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new-generation-accounting

Why is Innovation in Accounting So Slow?

Accountants have been relying on Microsoft Excel since the 1980s, so you could say innovation in accounting is slow going. It turns out, there are several barriers to innovation that are specific to the accounting and financial services industry. What are they, and what can we do to squash them?

Jody Padar writes on AccountingToday that innovation isn’t typically in accounting’s nature. While accountants are good at mimicking innovation, it often doesn’t stick. Here are some of the top barriers that are keeping innovation in accounting slow. 

Organizational barriers. Accountants and accounting departments often trip up here. We get stuck in a routine that works–for a while–until it becomes a rut. Microsoft Excel is a great example of this. Its usefulness has long since expired, yet many of us continue to cling to it, maybe because of familiarity, or maybe “because we always have.”

Cultural barriers. Accountants by trade tend to be risk averse, but many accountants are (incorrectly) touting themselves as innovative. One of the main tenets of a successful accountant is to be able to analyze what has occurred in the past. Predicting the future? Less easy. Being an innovator requires taking risks, which often lead to missteps. A culture where you can make a mistake, pick yourself up, and try again is a necessity.

Regulatory barriers. Being mindful of regulatory measures and compliance means the opportunity to be creative and innovative can sometimes be non-existent. Much of an accountant’s job is spent understanding and working within the constraints of regulatory updates, so how can we find the time to innovate?

Technological barriers. Cloud software is a boon for the industry, yet many accountants are reluctant. Trading in clunky software for something sleek that automates and takes the guesswork out can feel like a threat, or it can feel too good to be true. Embracing advancing technology will keep you relevant in an industry that desperately needs to remain relevant. 

Market barriers. Following the market keeps you safe, not innovative. Again, risk comes into the equation here. Innovating is about advancing beyond the status quo. To be an innovative leader, you need to suss out what’s limping along and then revise it. 

What next?

Updating your software, improving your communication, enhancing your processes, and updating your pricing structure are all necessary to innovate. And, Padar suggests that a willingness to be agile is critical as well. By applying a goal of agility, you’re setting yourself up for consistent improvement, which keeps you relevant. It’s a chain reaction. 

Innovate with Flexi 

To successfully innovate, you first need to update your software. Flexi is an innovative cloud accounting solution that boasts 1,500 customers and 20,000+ users. Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

 

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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Why Process and Workflow Are So Important in Enterprise Accounting

Multi-entity accounting is complex, rendering process and workflow all the more important. Process, workflow, and a solid accounting software solution that is uniquely designed to handle the complex consolidation and reporting needs of multiple companies, divisions, or global entities is a necessity.

Some of the processes that plague enterprise accountants are: consolidations, intercompany postings, acquisitions, currencies, reporting, and auditing. With the right enterprise software, many of the problems that crop up regularly can be addressed swiftly:

  • Consolidations – Software can provide continuous close capabilities to allow the CFO to gain immediate views of consolidated financials and easily move through the soft close and period close processes.
  • Intercompany Postings – Automatically posting a transaction across multiple entities in a single screen ensures books for both “due to” and “due from” are always in balance.
  • Acquisitions – Newly acquired companies can be integrated faster with the right software that can rapidly clone company setups.
  • Currencies – When global operations are involved, financials can be easily viewed in local currency for field operations, or standardized into a single currency for headquarters purposes.
  • Reporting – Reporting and analysis benefits from real-time visibility with instant roll-up reporting or consolidations.
  • Auditing – With a tightly integrated platform, all transactional data, along with workflow documentation and approvals, are visible with a click of a button – right down to the journal entries.

Consolidating multiple companies, products, and/or divisions can add weeks of time to the financial close process, but it doesn’t have to. Industries that require you to quickly roll up reports or consolidate financials across multiple entities–like financial services, franchises, hospitality, logistics and transportation, property management, and building and construction–can benefit from a multi-entity software overhaul.

Flexi can overhaul your processes and workflows

Flexi’s software was built to perform, saving finance teams hours and weeks of time.

Flexi’s open architecture allows flexibility to choose stand-alone modules as business needs dictate. But enterprises will gain the ultimate speed and power with the entire financial management software platform, uniquely designed to allow financial data to flow securely wherever it is needed, with full integration into your other proprietary or third-party systems.

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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cannabis-accounting

Is the Accounting Industry Chomping at the Bit for the Cannabis Industry?

The cannabis industry is flourishing and it is providing a unique and exciting opportunity for accountants. This new, niche industry is heavily regulated and demands highly skilled accountants to navigate and lead. This industry isn’t for the faint of heart.

Accountants in the cannabis space are expected to be knowledgeable in a number of facets of the industry, such as farming, retail, food production, and chemical manufacturing. Accountants also must operate within tight federal and state regulations. With a prediction that the U.S. cannabis market will reach $70 billion by 2021, accountants need to quickly catch up to speed to lead the charge or else the cannabis companies they service risk steep penalties or shutdown.

Accountants looking to succeed in this market will need to build a solid base for their team, heavily educate themselves, and seek out intel from cannabis CEOs.

A solid team is a necessity. Your clients will likely be looking for a one-stop shop. Many of them are start-ups and don’t necessarily have the resources to outsource to multiple vendors. Providing them with an educated team including bookkeeping, controllership, and tax prep and planning will be a very attractive and lucrative deal.

Specialized education is a must. You likely never studied the cannabis market in school, so continuing education, workshops, and personal research is a necessity. There are lots of complex accounting rules in place and with such a new industry, things are likely to change rapidly, so staying up to date on all the changes is incredibly important.

Gather intel from CEOs in the space. While you can study and read and take workshops and classes, the best education might be in the field. Pay attention to what leaders in the space are saying, and mold your business to suit theirs. 

Flexi offers accounting solutions to fit any industry

Flexi is here to help you succeed in any venture, including the cannabis market. 

Trusted by enterprises for 25+ years, Flexi is among the most experienced accounting software providers in both the cloud and on-premise markets. Organizations of all sizes, particularly those with complex accounting requirements such as multi-entity and intercompany accounting needs, are benefiting from Flexi’s value: rich features, flexible deployment, easily customized, low maintenance and highly rated support, all at an attractive total cost of ownership.

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

 

Category: Blog, Healthcare Accounting

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accounting-technology-mindset

Is Technology Waiting for the Accounting Industry Mindset to Catch Up?

It’s no secret that the accounting industry hasn’t been the most innovative or the quickest to embrace technology. External barriers are as responsible for this as the industry mindset. While automation and AI are spreading like wildfire in other industries, accountants have been tentative and hesitant about what automation could mean for the future of the industry–and their job security–but additionally, a lack of schooling and training opportunities have left accountants scrambling to keep up.

Cloud Software Solutions

Cloud software solutions have emerged with promises of easing the burden of manual errors caused by spreadsheet accounting. New technology comes with a learning curve and as automation eliminates many of the manual processes accountants are accustomed to, it requires in some cases continuing education to remain relevant in the industry. 

New and innovation technology is yielding a seachange in the industry: there is now an expectation that accountants will not only be skilled and knowledgeable in bookkeeping but will emphasize strategy and advisory services. Accountants are also increasingly expected to specialize in and consult on various software options for their clients. 

The industry has seen an overhaul and though accounting positions are growing in number, there are fewer and fewer in the field that hold these newly minted qualifications. The academic world has not yet kept up, which is a big reason why so few accountants have embraced they new technology: they simply haven’t been trained on it.

Flexi can get you up to speed

Over 25 years ago, the team behind Flexi Software believed that the promise of accounting automation shouldn’t be reserved for Fortune 500 enterprises. Flexi set out to create a world-class platform that would not only offer the robust functionality found in costly Tier One ERP solutions but also offered the things that mattered most in a rapidly changing accounting environment:

  • Real-time performance and the ability to securely handle millions of transactions in real-time
  • Flexibility to grow and adapt to changing business or market needs
  • Openness that would allow easy integration with any system
  • Process-driven design that leveraged technology to automate much of the accounting cycle

That vision remains strong today and Flexi continues its laser focus on developing feature-rich accounting software that is both relevant and a smart value. As a SOC 2 Type I certified provider, Flexi is dedicated to empowering accountants to work as efficiently and securely as possible – today and tomorrow.

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

 

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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wrong accounting entry

What One Wrong Accounting Entry Can Do to An Enterprise Company, And How To Fix It

Multi-entity accounting is complex, and one wrong accounting entry can slow down the whole operation. Multi-entity organizations face such complexities as multiple currencies, global consolidations, decentralized payables, and inter-entity transactions, to name a few of the challenges. What’s more, consolidating multiple companies, products, and/or divisions can add weeks of time to the financial close process to begin with, and that’s when errors aren’t present. 

Fortunately, growth is easy, reports are clear and easy to run, and closing is faster with continuous multi-entity financial consolidation software. To get ahead of the curve, implementing an accounting solution that comes standard with the following features can save many future headaches in multi-entity scenarios.

Consolidations – Continuous close capabilities allow the CFO to gain immediate views of consolidated financials and easily move through the soft close and period close processes.

Intercompany Postings – Automatically posting a transaction across multiple entities in a single screen ensures books for both “due to” and “due from” are always in balance.

Acquisitions – Newly acquired companies can be integrated faster with features that rapidly clone company setups.

Currencies – When global operations are involved, financials can be easily viewed in local currency for field operations, or standardized into a single currency for headquarters purposes.

Reporting – Reporting and analysis benefits from real-time visibility with instant roll-up reporting or consolidations.

Auditing – Transactional data, along with workflow documentation and approvals, are visible with a click of a button, right down to the journal entries.

Flexi

If your work requires you to quickly roll-up reports or consolidate financials across multiple entities, you owe it to yourself to look into Flexi.

Flexi services multi-entity organizations in such industries as financial services, hospitality, logistics and transportation, property management, and construction.

The ability to greatly simplify multi-entity accounting is just one of the reasons why enterprises have relied on Flexi for over 25 years. Flexi’s accounting software is uniquely designed to handle the complex consolidation and reporting needs when multiple companies, divisions, or global entities are involved.

Flexi will lead you to:

  • Less paper, and no manual errors
  • Faster period close
  • Real-time financial updates, whenever and wherever needed
  • Standardized workflow with built-in approvals
  • Mobile access to financials through any device
  • Visualization tools with real-time visibility of every transaction and complete audit trail

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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Outsource Accounting Partner

Cloud Accounting Set to Experience Highest Growth in Coming Years

Cloud accounting has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with the height of the growth still to come, according to the Cloud Accounting Software Market research report by Market Study Report, LLC. 

The report analyzes pivotal insights regarding market size, competitive spectrum, contender share, consumption trends, and geographical outlook. The report also explores key drivers and challenges, as well as strategies adopted by distinguished players in the industry. 

The report foresees cloud accounting software market growth for an estimated period, as well as delivers in-depth analysis on the industry, including market tendencies, deliverables, market share, current valuation, market size, and profit approximations during that timeline.

Key components of the report include: turnover predictions, recent market trends, industry drivers, key challenges, consumption growth rate, competitive framework, competitive ranking analysis, market concentration rate analysis, market concentration ratio, geographical dissection, latent market competitors, and value growth rate. 

This report puts data and analysis around a widely accepted notion: the cloud is the future. With user-friendly interfaces, automation, ease of access, and high security measures, it’s evident that cloud-based accounting solutions can offer more, and faster, than traditional, locally installed solutions. 

Still, many finance teams are wary, opting for more conservative measures than a cloud-based solution, citing potential security breaches and challenges integrating with an existing general ledger. Even still, the Cloud Accounting Software Market research report points to one truth: the cloud software market is all but slowing down.

Request a sample of the report to dive deeper, and explore similar reports, too.

Flexi can help when you’re ready to make the switch

Making an investment in a new software is a nerve wracking, albeit necessary, step. Flexi draws upon 25+ years to deliver all the benefits of the cloud without compromising security or performance.

Trusted by enterprises for 25+ years, Flexi is among the most experienced accounting software providers in both the cloud and on-premise markets. Organizations of all sizes, particularly those with complex accounting requirements such as multi-entity and intercompany accounting needs, are benefiting from Flexi’s value: rich features, flexible deployment, easily customized, low maintenance, and highly rated support, all at an attractive total cost of ownership. 

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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Good Enterprise Accounting Software

5 Things That Can Derail Enterprise Accounting That Good Software Can Prevent

Keeping tabs on large organizations, multiple entities, different currencies, different systems, and other complex accounting needs can be very challenging. It is difficult to consolidate and analyze all of that information using standard accounting software. Enterprise accounting software serves to address the unique needs of these types of organizations. 

What is Enterprise Accounting Software?

Enterprise accounting software allows an organization to manage transactions and data, going above and beyond core accounting processes by providing modules specific to billing and payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and general ledger. 

Benefits of enterprise software include streamlined processes, automation, cross-departmental collaboration, and visibility. 

Enterprise software is imperative to addressing issues that can derail complex businesses. Being able to easily navigate the “big picture” and run reports aimed to help you analyze your growing business’s needs is critical.

The top 5 things to keep an eye on are:

  1. Integrated modules. Integration is of the utmost important, even if the modules happen to be sold separately. A unified platform will make your business run smoothly and will make visualizing the big picture easier than ever. 
  2. Customization features. Each organization has different needs, so choosing a solution that will give you some wiggle room to specifically tailor your software to your unique needs is extremely important. 
  3. Security. Backups, encryption, and user-specific permissions are important, especially for cloud-based enterprise accounting software solutions.
  4. User-friendliness. A user-friendly interface is integral when you are switching to a new accounting system that you want your employees to adopt.
  5. Access. The cloud provides access to any device with an internet connection, which is ideal for most of today’s business scenarios where employees are remote, traveling, or inclement weather keeps them home. 

Flexi addresses your enterprise needs

Flexi delivers everything that an enterprise needs to automate accounting and dramatically improve workflow processes. Flexi’s finance and accounting software offers extreme flexibility:

  • Connects with any GL or subledger, resulting in easy consolidations from multiple systems
  • Deployed in any way needed: on premise, hosted, cloud, or hybrid environments
  • Workflow processes are easily defined and set up any way needed
  • Reports are easily set up, generated, and shared with anyone who needs them
  • Open SOA architecture is designed to seamlessly integrate with any system
  • Simple interface allows for user-defined setup of all these parameters and more, without the need for IT programming

 

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today.

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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period accounting

What Exactly Is Period Accounting?

To understand, analyze, and strategize your business, you need first to ensure that your period accounting is correct. Period accounting is the time covered by your financial statements in the reporting period. 

Your period accounting is correct only if you ensure you are correctly deferring revenue and recognizing associated costs. Failing to correctly claim costs will cause a spike in your profit and loss accounts, rendering your analysis null and void. Analyzing numbers without considering their relationship does not provide you with the multidimensional analysis you need to succeed as a business.

It is common for businesses to split their accounting systems between two platforms, one for invoices and one for accounting. Neither platform on its own can provide you with enough information to fully analyze your business. For example: your invoice engine isn’t concerned with period accounting, and your accounting system only indexes costs by supplier, not split between contracts and projects or against sales.

Adopting a PSA (professional services automation) tool can act as a key differentiator for period accounting. A PSA tool will offer indexing capabilities that a traditional accounting system does not. Adopting a system to connect prices and asset values for all financial transactions is a necessary step. Being able to cross-index against the project or customer on which you’ve incurred costs gives visibility to the true customer margins. 

A PSA tool allows you to capture and control business processes to provide a full picture of your company’s profitability. These accounting events need to also wind up in your accounting system.

By using a model like the ‘null’ model, the invoice line trigger model, the invoice post model, or the journal post model, you can use your PSA tool to drive accounting processes to help you fully analyze your business. 

Flexi aims to simply accounting processes

Simplifying accounting processes to make analysis and strategy easy is Flexi’s goal. Trusted by enterprises for 25+ years, Flexi is among the most experienced accounting software providers in both the cloud and on-premise markets.

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

 

Category: Blog, Uncategorized

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ai-robots-accounting

Are Robots Poised to Take Over Accounting Too?

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robots are technologies that are taking center stage across industries, especially in industries such as manufacturing, retail, customer service, and agriculture. The accounting industry is no exception.

Experts predict that as many as 800 million jobs could be replaced with AI by 2030. Traditionally, it was blue collar workers that were concerned about what this meant for their job security, but white collar workers like accountants are now expressing concern that technology could render their positions obsolete. 

While automation certainly has gained momentum in accounting, specifically in up and coming cloud-based software solutions, it is meant to make accountants’ jobs easier–not render their jobs null and void. 

AI was already a fixture in accounting for the past several years, especially in tax preparation, payroll, and auditing. It is seen in repetitive, mundane tasks that used to eat hours of accountants’ time, freeing them up now to focus on strategy and analysis. 

There will always be a need for a human element, especially where strategic and advisory services are concerned. While automation is taking over on tasks that were previously extremely time consuming, it’s also enhancing the integrity of the data. Automation means fewer manual errors and more data consistency. It’s actually a boon for accountants, helping them to do their job faster, easier, and with more confidence.

Remaining competitive in a field that is no doubt changing due to advancing technologies means embracing the change. Embrace the new tools and become an expert in the software options clients have. The better equipped an accountant is to help a client integrate and utilize AI, the more trusted they will be, and the more invaluable their services.

Getting more involved in the IT side of accounting will give new grads a leg up in the job hunt. Many universities are already incorporating coursework in IT and database management in their accounting programs. Continuing education and workshops are also available for seasoned accountants.  

The right software will ease you through the technological transition

Flexi is trusted by world-leading brands. Flexi powers nearly 1,500 customer sites in dozens of industries, with 20,000+ users to date processing billions of transactions securely and in real-time.

Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today to see how the right software can use automation and AI to your advantage. 

 

Category: AI, Blog

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Organization Accounting Software

How To Get Your Organization to Want a New Accounting Software

Implementing new technology solutions is tough, especially in large or high-growth organizations. In larger companies, different divisions often use their own specific platforms for accounting, data reporting, and more, but all the systems need to integrate for the sake of better decision making. They often don’t–or not very well, at least–leading to manual processes and bandaid solutions that quite honestly make everyone’s lives harder.

Before even getting to that point, just getting everyone’s buy-in to embrace change can be challenging in and of itself. It’s not unusual for the switch to take a couple of years, and in the early stages, people hold on tight to old, often manual, processes. Ultimately the switch to the new solution is usually a positive and efficient one, but it takes time. 

How do you get your team’s buy-in? Consider the following:

Define timelines

It can take 9-12 months to roll out a new solution organization-wide. It seems like a long time, and it’s important to set expectations early and often. If you don’t plan for enough time, there will be lots of false starts and delays, which frustrate everybody–especially the executives. Rushing it and getting it wrong is far worse than taking your time to get it right. Make sure everyone is in agreement on that.

Prioritize reporting needs

Virtually every department will have their own reporting needs. Fortunately, most newer solutions offer custom reporting. During the testing phase, make sure stakeholders have the opportunity to test out the reporting feature to ensure that the solution can provide customizable, easily formatted reports that fit the needs of the masses.

Reward small victories

It is no doubt a frustrating process to roll out a new accounting software that changes processes and workflows from the ground up. To keep your team positive and engaged, reward small victories and incentivize along the way. The day to day will feel tedious, but reminding everyone what you’re working towards is a helpful tip. Celebrate wins, even small ones.

Consider ROI

This is arguably the most important point. Lean on your network to prove your chosen solution’s ROI. Your executive team won’t approve a change if it isn’t going to be good for the bottom line. Additionally, the vendor should be proving ROI in the way of case studies and reports. Poke holes and ask questions to get to the heart of the matter.

Choose a solid solution, like Flexi

Flexi may be the biggest, most trusted accounting software company you’ve never heard of – which means its  partner network is doing its job. While Flexi sells directly to customers, its software is also private labeled throughout the world by companies such as Allscripts, StoneRiver, Majesco, and Molina Healthcare (formerly a division of Unisys).

Flexi’s reach is further strengthened through strategic partnerships with BPOs (business process outsourcing), FAOs (finance and accounting outsourcing), and industry-specific technology providers like Acturis. Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today. 

 

 

 

Category: Accounting Software, Blog

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