CHEQUING OUT
Well , at the most basic level , you ’ re looking for a tool with which to do a job . It needs to work out of the box , and it needs to be easy to use . So , ask yourself – was this platform made for accountants or for IT teams ? Was it designed by people with first-hand experience of the stress and pressure of the close ? Will it make day-to-day work smoother , improve our communication and give us the information we want , when we want it ? Or will it be another to-do-list-generator for our already overstretched team ?
In short , to avoid buying a white elephant instead of a helpmeet , there are three big things you need to keep in mind : transparency , efficiency and happiness . Does it make it easier for your team to keep in touch with each other , see what needs to be done and track to-do lists ? Does it enable them to put their hands on the data they need and reduce the time between month-end and reports sitting on C-suite desks ? And does it – perhaps most importantly – put a smile on accountants ’ faces ? Not , perhaps , the first thing you think of when buying software – but trust me , if your beleaguered team suddenly
Improving processes with automation increases the chance that all activities around compliance and the close will be in order beforehand .
find they can do the same jobs in half the time , they ’ ll be smiling .
Better data means easier M & As
Finally , back to that point about M & As . Buying up and being bought out are waypoints along the path for most small businesses , and when done well , they can be moments for renewed purpose and fresh success . Compliance never sleeps , though , and handing over from one owner to another is tricky if the rules you ’ re trying to hit are a moving target .
With all that said , as organisations pursue major financial events like M & As , improving processes with automation increases the chance that all activities around compliance and the close will be in order beforehand . It will also allow organisations to gain critical insights to navigate the immediate post-M & A period , when quick action is often required to even out the bumps caused by such a major change .
There ’ s no such thing as a one size fits all , magic-bullet accounting software . Compliance is tricky , no matter what system you ’ re running . But when the market for SME-friendly automation is really starting to blossom , there ’ s little justification for holding out . Think of it as another member of the team – a hyper-efficient one , who can bring the best out of your staff , lighten their load and give them the joyful parts of their job back . � www . intelligentfin . tech
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