Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

The era of invisible accounting is already here

11th Apr 2017
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Last week saw the Sage Summit bring together thousands of businesses from across the UK, and the take-aways were very much around future technology trends – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Bots, Machine Learning – which can be very relevant for small and medium sized businesses in particular, not just enterprises. This tied nicely into the news that apparently 86% of accountants are finally ready to use technology that automates administrative processes. According to Sage’s research, one in three still use manual methods as part of their record keeping processes.

One of the key themes at the summit was all about the reduction of complexity – from applying smart thinking to accounting processes, such as quarterly reporting – through to the use of AI and some new innovations, such as its new chatbot, Pegg – just like Siri but relevant specifically to the needs of accountants. 

It’s exciting because much of this isn’t about the future but instead about real-life technology applications in the here and now. Companies are already working with automation solution providers to automate their financial business processes – such as invoice and sales order processes – using cognitive capture driven by AI. This includes advanced imagery, natural language learning and machine learning technology. In fact, machine learning is being applied to read and interpret semi-structured content intelligently, ensuring that the right data is captured and extracted automatically. So when Forrester talks about new trends around cognitive computing, we’re seeing businesses of all sizes explore this area to deliver a real difference now.

What’s important is how this can drive efficiencies and save costs by automating processes, making sure workflows are as streamlined as possible. For example, the average business spends 30% of its turnover on overheads so seeing a quick ROI against this is invaluable – according to our own customer research, businesses see a return on investment within six months. Using technologies like OCR, invoice recognition and automated machine verification of invoices can ensure an expedient and secure process of paying supplier invoices.

We were excited to hear the progress that Sage is making in the area of bots, AI, and cloud developments, but we should also applaud the success our industry has already achieved together in empowering finance departments in automation and achieving ‘invisible administration’. It’s not all future gazing – the era of invisible accounting is already upon us.  

We are hoping that the findings of Sage’s research next year is that it’s no longer a question of whether businesses are ready to adopt technology or not, but more about which organisations have found the greatest ROI from their digital transformation of financial processes.

Replies (0)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

There are currently no replies, be the first to post a reply.