Medium-size companies: Digitize your accounting!

Currently, for the actors of the accounting and financial world in medium-size companies, it is no longer the time to ask questions about the application or not of dematerialization.

Why is this? Because it is more than obvious that in order to support the growth of a company, the digitalization of the financial function for the benefit of process optimization and better performance management is a key factor of success.

This acceleration towards digitalization applies to all categories of companies, and more specifically to ETIs or mid-size companies that are facing strong growth challenges with limited resources.

Impacts of dematerialization on accounting software tools

In a transition to an electronic management system, tools such as accounting software are necessarily concerned and impacted by this change. Indeed, an accounting software is a tool where all databases and financial information concerning the management system of an entity are stored.

And this database is in the majority of cases of a confidential and sensitive nature requiring precautionary measures.

On the one hand, vigilance in terms of security is an important point in financial digitisation. Data security is a priority in the migration towards dematerialization, given the possible piracy of accounting software that is not 100% secure.

On the other hand, the reliability and integrity of the accounting data recorded on the management tool. By working with electronic documents, dematerialization will limit as much as possible the physical interactions between financial players. A limited support therefore applies to the users of the tool, whether novice or expert, who may thus create possible risks of errors.

What are the objectives of digitisation and the technological innovations to be expected?

Digitisation will very quickly apply to all accounting and financial procedures and perimeters, from the opening to the closing of accounts, including purchasing and procurement processes.

New technologies are already appearing in the financial sphere but with different rates of adoption.

Other innovations include the following:

• Dematerialization
• Business Intelligence to facilitate and automate reporting and analysis
• RPA or Robotic Process Automation to automate repetitive and tedious processes
• Artificial Intelligence to enable Augmented Finance to maximise the management of the company’s performance
• The cloud or SaaS has become a standard for all solutions, allowing solutions to be consumed in service mode and to pay a monthly rent according to usage.

What are the vectors for successful digitization?

The success of digitisation depends on 5 key elements:

Human capital: even with a 100% digitized system, human/machine interaction will always remain immutable. Human resources will therefore play an important role in the company, but to this end, they must be made aware of their responsibilities.

The Data: it is necessary to align the referentials and to have a data analysis oriented company by clearly defining what one wants to analyze. Then privilege a single source of information in order to avoid possible duplications in the realization of accounting operations and to lighten the accounting processes.

The Cloud: using a complete and automated platform in SaaS mode to enable the various players in the accounting and financial sphere to communicate and exchange easily, but also to carry out their mission quickly.

Processes: standardise and automate processes thanks to a complete and efficient solution using new technologies, including RPA.

Organisation: to set up a support service that will be able to assist and pilot the deployment of the company’s digitalisation. Having data analysts in the team and questioning the boundary between CSP/Outsourcing and “Cybershoring”.

These are the principles that will allow a successful digitization within the company to reduce risks and errors, save time and reduce costs.