How Automation is Shaping the Finance Department's Future

Since its inception, automation has transformed every industry and process it touches. From car production to healthcare operations, this technology has been leveraged to noticeably improve efficiency, reduce labor costs, and boost productivity. 

This is no exception in financial organizations and teams, where automation has streamlined and modernized the many important business operations accounting departments are responsible for. Automating these tasks is often the lift of accounting software—one of the fastest growing technologies in the modern business world. 

In this blog, we’ll look at how automation operates in finance departments, how it transforms traditional systems, and why it’s a vital tool for future success in businesses of all sizes.  

The Current State of Automation in the Finance Department 

Many financial processes have been highly influenced, if not transformed entirely, by automation. Let's take a walk through the most common back-office procedures to see how automation has impacted these important tasks in detail. 

Automation in Accounts Payable 

Currently, automation for accounts payable teams is often leveraged to manage traditionally manual tasks that bog down a team’s day-to-day processes. Data entry, invoice processing, searching through physical records—all of these processes can be more efficiently performed with an automated AP solution, freeing up more time for team members and reducing the risks of employee burnout. 

Top Use Cases of Automation in Accounts Payable 

By leveraging this future-proof technology, an AP department can see rapid improvement across all their crucial, day-to-day operations. To remain successful in both today and tomorrow’s competitive business landscape, the agility and adaptability automation provides is invaluable. 

Automation for AP Payments 

When AP Payment processes are automated, employees and financial leaders alike can see the impact in: 

• Digitized, accurate, electronic payments, which significantly cut costs while operating at a high speed, improving the accounting department’s overall performance.  

• Improved vendor relationships and the potential for early payment discounts on regularly occurring invoices.  

• Extended days payable outstanding (DPO), shoring up cash reserves and reducing reliance on manual processes.  

• Quicker approval turnaround times, as invoices will now be routed to the most relevant staff members rather than passing through multiple unnecessary hands. 

Automation for Document Management 

Document Management, perhaps the most paper-heavy of financial processes, has been completely revolutionized by automation. Given the highly digital nature of most modern businesses today, holding on to traditional paper methods can hamstring an otherwise successful organization. 

This is where automation comes in, taking Document Management from the filing cabinets to the online world. This can look like: 

• The digitization of files and access to them, which results in more accurate record-keeping and advanced search capabilities.  

• Improved document security that works to combat fraud risks before they occur.  

• Enhanced auditing capabilities which in turn improves compliance rates.  

Automation and Web Forms 

Web Forms are leveraged across businesses of all shapes, sizes, and industries. They’re a great way to capture information without the hassle of paperwork. Automation works to enhance their benefits, boosting their functionality through:  

• Eliminating the time and cost associated with traditional paper forms.  

• Improved visibility with automatic routing, which allows for easier tracking and management of vital approval processes.  

• Electronic signature capabilities, reducing reliance on clunky PDFs and other older, less customizable types of forms.  

• Streamlined back-office workflows with automated purchase requests, expense requests, and more. 

Automation and the Finance Team 

A finance team has many responsibilities—and many pain points due to outdated processes. From the AP department to those tasked with Document Management, the best way to help employees perform at the top of their game is automation. But not just automation for one aspect of financial operations—the true path to the future of finance is automation across the board.  

With automated processes in place, finance teams will be empowered to: 

• Gain increased visibility into ROI, vendor relationships, and the overall financial performance of their organization. 

• Reduce burnout risk by being able to perform at the level of their advanced degrees rather than being stuck doing tedious, manual procedures. 

• Easily and accurately move data, forms, and invoices throughout the solution, without worrying about incorrect data or human error associated with manual entry. 

Automation isn’t just the future of financial processes, but the future of financial teams as well. 

Why Automation is Transforming the Future of Finance 

Automation is far from a static concept. As its reach grows, so does its ability to meet the operational needs of today and tomorrow’s businesses. 

With the current shortage of accounting professionals projected to not only continue, but worsen, financial departments and the industry at large must look for solutions that will keep vital operations on track. Automation is a natural choice, as it empowers current staff to process work more effectively without having to bring on additional team members. Paired with the fact that over 60% of accounting teams believe technology helps retain individuals and allows them to be more successful, automation’s role in a slimmed down accountant pool will only continue to grow.  

Another pressing concern for modern businesses is fraud prevention and data security measures. With both fraud and cybercrime on the rise, any organization looking to protect themselves today and into the future is on the hunt for systems that work to lower the risk of potential data loss incidents. This is yet another instance where automation proves itself to be a timeless addition to any tech stack, as its very nature reduces human error, instantly routes sensitive information to the correct team members, and cuts down on weak points throughout the entire financial lifecycle.  

For the CFO in particular, the insights automation provides into their company’s financial reports and data is invaluable—especially if a sale, acquisition, or pivot to being a public organization is on the table. Automation works to capture, manage, and deliver accurate reporting related to cash flow, spend, and other important financial trends that determine the health of a business.  

The Future of the Finance Department is in Automation’s Hands 

Automation will only continue to advance—and so will the finance processes it’s impacted. As more and more organizations incorporate automation into their operational processes, the more interconnected they’ll become for payments, secure data transfer, and more. 

This is why relying on an end-to-end automation solution puts businesses at the forefront of the future of finance. The headaches of relying on a complex tech stack to manage financial tasks will be left exactly where it should be: in the past. A complete solution automates tasks across an organization—improving not just one area of performance, but all of them. 

At DocuPhase, our solutions have been designed to help our customers integrate automation across all their financial procedures. If you want to future-proof your business, schedule a demo with us today to learn more about how automation can transform your productivity, performance, and overall financial health.