Is your enterprise doing business just as it was five, three, or even one year ago? If the answer is yes, then it’s out of step with the times. And it may also be a prime candidate for being left behind.
Dramatic as that statement may be, it’s hardly hyperbolic. Here in Australia and around the world, the pace of innovation continues to increase, as businesses look to transform their products, services and modi operandi to ensure they remain relevant and competitive.
Take, for example, Dominos, the fast food behemoth that’s justifiably proud of its position in the country’s digital vanguard. A pioneer of online ordering, it’s long had systems in place to enable customers to track the progress of their pizzas, from prep bench to plate.
Recent times have seen the company unveil DOM, an autonomous delivery vehicle with compartments to keep orders piping hot (and drinks icy cold) as it travels on the footpath from the store to a customer’s door, at a safe speed. When this latest innovation hits the streets, it’s likely to deliver a significant commercial benefit, along with reliably on-time orders.
Jewellery retailer, Michael Hill is another poster child for successful innovation. It’s transformed from old school, bricks and mortar chain into a digital sales powerhouse that has augmented the instore buying experience with instant virtual consultations and appointments, live chat and online support.
Starting with a strong finance foundation
Whether they’re seeking to expand the organisation’s offering, break into new markets, or digitise and automate aspects of operations, a la Dominos and Michael Hill, driving change is guaranteed to be high on the agenda for your company’s leadership team this year.
Their chances of executing it successfully will be considerably greater if they’re supported by a proactive finance department; one that’s able to provide accurate, up-to-the-minute reporting and timely insights to inform strategic decision making.
At present, many local leadership teams don’t have a valuable resource like this at their disposal. Au contraire: 42 per cent of leaders globally don’t entirely trust the accuracy of their organisation’s financial data, according to BlackLine research. Little wonder, given one Gartner study found 59 per cent of finance and accounting teams make multiple errors in their reporting each month.
In the absence of a repository of reliable financial data, stewarded by a team that has the capacity to respond rapidly to requests from above, identifying risks and assessing growth opportunities objectively can be challenging. So can engaging positively with investors and financiers whose confidence and support may be key to successful expansion.
Tools to make the task easy
Providing standout support to decision makers, while also ensuring essential accounting tasks are completed in a timely fashion, can seem like an unachievable challenge, without a significant injection of additional resources.
But with the adoption of continuous accounting technology, it can become eminently doable.
Instead of utilising spreadsheets and manual processes to generate results and reports, repetitive activities, such as the reconciliation of intercompany transactions and the marrying of credit cards and invoices to Purchase Orders, can be automated. As well as slashing the number of hours needed to complete such tasks, doing so can reduce the error rate to virtually zero.
Less time needed to detect and rectify errors means more time to devote to higher value activities, such as generating the business intelligence leaders need to make timely, data driven decisions.
Automating your accounts receivable function, meanwhile, will enable your enterprise to establish an accurate, up-to-the-minute view of its debtors and become more efficient and proactive in its interactions with customers whose invoices are overdue.
Supporting innovation and growth in FY25
In today’s times, businesses that are content to stand still risk becoming irrelevant, and quickly too. Having the support of a high functioning finance department will make it easier for leaders to innovate and evolve your organisation’s offering and operations successfully and at speed.
That’s why implementing continuous accounting technology to transform the finance function is a smart strategic move. If staying ahead of the competition is a priority in FY2025, it’s an investment that’s well worth considering.
Rosie Cairnes is regional vice president for Australia & New Zealand at BlackLine.