Technology
Boosting finance efficiency
Debbie Green, vice president of applications, Oracle UK&I , explains why AI is the key
W e’re facing the most challenging times of many of our careers. Embracing an agile mindset has never been more important. In order simply to survive, every business is laser-focused on keeping up productivity and efficiency, and companies must look to drive more agile and effective business operations. Today there’s a host of emerging technologies that have been purposefully designed to allow businesses to reach new heights in efficiency, from technology that helps to close the books at record speed, to intelligent automation that eliminates those arduous manual tasks that forever remain at the bottom of the list. Embrace an agile mindset Of the 700 finance and supply chain professionals (https://bit.ly/2H7MDxc) we surveyed, we found that the 84% that are capitalising on emerging technologies are reaping the rewards when it comes to enhancing their operations. And when artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), and blockchain, are built into commonly-used applications like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human capital management (HCM), organisations are seeing huge jumps in payroll and finance efficiency – all without long waits or heavy lifting. For example, by incorporating AI into ERP systems, finance and payroll teams can yield a 36% drop in errors and reduce the time it takes to close the books by 3.5 days. Speeding up these processes while reducing the risk of critical errors is crucial to business resilience, particularly in times of such uncertainty, when employees are relying on their finance and HR (human
resources) teams more than ever. However, as good as their intentions might be, none of this progress can be achieved without the full support of the ‘C-suite’ (e.g. chief executive, etc). In organisations where the chief operating officer’s (COO’s) understanding of IoT is lacking, only 14% use IoT to improve supply chain management. This puts them at risk of falling behind the 64% of organisations with IoT-savvy COOs, who are pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones and reaping the resulting rewards. Organisations embracing this technology are seeing a huge increase in overall business performance and are providing their employees with important opportunities to upskill, at a critical time for learning and development. Automating with AI revs up finance By harnessing the power of intelligent automation and using it to drive back-office processes, businesses can minimise and, in some cases, eliminate precious time spent on manual tasks. One of the major advantages of investing in a cloud platform with built-in AI capabilities is that these systems use financial consolidation and close capability – along with enhanced narrative reporting – to auto-populate financial statements for use across payroll and other key financial functions. Finance teams using AI technology reported a 30% improvement in productivity, and typically see a 32% improvement in forecast accuracy. The same can be said for AI-powered chatbots. The use of this conversational technology can transform working practices – for example, in project management, by automatically displaying relevant data to
a project manager, the use of a chatbot eliminates the need to look for information across multiple systems. Companies investing in this technology have seen 38% faster analysis and a resulting 36% increase in productivity levels across their teams. By integrating this technology into everyday payroll and financial functions, businesses can equip their employees with the latest tools that will allow them to upskill, be more efficient, and offer a greater contribution to the overall business’ performance. Emerging technologies and the five- year forecast New technologies and a willingness to explore new possibilities is how businesses can ensure their survival in the current climate. When it comes to emerging technologies, we are still only at the tip of the iceberg with the potential of AI, chatbots and blockchain. Looking ahead to the next five years, we can expect AI to completely automate most payroll and financial approvals, as well as the financial close; see blockchain reduce fraud by at least half; and see intelligent automation become the critical component to keep pace with rapidly shifting regulations. Empowered by these advances, we can expect to see the payroll and wider finance and HR functions transform. Businesses should be looking to take action now and to prepare themselves and their existing systems for this inevitable change. While the future might remain unclear, we do know that the businesses that are able to remain agile, open-minded and resilient, are going to be the businesses that come out of the other side stronger than before. By embracing technology here and now, organisations can empower their employees, boost efficiency and re-define resilience. n
...organisations are seeing huge jumps in payroll and finance efficiency...
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 65 | November 2020
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