Coffee with Ann from Q2 Accountants
Have you ever wanted to sit down with an accountant and discuss topics related to business and provisional tax in depth? We were given the opportunity to do just that with Ann Cooper Smith, the Founder & Chief Executive of Q2 Accountants.
If you don't know who Ann is, she is a chartered accountant with 30 years experience in the public sector. The combination of her personal experience and passion for seeing businesses thrive are what give her a personalised approach to the questions we asked. A handful of those questions are below:
- What are Q2 trying to achieve for its customers?
- What should a business look for in an accountant?
- How does tax pooling provide solutions for your clients?
You will hear how Ann has learned how to use tax pooling creatively for her clients so they can further invest in their businesses while paying their provisional tax.
Take some time today to watch this video as it will give you some framework on how success can be achieved through smart planning.
10 real world cases of robotic process automation (RPA) in accounting
The future of robotic process automation (RPA)
is looking brighter and brighter, as software robots become more and more
prevalent cross-industry. The Deloitte Global RPA Survey estimates not more
than 5 years before near-universal RPA adoption.
Accordingly, we’re taking a look today at the
effects and application areas of robotic process automation in accounting, as software
robots are expected by people from within to revolutionise the industry.
In fact, intelligent automation is the new
buzzword in accounting. And this is the case for very good reasons. Accounting
processes, such as order to cash, procure to pay, finance transformation, etc.,
require collection and analysis of large amounts of data, while also being rule
based and repetitive. Moreover, precisely due to features such as these, they
also trigger employees’ long faces and migraines. So robotic process automation
in accounting seems to be a match made in heaven.
A McKinsey report confirms, by estimating a
global automation potential of 43% for finance and accounting. Relatedly, UiPath specifies an automation rate of 80% for
common processes like accounts receivable or accounts payable.
Let’s take a closer look at some robotic
process automation real world use cases and learn some strategic steps towards leveraging
RPA in accounting.
Robotic process automation (RPA) use cases in accounting
The list of 10 concrete application areas of robotic process
automation in accounting is meant to assist you in conceiving a
‘roadmap’ of means towards your business objectives. The processes that we’re
going to discuss are meant to assist you in devising an efficient automation
journey.
1. Accounts payable (AP)
We were saying that such tasks seem to hold
the lead when it comes to leveraging RPA in accounting. Software robots can transfer inbound invoice information (like
invoice number, data received or dollar amount) from PDFs into SAP web
applications, and internal spreadsheets. Consequently, they can place a PDF
duplicate on an internal server. This is a very useful thing to do in order to
ensure regulatory compliance, and it can reduce up to 60% of vendor invoice
processing cycle times.
2. Accounts receivable (AR)
Bots can handle more easily (i.e., faster and
more accurately) the maintenance of customer master files and credit approvals.
The same goes for order, and AR cash receipts processing. As a nice final
touch, late notices can be sent by email more quickly, thereby minimising the
hassle that naturally comes with last-minute notifications.
3. Controller function
Bots can automatically reconcile the current
period invoice data feed against the last period, whenever the controller opens
the data file. This drastically reduces the processing time needed to compare
data across different periods.
Data that cannot be so easily handled, i.e.,
that trumps automatic reconciling, are the exceptions, and those are delivered
for processing to human accountants. The results are much faster, and the
employees can deal only with slightly more exciting data, or data ‘with a
twist’.
4. Cost allocation
Automation easily merges data from different
sources (like emails, Excel spreadsheets, Google documents, etc.) into a master
file, which can then be uploaded directly into an Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) and data management program. This can be done by software robots in no
time, i.e., less than one minute.
5. Financial close and reporting
This is an epitome of inter-departmental,
multisystem processing. We believe there is no exaggeration to say that posting
tax entry data from various business units is a monotonous, headache-provoking
task. Which is why it’s worth to have a software robot mitigate it. Moreover,
its error-proof potential also adds value to the process.
6. Accounting reconciliation
Accounting data calls for reconciliation of
subaccount balances taken from a variety of sources, such as Excel sheets, or
customer invoices. You can automate the process and download the data into
desired format. Data validation and exception search can then be performed much
faster. This is the case because balancing journal entries are created, and
judiciously used to handle invoice discrepancies.
7. Delivery reconciliation
Orders must be validated against shipments,
which requires that delivery notes be reconciled with purchase orders. We can
almost hear your inner dialogue: “Oh my, this is so much easier said than
done!”. Well, not necessarily, if you get assistance from a bot that’s able to
check and approve all “well-behaved” matching orders. It would only notify you
when encountering an exception, calling for your beautiful mind to decide what
is the best way to handle it.
8. Supplier pricing comparisons
Among quote to cash activities, accountants
must prepare customer quotes. To this end, they must carefully go through
potentially very large lists of suppliers’ prices and compare them. Bots can
significantly ease the burden on your shoulders, by providing accurate
comparisons in little time.
9. Operational finance and
accounting
Pricing reviews, as well as rebates
processing, can be automated based on reviewing customer contracts and
pre-approved price lists. Upon processing the detailed data of monthly sales,
commissions can be accurately calculated. Ultimately, the outcomes can be
gathered in files and emailed to required recipients in order to gain
approvals.
10. Regulatory reporting
Software robots are good candidates for
handling the burdensome task of collecting and cleansing the data, and then
automatically generate regulatory reports. Moreover, when it comes to complex
end-of-year reporting, RPA can streamline the process by means of
pre-populating spreadsheets.
Conclusion
The list above illustrates some of the
accounting processes which, if passed on to bots, can help businesses to
function more efficiently, while at the same time reducing operating costs. The
RPA use cases in accounting sketch an assistant profile that promises to lead
towards reaching your business targets.
However, we wish to pinpoint that assistance
and competitive advantage are the keywords here. The use of robotic process
automation illustrates a humanistic, person-centred approach to doing business,
where people really matter. The role of human employees remains vital in
accounting. With the help of software robots, they are freed to focus on
complex decision making, and person-to-person interactions with clients.