by Navin Gupta, on Feb 8, 2022 9:29:43 PM
Estimated reading time: 2.5 mins
Legacy applications and paper-based workflows in Finance & Accounts affect the overall business operations and turnaround time. Besides, modern ERP systems are unable to process unstructured data that may arrive as PDFs, documents, or paper forms. Manual data entry remains the only solution for moving or copying data from paper to legacy applications or ERP systems. It gives rise to repetitive processes and swivel-chair operations. A smart way to integrate all the entities in a heterogeneous landscape, such as Finance & Accounts, is Intelligent Automation.
How does Intelligent Automation enable Finance & Accounts?
Intelligent Automation seamlessly bridges Finance & Accounting operations that span across legacy, ERP, and paper-based workflows. This end-to-end automation improves the straight-through processing or STP and as a result, increases the productivity and efficiency in the department. The integration and systems optimization reduces operational costs.
Intelligent Automation ensemble includes different components. The intelligent document processing component extracts the data from unstructured and semi-structured documents with high accuracy. The RPA part non-invasively integrates the data across the different IT systems at varying levels of automation maturity. The AI/ML algorithms impart the operational intelligence layer that continuously learns and improves with each batch processing. The workflows offer a robust integration across the different systems. Analytics provide the real-time visibility of the receivables and the payables across the integrated ensemble.
Intelligent Automation success stories in Finance & Accounts
Here are some successes achieved by global companies by leveraging Intelligent Automation –
- A large Manufacturer in Sweden: The enterprise operated on legacy machines and annually processed 14000 invoices and unstructured data and as a result encountered significant operational costs. The enterprise leveraged Intelligent Automation in their Finance & Accounts to achieve 25% improved efficiency and productivity as well as improved cash flow management.
- A large House Leasing Company in the US: The leasing company encountered errors and rework in invoice processing during peak work volumes. It deployed Intelligent Automation to receive invoices in an unstructured format, extract the data, validate it, and post it to the core business system so that the data can be processed further. It resulted in 99% accuracy, eliminated error, and improved straight-through processing.
- Airline Catering Company in Sweden: The catering company operated in 45 different locations and incurred high operational costs. It implemented Intelligent Automation and improved speed and accuracy to decrease processing costs. It improved data visibility and transparency and institutionalized better decision-making.
- Credit Rating Agency based in the United States: The company received data in paper and other unstructured formats and encountered errors and rework that led to delays in processing. They deployed Intelligent Automation for sourcing data regarding their subjects from different publicly hosted sites. It resulted in improved response time by 60% with a high first-time-right ratio.
- Automobile Sealant Manufacturing Company: The company faced high operational costs as they had three ERP systems and their receivables closure involved integrating the data across all the systems. They used Intelligent Automation to integrate the systems that significantly lowered their operational costs and improved cycle time by 50%.
Benefits of Intelligent Automation in Finance and Accounts
- AI/ML-enabled platform for improved output through continuous learning
- Improved straight-through processing and the significant ratio of first-time rights
- Improved productivity and efficiency as well as lowered operational costs
- Superior cash flow management and optimized protocols
- End-to-End automation eliminating scope for fraud
- Real-time data visibility across AR and AP for better decision making
In Summary
Intelligent Automation allows a business to build a digitally proficient and agile business landscape as well as extend the benefits to its vendor supplier and customer ecosystem. It allows building better business models towards a mutually beneficial environment.
