As we continue to witness the ripple effects from the collapse of banks including Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank, we can’t help but take on the role of armchair quarterback and wonder how these crises can be prevented in the future.

Since Flexi’s roots are in the financial services industry and dozens of banks have relied on our accounting software over the past 30 years, our focus narrows down to a two-part question: How can finance and accounting reduce risk for banks and other financial institutions? And how can our software help facilitate this?

In the banking industry, accounting departments play a vital role in maintaining the financial health of the institution. One of the most important responsibilities of these departments is to minimize risks associated with financial transactions. Having the right bank accounting software mitigates these risks.

Reducing risks is crucial in safeguarding the institution’s assets, complying with regulatory requirements, and maintaining the trust of customers and investors. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the measures that accounting departments within banks can take to reduce risk, and how having the right accounting software accomplishes these goals.

IMPLEMENT STRONG INTERNAL CONTROLS

Internal controls are policies and procedures designed to safeguard an organization’s assets, ensure the accuracy and completeness of its financial records, and promote operational efficiency.

Banks’ accounting departments should develop and implement strong internal controls that cover all areas of financial transactions, including cash handling, loan processing, and investment management. These controls should be regularly reviewed and updated to address any new risks or changes in the business environment.

How Flexi helps: Flexi’s solution includes enterprise-strength security and an automated workflow process that is customized to reflect the bank’s accounting rules and policies. Any activities outside of those parameters are immediately flagged, with the ability to implement multiple layers of management approval – minimizing the risk that questionable activity goes undetected.

Flexi’s bank accounting software is a highly configurable solution that enables users to configure accounting rules that comply with GAAP, regulatory, and company policies to ensure your financial data is accurate and complete.

CONDUCT REGULAR AUDITS

Audits are an essential tool for identifying weaknesses in internal controls and detecting potential fraud. Accounting departments should conduct regular audits of all financial transactions to ensure compliance with policies and procedures and to identify any areas that require improvement.

Audits should be conducted by independent auditors who have the necessary expertise to detect potential fraud.

How Flexi helps: With built-in audit reports, administrators can trace back every addition, change, or deletion to financial information.  Auditors can also see each person that touched a transaction, such as the originator, reviewer, approver, processor, and adjuster.  

Additionally, Flexi’s powerful Financial Report Writer uses a read-only browser interface instead of Excel.  This prevents anyone from changing financial figures to cover up fraud.

IMPLEMENT FRAUD DETECTION AND PREVENTION MEASURES

Fraud is a significant risk for banks, and accounting departments should implement measures to prevent and detect it. These measures include monitoring suspicious activities, conducting background checks on employees, and implementing a separation of duties within the accounting department.

Accounting departments should also provide regular training to employees to help them recognize and report fraudulent activities.

How Flexi helps: Flexi’s security settings can be configured to require a separation of duties for accounting processes.  For example, users who enter a journal entry can be prevented from being the same person who posts it.

Our accounting workflow automation engine, FlexiWorkflow, also provides fraud prevention features and additional separation of duties. For example, whenever a vendor is created or changed, Flexi’s eVendor system can force the approval of the new vendor information before additional processing occurs, preventing people from creating fraudulent vendors. 

REGULARLY ASSESS RISK

Risk assessment is an ongoing process that helps banks identify potential risks and take steps to mitigate them.

Accounting departments should regularly assess risks associated with financial transactions, such as credit risk, market risk, and operational risk. They should then develop and implement strategies to manage these risks, such as diversifying investments or reducing exposure to risky assets.

How Flexi helps: Flexi provides banks with a financial reporting engine that is the most advanced in the industry. Reports and dashboards provide insight into potential financial risk areas, allowing finance departments to provide strategic advice to management with accurate, real-time information.

In conclusion, with the right accounting software, the accounting department within a bank plays a critical role in reducing risks associated with financial transactions. By implementing strong internal controls, conducting regular audits, implementing fraud detection and prevention measures, maintaining strong relationships with regulators, and regularly assessing risk, accounting departments can help banks maintain their financial health and reputation while providing excellent service to customers and investors. By requesting a personalized demo, our team can show you how Flexi software works to reduce risk for your bank.

For companies with a single entity, accounting is very straightforward. Information is collected, transactions are recorded, financial information is reported, and decisions are made based on that information.

However, in multi-entity companies, accounting is much more complex. When multiple subsidiaries, operations, or locations are involved, the ability to consolidate all the information and create financials for each node of the hierarchy is a very time-consuming process.

Accountants immersed in these multi-entity accounting environments typically have two things on their wish list: greater efficiency, and better reporting. Their current processes involve tedious, manual entries and correcting errors that result.

USE CASE EXAMPLE: INTERCOMPANY ELIMINATIONS

As an example, let’s imagine that a company has two separate entities on different systems. But there are many expenses that are shared between these entities, such as Internet services.

The $5,000 Internet bill is received and must be allocated 50% to each company.

Transactions must be recorded to allocate $2,500 to Company A, $2,500 to Company B, and then account for the intercompany adjustments between the companies. That is four separate transactions that must be recorded for this one simple example.

In reality, accountants in multi-entity environments may be capturing hundreds or thousands of these transactions every month through a process that is typically highly manual, time-consuming, and prone to errors. The pains are magnified further when the number of entities reach double digits and beyond.

In sharp contrast, if the accounting team in this use case scenario were using Flexi’s accounting software, only one entry would be required. This is because Flexi automates multi-entity accounting in unique ways that result in big savings for our customers. Less entries mean less errors, resulting in cleaner data, and providing real-time reconciliation.

THE FLEXI DIFFERENCE: AUTOMATING MULTI-ENTITY ACCOUNTING

Most accounting software was designed for a single entity. Additional functionality may have been added as multi-entity needs surfaced throughout the years. It’s a little like altering a piece of clothing to reflect the changing trends over the years. It just never quite works right.

Flexi is unique. From our very beginning over 30 years ago, the core of our accounting software was built for multi-entity accounting. This functionality is ingrained in our system, right down to the data structures.

The built-in functionality delivers powerful automation for multi-entity accounting. Time-saving highlights include:

• Automated consolidation of financial data for an unlimited number of entities, even if multiple GL systems are involved.
• Automated intercompany eliminations.
• Automated conversion of multiple currencies.
• Automated, real-time reporting and analytics that enables the ability to see performance across all entities, drill down to view transaction details, slice and dice data any way needed – all from one screen.

These are just some of the powerful features that make Flexi’s accounting software an outstanding choice for multi-entity companies.

Schedule a personalized demo to see how Flexi can automate multi-entity accounting for your company.

Within every industry, corporate accountants are facing rapidly changing business environments. This requires agility to adapt quickly to new technologies, regulations, and market conditions. Below are five of the most significant challenges facing today’s corporate accountants, and how Flexi helps our customers overcome them.

1. Technology disruption: Technology is rapidly changing the way accounting work is done. Accounting automation, cloud accounting software, and big data analytics are transforming accounting practices, and accountants must keep up with these changes to remain relevant.

2. Regulatory compliance: Compliance with various accounting standards and regulations is a major challenge for corporate accountants. Keeping track of the changing rules and regulations can be difficult, and noncompliance can result in penalties and fines. Flexi’s accounting software is unmatched in the ability to track and report on real-time activity with built-in compliance and audit trails.

3. Cybersecurity: As more and more companies conduct business online, cybersecurity threats have become a major concern for corporate accountants. Cyberattacks can lead to data breaches, loss of confidential information, and reputational damage. At Flexi, security is a top priority, which is why we’ve chosen Microsoft Azure for our cloud accounting software – along with 90% of Fortune 500 businesses than run on the Microsoft cloud.

4. Talent shortage: The ability to recruit and retain top talent is top of mind for accountants interviewed in our eBook, Accounting Automation and AI. The shortage of new skills needed in the accounting profession is a very real obstacle for growing companies. The competition for skilled accountants is intense, and companies must work hard to create an attractive workplace culture. Having the right accounting software with workflow automation to eliminate mundane, routine tasks is an important element of that culture. It is nearly impossible to recruit top talent when accounting processes remain highly manual.

5. Data management: With the increasing amount of data being generated, corporate accountants must be skilled at managing and analyzing data. They must be able to identify trends and insights in the data to provide strategic advice to their companies. Flexi’s core accounting suite, FlexiFinancials®, can be enhanced with solutions that enable fast, accurate financial reporting, financial analytics, and budgeting, enabling accountants to spend less time compiling data and step into more strategic roles.

These are just some of the reasons why Flexi’s accounting software is relied upon in industries where speed, performance, and security are of critical importance. For over 30 years, our teams have continually innovated as we strive to provide a world-class accounting platform delivered with extraordinary flexibility and support. Request a demo and discover why mid- to large-size companies trust Flexi to help them overcome their biggest accounting challenges.

Gone are the days of waiting for month-end numbers. Accounting Today sums it up: it is no longer “business as usual,” it is “business now.” As companies adopt this new sense of urgency, there is a growing realization of the important benefits to be gained from a continuous closing of books (also referred to as “continuous accounting” or “daily close”), including the daily recognition of revenue and cash flow, timely reconciliations, early detection of errors or theft, and ultimately aiding the ability to make strategic, data-driven decisions based on real-time information.

In essence, a continuous close is like a “rolling” close. The practice helps to keep the company’s financial books up to date, and near ready to close them at any point in time. This approach to continuous accounting presents the opportunity for an ongoing “soft close” that more evenly distributes the workload throughout the month rather than waiting until the end of the period to make adjustments, settle intercompany eliminations, and complete consolidations. Continuous accounting has a two-fold purpose: 1) to provide executives and other decision makers with accurate, real-time financial data when they need it, and 2) to make the month-end “hard close” exponentially faster, easier, and more accurate.

The Urgency Factor: The Drumbeat is Getting Faster

Most accountants are familiar with the typical cadence behind a traditional financial close. At the end of the period, all data is uploaded, intercompany reconciliations and eliminations are completed, consolidations are performed, and once approved, the books are closed and final reports are issued. There are weeks’ worth of tasks included in this synopsis, and while it may not always be enjoyable, it is predictable and driven by clear processes.

Typically, executives get their first clear vision of performance several weeks after the end of a period, whether that be monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Yet few of us know of an executive who is willing to wait three weeks for anything! Modern, competitive businesses just cannot operate that way.

As CFO.com highlighted in this whitepaper on modernizing the financial close, “the constant drumbeat of competition, combined with the persistent scrutiny that regulators and other stakeholders apply to financial results, leaves little room for financial close and reporting processes that require an overabundance of patience or are lacking in clarity and precision.”

Of course, nearly every results-oriented finance professional can see the enormous benefits of a continuous close. But as you’ll read below, the ability to achieve this vision is a lot easier said than done.

Continuous Close: The Move to Real-Time Accounting

Not so long ago, the need for the accurate, real-time information that is provided by a continuous close was limited to the financial services sector (banking, for example). Today, companies spanning every industry are rapidly understanding the benefits of a continuous close, which ultimately results in a much more efficient and accurate month-end close. But there is one mammoth obstacle standing in the way of achieving this goal of a continuous close, and that is technology.

Many accounting systems are not built for such efficiency. Companies oftentimes find themselves between a rock and a hard place. At one of end of the spectrum is an enterprise accounting system that was built without anticipating the need for real-time, continuous close accounting and is therefore too rigid to adapt. At the opposite end is a more nimble, modern accounting system that lacks the infrastructure to process the high volume of enterprise-level transactions (aka scalability).

Flexi is a rare accounting system that delivers the best of both worlds. From its beginnings over 30 years ago, Flexi was supporting one of the world’s largest banks with the ability to process billions of transactions, convert global currencies, consolidate multiple entities, and provide continuous close capabilities – all with extreme precision, speed, and security.

All to say, we know a thing or two about delivering technology that perfectly enables a continuous close process. We’ve drawn upon this knowledge to provide a summary below of the most important capabilities to look for when evaluating accounting software vendors. At a minimum, a true, enterprise-level continuous accounting process must be powered by sophisticated accounting software that provides the ability to:

• Connect all relevant data through a seamless integration
• Automate routine tasks (“rules-based workflow automation”) with the flexibility to customize tasks and exceptions based on specific business rules
• Pull data from different general ledgers into a standardized format
• Quickly consolidate financial statements in real time
• Convert multiple currencies into a common currency for reporting purposes
• Easily generate and distribute real-time reports along with data visualization and analytics
• Provide complete transparency including 24/7 access to detailed audit and compliance reports
• Scale to unlimited growth potential, without compromising performance (speed or accuracy of transaction processing)

System Integration is Key

A continuous close must account for all relevant data, including data residing outside of the accounting system. The ability to easily integrate other systems and third-party applications with a company’s accounting system is mission critical.

As an example, Flexi’s customer and SVP of finance, operating in the hospitality industry, explains the benefits:

“We’ve integrated Flexi’s accounting system with our POS (Point of Sale) software so our [8,000 restaurants] can produce this information on a daily basis. They’re able to pull daily results not only from one restaurant, but also in aggregate across their entire company for deeper analysis.”

This continuous close process, which effectively conducts a soft close throughout the month, has cut the time it takes to close books by at least two weeks, sometimes more.

With no thanks to the pandemic, accounting departments everywhere have been forced to adopt new ways of thinking and working. To understand how the industry is being impacted, we interviewed accounting professionals and executives to identify their top accounting challenges. The data we’ve collected in 2021 sets the stage for looking ahead at improvements needed in 2022.

The perspectives shared revealed unique and very real challenges; some of which have been swirling around the profession for decades while still others have only just recently bubbled up to the surface. The challenges for those at the forefront, though, are numerous and, in some cases, daunting.

Although our interviewees represented different company sizes, there were two predominate themes that surfaced: people and technology. As you will read in this article, the challenges that encircle each are highly interconnected and likely woven into the fabric of every corporate accounting department.

Let us look at the top four challenges revealed and how to solve each.

1. Skills to Pay the Bills (are Not Enough)

It’s no secret that there has been a widening skills gap in accounting. The desire to hire more well-rounded and future-ready accountants is on everyone’s to-do list, particularly as companies adopt newer technology that will automate routine accounting tasks. Thus, accountants that are also equipped to excel in strategy and financial planning roles have more value (and leverage) now than ever before.

According to Schuyler Ryan, Assistant VP of Finance, the evolution from bookkeeper to problem solver cannot happen fast enough. She shares that her accounting staff is made stronger by people who are “critical thinkers, problem solvers, and not content with doing the same thing every day.”

This does not necessarily mean eliminating the traditional accounting role as automation becomes more prevalent. What it does mean is hiring accountants who can do more than simply maintain the books.

When asked if automation was the elixir to cure all (accounting) ills, Michelle Lucero, Senior Accountant, put it bluntly. “There are a lot of opportunities for automation but I think the bigger problem is that people are automated in their thinking.” Going forward, the new breed of accountants will need to recognize that while technology is indeed changing their job description and workload, it is also necessitating the ability to take on more strategic and consultative roles, which not only adds value to the accounting organization but also to the company’s bottom line.

Tip: When looking to broaden the expertise and skillsets within the accounting department, consider the applicability of newer professions such as data analytics or forensic accounting. These types of fields emphasize critical thinking and the ability to not only understand the numbers but also the meaning behind them.

2. Manual Processes Continue to Slow Things Down

Let’s face it, manual accounting processes are one of the top frustrations of every accountant. In fact, many of the leaders we spoke with believe manual accounting is becoming more costly and no longer sustainable. Factor in more disparate systems, massive amounts of data, and more reporting and regulatory requirements, and manual processes have become akin to treading in a vat filled with molasses.

In the old days, throwing more people at the problem was always the solution. Today? Not so much. “The biggest challenge, not just for me and my team but also probably many industries, is moving away from all the manual work and finding ways to automate our accounting,” says Lucero.

Fortunately, though, things are changing. For the last few years accounting processes and the profession have been ripe for transformation through automation. The difference now is that the discussion has changed from a hypothetical to a reality. It is no longer a question of if or how automation will play a role in the accounting profession. It is now a matter of identifying what manual processes can be automated today.

Asked whether she agreed with the statement that the more processes you can automate today, the better, Natalie Roberts, VP – Accounting and Controller, says, “Absolutely. I am all about making things more efficient. I look for solutions to our problems and the more manual processes I can take off my staff’s plate, the better.”

With so many accounting complexities, automation cannot be a “one size fits all” approach. “It must be careful automation,” warns Ryan. “You don’t want to automate a process that has so many nuances that you end up spending even more time correcting that automation.”

Tip: Assess your current processes to identify areas that involve highly repetitive, routine tasks based on concise business rules, or still involve paper. Initial areas to review that may be ripe for accounting automation include invoice approval processes, AP workflows, certain journal entries and reconciliations, vendor management, or expense management such as T&E.

3. Older Technologies are Still Holding Productivity Hostage

As we sit here today, there is no doubt that technology advancements have enhanced the accountant’s ability to interpret data efficiently and effectively, particularly with innovations such as RPA (robotic process automation) and AI. The problem, though, is that change and accounting continue to be strange bedfellows. The two should co-exist and evolve harmoniously, but they oftentimes do not.

As example, according to research firm Gartner, RPA could save finance teams 25,000 hours of avoidable rework from human errors, at an annual cost savings of $878,000. Yet many companies are still in the early planning stages of RPA, and a long way from actual adoption.

This isn’t to say that all accounting organizations are averse to change as much as it is saying that some industries are more challenged than others. But given the bloated costs and productivity losses associated with manual work, companies cannot afford the status quo. Even if change doesn’t come easily, it must come.

The strides and inroads that AI is making in accounting point to an opportunity to achieve better results in a quicker span of time. Ryan, who works in the insurance industry, added, “The insurance industry, as a whole, is seeing so much change in terms of automation and AI, I think they are both going to continue to shape the accounting field for years to come.”

Tip: Look for enterprise accounting software that is modern enough to include the automation features needed, but flexible enough to address your company’s unique environment. Ideally you will want a solution that understands the insurance industry and can help you safely automate “parts” of your manual processes, including those nuances that are unique to the industry. Initial areas to assess might include automated invoice approvals, AP workflows, certain journal entries and reconciliations, vendor management, or expense management such as T&E.

4. Recruiting the Right Talent is Difficult

Marc Benioff, Chair and co-CEO of Salesforce once said, “Acquiring the right talent is the most important key to growth.” For those trying to hire accounting talent in the insurance industry, the same holds true.

The hard-earned CPA designation on a resume is no longer enough. As Ryan mentions, “I look for people who I know are going to be smart and who can think critically. I like the members of my team to have diverse skills and backgrounds because they can challenge and encourage each other by offering different perspectives.”

The reality is that new accountants who are just entering the fray, as well as the old guard, are now slowly seeing AI, cloud computing and automation as technologies that are impacting their profession and growth opportunities. Consequently, companies that are not forward-thinking and are not automating more manual processes may be losing out on much more than productivity concerns.

As Lucero explains, “One of the hidden problems associated with NOT automating and continuing to do manual work is that it can become an issue for companies that are trying to attract new talent.” New talent expects more innovative technologies and less of the repetitive, manual work that keeps them trapped in bookkeeper-type roles.

Tip: Innovative technology and the ability to attract top talent are indeed intertwined, much like the mantra of Field of Dreams, “build it and they will come.” First and foremost, future-ready technology (aided greatly by cloud accounting software) is critical to keep your company competitive and operating efficiently. An equally valuable side effect of that commitment is the ability to attract and retain ideal employees who see the opportunity to join the company as career growth and not a step back in time.

Conclusion

On the surface, the top accounting challenges involve people, skills, or productivity. But the common denominator at the heart of nearly every pain point is the need for accounting automation. Without modern technology that enables the automation of routine tasks, accounting teams cannot realize significant productivity improvements, find greater rewards and opportunities in their career choices, or attract emerging, top talent.

Spencer Kuo, VP of Solution Consulting at Flexi Software, sums it best with this: “Right now, accounting, technology and automation have reached this inflection point in which accounting is automated enough and the analytics and reporting is good enough to enable the accounting department to make that evolutionary shift from being ‘just accountants’ to being more of an analytical organization.”

Most accountants have already realized that technology will continue to change their day-to-day job requirements. They are also beginning to understand the resulting opportunity to step into expanded roles which are more strategic in nature and can add direct, impactful, and more visible value to their company. As insurance accountants elevate their learning and adoption of new technologies, it’s important to recognize that it’s not about whether automation will take jobs away but rather how it can make their job better.

Flexi’s future-ready accounting platform, combined with our 30+ years of expertise delivering enterprise accounting software, are among the reasons why advisory firm Aite-Novarica has recognized Flexi as one of the leading providers of General Ledger and Financial Systems for the financial services industry. Schedule a demo and allow us to show you the Flexi difference, and why enterprises of all sizes choose Flexi.

To dive deeper into this subject, including trends, statistics, and additional insight from industry experts, download Flexi’s eBook, Accounting Automation and AI.