear to see the power this technology holds.
So, what exactly is financial automation?
What is financial automation?
For us mere mortals, financial automation can be as simple as automatically depositing your paycheck, paying bills, or saving a portion of your income per month. The concept is similar for businesses and corporations, but at a much larger scale, and with a lot more moving parts.
Financial automation is the process of utilizing technology options to complete tasks with minimal human intervention. These tasks would normally be accomplished by employees, which, in theory, frees up time for them to perform more complex tasks.
According to another automation study from the McKinsey Global Institute’s automation research, current in-use technologies can fully automate 42 percent of finance activities and mostly automate a further 19 percent.
While many still consider financial automation and intelligent software to be on the horizon, organizations have already started to utilize cutting-edge tools and technologies such as advanced analytics, process automation, robo-advisors, and self-learning programs. A lot more is still yet to come as technologies evolve, become more widely available, and are put to innovative uses.
Levels of automation
The initial forms of automation were (and still are) macros and scripts: simple rules-based automation that repeated simple work with highly structured data — things like general accounting operations, revenue management, and cash disbursement have an over 75% fully automatable ability with already existing technologies.
Robotic process automation (RPA)
RPA is the basis (above macros and scripts) to understand the capabilities of automation. An example of an RPA would be simple software that can perform repetitive tasks quickly with minimal effort, like some of the rote tasks mentioned earlier.
According to the 2017 McKinsey research (also mentioned earlier), about a third of the opportunity in finance can be captured using basic task-automation technologies such as these.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation (IA)
On the other end of the spectrum is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is theoretically achieved when software is able to make intelligent decisions while still complying with controls using algorithms or machine learning.
Machine learning algorithms demonstrate the ability for computers to take in a constant stream of data, analyze that data for patterns and recommend solutions to problems humans can’t even see, proving vastly positive results in improving a company’s financial proficiency.
Once a dream for financial professionals and business owners, this form of financial automation software is becoming a reality, shaking up the way that tasks are performed, and even introducing other aspects such as forecasting into the mix.
Improvements with financial process automation
The umbrella of finance — from payroll to predictive forecasts can involve menial and repetitive tasks which leave limited time and resources to focus on value-adding activities to grow your organization. When financial process automation is added, it serves as a pivotal support to free up needed resources and time.
As these technologies can cover more ground and more deeply analyze company financials, many organizations are finding that AI and automation technologies are actively improving their bottom line. According to a survey from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners via the Harvard Business Review, “organizations lose 5% of their revenue every year due to fraud. The typical fraud case causes a loss of $8,300 per month and lasts a full 14 months before detection. And lack of internal controls contributed to nearly one-third of all fraud cases.”
Risk discovery is just one aspect of financial automation, but a growing one.
#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #business #CRM #mindpower
Credits to: Benjamin Wyrick
Date of Publication: March 18, 2021
Source: https://www.mindbridge.ai/blog/financial-automation-good-bad-future/