Six Benefits of Financial Close Automation

The financial close is often a complex and time-consuming operation for many companies, as finance teams work around the clock to complete the process quickly and on time. Most companies currently face this challenge: 87% of finance professionals work overtime during the financial close, highlighting the lack of efficient procedures.

While finance teams spend significant time on the closing process, they are unable to focus on critical tasks and high-value work that drives business forward and delivers results. So, how can businesses ensure an efficient financial close while freeing up finance teams to provide the strategic insights needed to achieve business growth?

Driving Efficiency and Effectiveness Through Automation

Manual processes are no longer suitable for growing businesses. Beyond providing limited visibility into numbers and performance, they pose a high risk of human error with potentially serious consequences. Mistakes can be costly—both in terms of company finances and brand reputation, as well as the time spent correcting errors during the close.
Automation is the key to efficiency. Considering that only half of CFOs trust their numbers, and 78% of CFOs are pressured to close faster, implementing automated record-to-report (R2R) processes will improve the quality of financial data, eliminate time pressures, and reduce the number of people required to participate in the process.

Six Benefits of Financial Close Automation

The biggest obstacle to improving process efficiency and effectiveness is the inability to adapt to technological advancements. Here are six benefits you can gain from automating the financial close.

1. Enhanced Visibility Automation provides real-time visibility into the R2R process, offering a clear view of potential bottlenecks and high-risk areas. This allows you to prioritize high-risk tasks before they have a chance to negatively impact the business. Additionally, this visibility helps identify necessary improvements for the next period and tracks who completed specific tasks and which actions remain pending.
2. Time Savings Eliminating manual processes and implementing automation saves businesses time without compromising quality. The most efficient companies can reduce the time spent preparing, reviewing, and approving tasks and measures, leading to a 40% reduction in the days required for closing and consolidation. This also allows finance teams to avoid rework and focus on value-added initiatives and analysis.
3. Improved Compliance As increasing compliance requirements place additional burdens on businesses, using technology for your financial close ensures reporting obligations are met, with all required data fields completed accurately and on time. Automated R2R technology enables companies to create a full audit trail, providing internal and external auditors with complete insight into workflows, priorities, and emerging risks.
4. Employee Satisfaction Talent is becoming a critical factor in business success, and retaining valuable employees and high performers is a top priority. Ensuring that the procedures and processes they work with are fully functional and minimally burdensome creates a happier and more productive workforce, enabling them to focus on higher-value tasks instead of manual, repetitive activities.
5. Better Decision-Making 66% of finance professionals say they lack time for analysis. Through automation, technology ensures accurate data management, allowing the finance function to shift from data handling to providing strategic advice that drives business growth and success. Ultimately, automation enables skilled finance teams to deliver continuous improvement by providing access to real-time insights for better decision-making.
6. Fewer Errors Brand reputation is critical in today’s business climate. With up to 88% of spreadsheets containing errors, automation eliminates this risk, safeguarding business integrity and sustained growth. Additionally, 73% of finance professionals believe that manual and spreadsheet-intensive processes are the biggest pain point in their R2R process. As mentioned earlier, automation mitigates errors, reduces costs and time, protects brand reputation, and helps retain employees.

Next Steps

As technology evolves, businesses continue to transform, shifting the role of the finance function from compliance to strategic advisory, providing reliable recommendations, and driving business growth and success. Technology enables businesses to adapt and improve, and with financial close automation, companies can achieve just that.