Intelligent SME.tech Issue 29 | Page 30

intelligent

// FEATURE //

Adam Zoucha , MD EMEA , FloQast
This isn ’ t just pie in the sky – advanced automation capabilities are increasingly accessible to smaller organisations with smaller teams . As a result , investing in automation processes isn ’ t just a necessary step for ‘ those who can ’ – it ’ s a genuinely achievable way to modernise your compliance capabilities and help your team stay on the top of all the new forms , reports and data requests they have to complete . With regular tasks automated and staff freed up to work on more valuable tasks , teams can more efficiently handle compliance needs , reduce the burden of controls and accelerate positive change across an organisation .
If you ’ re wondering where to start , remember that many elements of the finance function rotate around the basic mechanics of the month-end close . If you make the close work better , you ’ ll likely end up with a more efficient finance and accounting department and a more organised approach to compliance and control .
Transparent , efficient and happy
All very well , you might say , but the market is flooded with accounting software . Where should we look ? What are we even looking for ?
Well , at the most basic level , you ’ re looking for a tool with which to do a job . It needs to work out of the box , and it needs to be easy to use . So , ask yourself – was this platform made for accountants or for IT teams ? Was it designed by people with first-hand experience of the stress and pressure of the close ? Will it make day-to-day work smoother , improve our communication and give us the information we want , when we want it ? Or will it be another to-do-list-generator for our already overstretched team ?
In short , to avoid buying a white elephant instead of a helpmeet , there are three big things you need to keep in mind : transparency , efficiency and happiness . Does it make it
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