Automation in Finance: How Process Automation is transforming my role

The use of technology to automate manual, repetitive tasks can be a game-changer for finance professionals. Typically, a significant portion of time is spent on manual data entry and reconciliation tasks, which not only takes away from the time available for more strategic tasks but also allows for the risk of errors and inefficiencies in work. With the implementation of process automation tools, these manual tasks can be significantly streamlined, allowing for a shift of focus to high-value tasks and competencies.

A recent study, ‘How Financial professionals can leverage advanced technologies to elevate their roles’ by the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) and Deloitte revealed that for finance professionals to thrive in this new era, they would need to become more strategic and less transactional in their roles by combining human critical thinking and problem-solving, with machine-based functionality and automation.

Benefits of automation in Finance 

1. Manual error and time-saving

One of the most significant benefits of automation in finance is the reduction of manual errors. Manual processes are inherently prone to errors, such as data inaccuracies, typos, and missing information. By automating these processes, the risk of these errors is greatly reduced, saving time and improving the credibility of the financial information provided to the business. This is especially important in an era where data accuracy and transparency are more important than ever.

2. Flexibility to evolve and scale

Another benefit of automation in finance is the ability to access and analyse large amounts of financial data quickly. With process automation tools, finance departments can easily access the data they need to make informed decisions and provide valuable insights into the business. This not only improves efficiency but also assists in a better understanding of the company’s financial performance and identifying areas for improvement. 

The increased visibility of financial data also allows for real-time decision-making, which positively impacts overall performance. Additionally, finance automation can improve scalability, making handling an increasing volume of financial data and transactions easier.

3. Job satisfaction and retention

Process automation allows those in financial roles to focus on more strategic tasks instead of spending their time on routine tasks. With this new technology in place, they can now focus on interpreting data, providing valuable insights to the business, and identifying areas for improvement. In this way, professionals may reach a new level of job satisfaction as their contribution to the company is enhanced. For the business, the added bonus is to attract and retain a workforce that is adaptive and responsive to technological advancements.

Three steps to consider when automating financial processes 

1. Define your current processes

Before implementing an automated system, clearly define your current workflow and approach. You’ll be able to see where there are gaps, if any, and duplications. Many processes contain historical steps that may have become obsolete and irrelevant over time. 

2. Conceptualise your automated workflow

Consider the needs of a finance workflow and how best automation can help. Include tasks, sequencing, and how to assign specific tasks. 

3. Integrate systems

Ensure your systems are operating in unison by communicating and sharing information correctly. Research and identify the best tools to achieve your desired outcome, including cloud-based platforms. 

Final thoughts 

As technology continues to evolve, the impact of automation on finance will only become more pronounced soon. By reducing manual errors, improving the speed and efficiency of decision-making, and allowing finance professionals to focus on more strategic tasks, process automation can transform the role of finance specialists and the finance function as a whole.

AUTTO  is a no-code platform that allows you to transform processes using automated workflows, data tables and integrations. Get in touch and chat about elevating your business for automation today. 

How to Increase the value of your procurement process with AUTTO’s Procurement Automation Software

Complex manual workflows are time-consuming and full of errors, slowing down the whole procurement pipeline. Delays caused by constantly sending documents back and forth, miscommunications and unnecessary spending are some of the top challenges faced by procurement teams. 

This makes procurement automation more important than ever.

How does using AUTTO automation the procurement process? 

Automating the procurement process brings benefits to procurement teams, other teams in the business utilising the procurement function and suppliers. These benefits include: 

  •  Increasing the speed at which documents are processed, shared and approved enabling procurement teams to work more efficiently and source, approve and pay suppliers faster.  
  • Providing greater visibility and better collaboration creating better working relationships internally and externally.  
  • Encouraging outside teams to engage with the procurement department reducing maverick spending and giving procurement more opportunities to make cost savings for the business.

With AUTTO, you can create dynamic forms and workflows to capture and submit accurate, current data from wherever you are. Simplify purchasing by automating approval processes, generating accurate reports, and decreasing response times with a robust Procurement system.

AUTTO has a role at each stage of the procurement process: 

Step 1: Purchase requisition info

Submitting purchase requisitions manually can be an incredibly slow and error prone process. Multiple revisions and numerous approval levels often cause information to get waylaid and cause delays. 

Automating the process allows requesters to upload the information required in a predefined template which is then directed to approvers for review. Any feedback or changes can be updated directly in the AUTTO platform making it easier to track progress and approve cases faster. 

 

Step 2: Approval processes

At some point, practically every purchase request requires approval from someone other than the requesting party. In some cases, multiple layers of approval are needed. Often, the approvers are people in other business areas such as finance, compliance, or IT. That can make approvals complicated. 

Fortunately, approval processes can be automated. Automation captures incoming requests, routes them to the appropriate approver, and captures signatures and other information. Databases are automatically updated and procurement teams have total visibility into approval status within the AUTTO platform.

Automating approvals also makes it easier for information and communication to cross team or department boundaries.

Step 3: Purchase orders  

Much like purchase requisitions, purchase orders often go through multiple touchpoints prior to approval. AUTTO allows you to create a workflow that automatically routes your purchase orders through the appropriate steps based on predefined business rules preventing bottlenecks and allowing them to reach final approval faster.

The beauty of automating the purchase order process is that it reduces that amount of data entry required each time a PO is issued. This speeds up the process and helps teams avoid errors.

 

Automate your Procurement process with AUTTO

Procurement plays a key role in making sure your business has the materials and services you need to succeed. That’s why it’s essential to build procurement processes that are as structured, efficient, and integrated as possible. 

AUTTO’s no-code process automation makes it easy for procurement teams to take control of their processes and workflows. An intuitive, visual interface gives procurement teams access to a full suite of automation features and capabilities AUTTO integrates with a wide range of apps and systems to unify and harmonise the various workflows and processes the procurement team manages.

Get started on the road to Citizen Development using AUTTO.

Our Proof of Concept lets you map out and automate a business process giving you a bird’s eye view of the challenges faced in your business. From building a simple process, to creating a whole digital operating platform, our AUTTO engineers can help you get started with automating for your business. 

Get started today

How to adopt Digital Transformation throughout your organisation for 2023

As technology advances, many businesses may find they need help to keep up with their competition. To safeguard your business from falling behind, embracing digital transformation and understanding how it can benefit your organisation is essential.  

So, what does this involve? Digital transformation is using digital technologies to fundamentally change how an organisation operates and delivers value to its customers. It incorporates digital technology into all business areas to increase value through innovation, invention, efficiency, and improved customer experience . 

Adopting digital transformation throughout your organisation can be daunting. Here are some steps to help you successfully implement digital transformation in your organisation for 2023.

Define your goals 

Before you begin the digital transformation process, it’s important to understand what you want to achieve. For example, do you want to improve efficiency, reduce costs, or increase customer satisfaction? Clearly defining your goals will help you determine the best course of action and measure the success of your efforts.

Assess where you are currently in the digital landscape 

It sounds too obvious to mention, but this vital step can quickly be forgotten. Understanding your existing technology infrastructure, processes, and customer needs will provide valuable insights. Conduct a thorough assessment of your organisation to identify areas that need improvement and where digital technologies can be used to drive change.

Gain feedback from your employees

Digital transformation is not just about technology; it also involves changing how people work. Engage your employees in the process by involving them in planning and decision-making. This will ensure that the changes you implement are embraced and supported by your team and they are, therefore, more likely to help make it successful. 

Develop a roadmap 

Once you have defined your goals and assessed your current state, it’s time to develop a roadmap for achieving them. This roadmap should outline the steps you need to take, including which technologies to adopt and how to integrate them into your organisation.

Implement and test

With your roadmap in place, it’s time to start implementing the changes outlined in your plan. One way to help mitigate some inevitable teething problems is, to begin with, a pilot programme. Test the changes on a small scale before rolling them out organisation-wide. This will help you identify and fix any issues before they become widespread.

Measure, track and optimise 

As you implement a digital transformation, it’s prudent to record your progress and measure the results. It is always worthwhile measuring begore you implement change and after.  This will help you understand the impact you have had, what’s working and what needs improvement. Use this information to capitalise on your efforts and continue driving change throughout your organisation.

Keep up with evolving technologies 

Digital technologies are constantly changing, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments is essential. Make sure to allocate resources for ongoing training and development to ensure your team is equipped to handle new technologies as they emerge.

Help is at hand 

Businesses often rely on their IT departments to implement new processes and technology, but AUTTO is a tool that can be used by anyone, regardless of department. It allows teams to easily and cost-effectively set up and adopt digital transformation. Using AUTTO, teams can digitise business processes, connect existing tech tools to a process, and scale up to run a fully operational system. With customisable templates, your specific needs can be fully met. 

One of the benefits of no-code tools like AUTTO is that they can help with Digital Transformation by allowing even non-technical team members to see and participate in the transformation of their work, which can be necessary for change. 

Final thoughts

Adopting digital transformation throughout your organisation can be challenging, but the benefits are well worth the effort. By following these steps and staying flexible, you can successfully navigate the process and flourish as a robust, more competitive organisation in the digital age.

4 things you didn’t know you could do with AUTTO

“Where are we with that approval?

I sent an email, did you check it?

Can you forward me the document again?”

These are common quotes to hear in any organisation. Workflows that are handled manually over email create a lot of confusion. It’s hard to know where things stand and what needs to happen next.

AUTTO’s automation software gives people the power to easily automate their day-to-day tasks with simple no-code automation workflows and is quickly gaining recognition for its power to aid in digital transformation. Businesses that want to digitally transform require the highest levels of efficiency to create and scale value for customers and employers.

The world of business is changing fast and there’s no time for hesitation.

With AUTTO, automation is accessible to businesses of all sizes. You can build everything in AUTTO from a simple process to a full operations platform. It is easy to learn and fast to implement with processes being up and running in less than an hour.

Here are four things your business can do with AUTTO.

 

1. End the paper chase by signing documents electronically 

If your organisation is still creating documents from scratch and then relying on signers in a workflow to manually forward the document to the next signer, it might be time for an upgrade.

AUTTO allows you to set up your free Eversign account and add electronic signatures for your documents. Eversign is a tool used to sign legally binding documents online on any device.

AUTTO empowers you to incorporate eSignature and PDF editing into your workflows and utilise no-code automation to handle document management. For added functionality and greater flexibility, adaptability, and scalability, AUTTO integrates with the solutions you already know and love – like Microsoft Graph, Salesforce, Google, and more.

Automatically send business-critical documents and contracts for signature, send reminders, and track progress – from anywhere. 

 

2. Give your forms Super Powers

Form fields make it easy to collect, store, and utilise information, and pass it seamlessly through the company. We have a variety of form fields that you can drag-and-drop into your workflows so you can capture key data, store it safely in the cloud, and automatically transfer it to other apps, platforms, and software.

When the workflow runs, your users answer your questions in turn via the form, as displayed on the User Application. The form can be viewed and answered using both desktop and mobile.

Each of the question types can also be set to include Conditional Questions if required. With Conditional questions, a question can be made to appear or disappear, depending on certain conditions.

 

3. Business process integration for every outcome

AUTTO integrates your business apps within your automated workflows. Integration is as simple as dragging a built-in app into the AUTTO designer canvas. We cover the popular apps you use every day, and we have created a sophisticated no-code API Manager that enables you to build your own bespoke integrations to APIs without writing a line of code.

This means you can choose which systems you want to integrate into and exactly what information you want to get or send in a matter of minutes.

 

4. Streamline processes with automated routing and a rule-based workflow

AUTTO gives authorised users the ability to forward or route documents easily to individuals or groups of users, making collaboration more efficient and effective. 

Administrators may also establish sequential routes or rule-based workflows to facilitate document-processing speed and escalation procedures, automatically routing documents to the correct user for processing, or seamlessly export data to external systems. 

Ready to streamline your day-to-day business workflows? Schedule a demo with us today. 

At AUTTO, we’ve put together comprehensive business process templates that can help kick-start your digital transformation journey. Build complex document automation without writing a single line of code.

NEW WEBINAR!

An Intro To AUTTO

How to Automate a Complex Process without Writing a Line of Code

  • Date: 31 March 2022
  • Time 14:00 BST
  • Host: Ian Gosling, Founder of AUTTO

Hi there,

AUTTO is a no-codebusiness and document automation platform. No-code means you can build tailor-made automated processes without having to be a developer.

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