processing accounts payable is another of the manually intensive processes within the firm’s administrative department that can be significantly streamlined through digital processes.
consider how many “touches” a single payable creates: receipt of the invoice, timing of payment in a folder, writing the check and attaching the stub, sending it to an owner for signature, filing a copy of check with backup in its own folder, and stuffing, sealing and sending the check to the vendor.
i believe it’s important for accounting firms to standardize their technology “stack.” having a standardized tech stack of applications helps to automate every corner of your workflow.
the applications you use should be seen as an extension of your business. your onboarding process will be more effective if your team doesn’t have to learn a new set of tools every time a new client comes on board. read more →
today i am writing about training for the most basic software we use: excel, word and adobe. we have taken our staff to courses for these programs and have periodic in-house training, but i realize many firms do not. read more →
improving firm efficiency means that the owners have to get on board. one of the more obvious opportunities is the delivery of the firm’s own financial reports.
many firms still print a hard copy of the monthly financials and distribute them to each owner, many of whom physically store these documents in a binder or drawer in their office. read more →
connects to oracle, sap, workday and other on-premise erp systems to accelerate closings.
via floqast floqast.com floqast, a provider of close-management software, is rolling out floqast connect 2.0 to provide organizations with frictionless connectivity between on-premise erp systems and cloud-based close management software.
“accounting teams that rely on floqast for their month-end close typically close three days faster than they did without us,” says mike whitmire, cpa, co-founder, and ceo of floqast.
“however, when general ledger data is locked away in on-premise erp systems, organizations are forced to find workarounds for getting to the data, that can erode the efficiencies gained using a solution like floqast. with connect 2.0, floqast is providing a secure, automated way to tap into on-premise data, ensuring accounting teams realize the full value of our close management platform.”
john mellencamp’s hit song, “rain on the scarecrow” chronicle the decline of the small american farmer in the 1980s. farmers faced economic devastation caused by new technology and emerging international competitors.
expensive new machinery and international competition transformed farming from a sleepy vocation handed down between generations to international global commerce driven by technology and sophisticated business metrics. farming became a real business.
small farms disappeared as expensive machinery demanded economies of scale that could create a sufficient return on capital investment. international competition lowered prices to where new technology was required to compete with lower-cost international labor.
farmers needed to raise the level of planning beyond pushing seeds into the ground and waiting for favorable weather. they began to pay attention to detailed yield metrics and weather patterns, planning irrigation to effectively use natural rain patterns. they used monte carlo simulations to plan which crops to plant and sell.
the ones who didn’t change went bankrupt or sold and retired. musicians held a concert, farm aid, to call attention to the farmer’s plight.
driving to work this morning, i realized that changes in the cpa industry parallel the plight of the small farmer in the 1980s.
studies done over the past two decades have clearly shown that there is a significant improvement in realization for firms that enter, release and post time and expenses on a daily basis. this process allows for daily or “hotel”-type billing, which is sent out with the completion of each billable project.
the next step in the evolution of time and billing systems provided real-time dashboards to report on firm activities and effectively allow firms to generate invoices. read more →
eventually this can lead to a significant amount of “overauditing.” breaking this habit is difficult as every level of staff has been trained in the manual processes and falls back on them when deadlines approach. read more →
the key to successfully using these engagement applications is to make sure your personnel have the optimal equipment with them to work digitally. this includes multiple monitors, image capture equipment and remote communications capabilities. read more →
it seems that everyone is “going cloud,” or soon will be. if you are not already in the cloud, chances are you are working your way toward getting there, or you are at least thinking about it.
one reason you are thinking about abandoning those servers in your back office is to avoid the possibility of cyberattack and the loss of your data, or a “holdup for your data” in the form of ransomware. you think that moving to the cloud is going to give you the ultimate in cybersecurity when it comes to protecting your data and the confidential information within it. you had better think again! read more →
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