accounts receivable

Redefining Accounting: Embracing Technology to Transform the Profession

September 21, 2023 by Revelwood

This guest post from our partner BlackLine, highlighting the challenges the accounting profession is facing.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the list of challenges faced by business leaders has only gotten longer with each passing quarter: geo-economic confrontations, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions, rising cyber-crime, energy crises, failing banks, extreme weather events…and unfortunately, there is more bad news to share. Accounting—the backbone of business operations—is in decline.

The Wall Street Journal reported that over “300,000 U.S. accountants and auditors have left their jobs in the past two years, a 17% decline,” and that the diminishing number of accounting bachelor’s graduates won’t be able to fill the vacancies. Some of this decline across the profession can be attributed to retirements, however, several studies point to a much larger problem.

Accounting’s Dependence & Decline

A recent survey of over 1,400 college students (accounting and non-accounting majors alike) on their perceptions of the accounting profession revealed three predominantly negative perceptions of accounting:

1) Accounting careers require longer hours per week than other careers.

2) Day-to-day responsibilities are less interesting than other business careers.

3) Accounting degrees are more difficult to earn than other business majors.

Another survey conducted with the University of Georgia’s Consumer Analytics Program revealed even more alarming data: of the 204 professional accountants surveyed, 99% reported experiencing some level of burnout and 24% of those reported experiencing medium-high to high levels of burnout.

This burnout is predominantly associated with the financial close:

81% of participants reported having at least one month in the past year where the financial close disrupted their personal lives
85% of participants reported having to re-open the books to fix errors at least once a year
49% reported having to re-open the books to fix errors 3-4 months a year

This prevalence of errors within the financial close and subsequent burnout originates in the lack of controls, repetitive work, long hours, and weak data governance that is inherent to dependence on Excel-based accounting processes. Consequently, burnout across the profession only results in more time spent in these processes for the accountants that do remain.

Despite the well-known drawbacks of this dependence, Excel has remained the go-to for period-end accounting and finance processes since its entry into the software market in 1995. This reign as accounting and finance’s primary tool is a success by all accounts. However, the mutual relationship between the recent decline of the accounting profession and the consequences of reliance on manual processes demands a change. This demand for change is stressed even further when we consider the circumstances of our macro-environment and the challenges they pose to the priorities of business leaders.

Conflict with Leadership Priorities

In its Leadership Vision for 2023, Gartner research presents the leading 2023 priorities of Corporate Controllers and their leadership. To no surprise, the CEO’s number one priority is growth, followed by workforce management, and then technological transformation. For the Corporate Controller, the number one priority is to digitize and streamline the financial close process, followed by improving accounting staff engagement and retention, and then reevaluating the controllership’s scope and structure. Does accounting’s dependence on manual, Excel-based processes contribute to either set of priorities? The short answer is no.

With respect to the CEO’s priorities, spreadsheet-based processes:

1) Inherently conflict with technological transformation.

2) Are the root source of the accounting profession’s challenges with workforce growth and retention.

3) Lend themselves to the persistence of risk, inconsistency, lack of visibility, and inefficiency that ultimately disables the CEO from making well-informed, real-time decisions that can optimize profitability.

This is especially true during a tumultuous macroeconomic environment.

A Better Way to Achieving Controllers’ Goals

Fortunately for Corporate Controllers, they can simultaneously address the conflicts that Excel-based processes pose to the priorities of the CEO and achieve their secondary and tertiary priorities through commitment to their first priority—digitizing and streamlining the financial close process.

Of course, there are steps that need to be taken to make the close process resilient to a rapidly changing and increasingly complex business environment prior to digitizing it.

Corporate Controllers can improve accounting staff engagement and retention and reevaluate the controllership’s scope and structure by redefining accounting’s role to support the decision-making and growth priorities of the CEO by:

1) Ditching the risks and inefficiencies associated with spreadsheet-driven processes.

2) Leveraging technology that enables real-time visibility into the balance-sheet.

3) Removing repetitive, mundane tasks from the accountant’s day-to-day responsibilities.

Despite the reality of the accounting profession’s decline, the shift from bookkeeping to decision-support that’s offered by the digitization and streamlining of core accounting processes can deliver a sea change to the profession.

It can address the root causes of burnout, such as the prevalence of errors and rework and the long hours required of repetitive, spreadsheet-driven processes. It can align accounting graduates more closely to the education in analytics and strategy that they received in college, which can in turn make the most of the controllership’s valuable talent. It can dispel perceptions of accounting work as boring and repetitive. And most importantly, it can increase the accountant’s value by making them a stakeholder in the strategy and growth of the business.

If delaying this change to the accounting profession is to delay the growth trajectory of the controllership and its alignment to the priorities of the CEO, then this is a change that business leaders cannot afford to delay.

This blog post was originally published on the BlackLine blog.

The Future of Accounting: Breaking Free from Manual Tasks with Technology

September 14, 2023 by Revelwood

This guest post from our partner BlackLine, discussing how technology can help with the shortage of accountants.

Over the years, the accountancy profession has been known for its stability and rewarding nature. Recently, the number of students specializing in accountancy has dropped while the number of accounting professionals leaving the sector has risen. Yet the demand for qualified accountants shows no signs of abating, resulting in a pressing talent shortage in the finance and accounting industry.

Tammy Coley, BlackLine’s Chief Transformation Officer, chatted about the topic with radio station CNA938 in Singapore.

Technology in the Accounting Profession

Tammy and the show host discussed the rise of technology in the sector and its impact on the profession. Tammy noted that the pandemic caused a lot of corporations to think differently about accounting which led to an embrace of technology and its ability to reduce the reliance on manual, spreadsheet-driven processes. But, in truth, she believes the industry should have been thinking differently about it for a long time before the pandemic.

“We in the accounting profession have a significant opportunity to stop allowing these manual routine processes to continue to be the focus of the accounting function. Accounting is critical, yet many accounting professionals spend so much time simply going through the motions, doing those same processes over and over every period,” she explained.

It’s time to automate those processes so accountants can spend their time on higher value-added activities.

“I am so passionate about helping the accounting profession get away from the manual routine processes and really add value by analyzing the numbers and making sure the numbers are accurate.”

The Accounting Talent Crunch

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) notes the talent crunch in the finance and accounting industry in Singapore (and elsewhere) is expected to worsen. The perception that accounting is still manual, routine, and not exciting may be part of this.

“Accounting is an awesome profession. I love, love, love accounting!” exclaims Tammy. But she goes on to say that accounting has done itself a disservice over the years by continuing to allow the processes to stay manual and routine.

However, this has exposed a huge opportunity to embrace technology and let it do the hard work on the manual, routine processes. This gives accountants an opportunity to better understand the drivers of the business and help the company make good decisions.

Let’s look at an example. In the past, you’d come to work and know that you’re going to pull this data from this subsystem, you’re going to put it into a spreadsheet, then you’re going to calculate the journal entry, and you’re going to post it.

What if, in place of you doing that process over and over, the software does it? Now, instead of posting that journal entry, you get an opportunity to step back and say, “Okay, the system posted it, but does it make sense in comparison to last period or last year? Does it make sense in comparison to forecast?” Now, you can focus on understanding whether the numbers make sense, analyzing the numbers, and helping turn the numbers into information—not just data.

Changing the Perception of Accounting

Tammy feels strongly that the industry needs to change the perception of accounting to get more people interested. The current view is that accounting is a lot of manual work—and that’s not wrong in many organizations.

Students go to school for years to become an accountant, and the job is so critical, but then some people just feel stuck in this manual process cycle. “Those manual routines? They don’t have to be manual anymore. We’ve got to take our game to the next level and not just stay back where we were before the technology could do so much for us,” Tammy explains.

With solutions like BlackLine, accounting departments can automate the manual processes, the routine tasks, and the activities that take up so much time. With that time freed up, F&A professionals can provide an elevated level of service to their organizations and stakeholders, while the organizations benefit from increased job satisfaction and employee retention.

This blog post was originally published on the BlackLine blog.

The Power of AR Automation in Transforming Finance Operations

August 17, 2023 by Revelwood

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, finance leaders are constantly seeking ways to optimize their operations and drive growth. One of the most transformative tools available to them is AR (Accounts Receivable) automation. This cutting-edge technology streamlines manual processes, enhances customer experiences, and unlocks working capital, making it a no-brainer decision for forward-thinking organizations.

The Quest for Agility and Digital Transformation

Recent years have been defined by constant change and technological advancement. Agility and digital transformation have become vital for organizational survival. The finance department, once seen as a back-office function, is now at the forefront of driving strategic decision-making. AR automation plays a crucial role in this transformation, enabling finance professionals to shift their focus from laborious manual tasks to high-value analysis and customer relationship management. By leveraging machine learning and AI-driven technologies, AR automation provides the data-driven insights needed to make informed decisions that fuel growth.

The Impact on Cash Flow and Working Capital

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any organization, and AR automation offers a surefire way to optimize it. By accelerating cash application, businesses can reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), improve working capital management, and strengthen financial health. With faster access to critical data, finance leaders can confidently manage risks and capitalize on growth opportunities. This not only enhances financial stability but also positions the organization to navigate market fluctuations and disruptions effectively.

Enhancing Customer Experience and Loyalty

In today’s customer-centric world, providing a seamless and efficient payment experience is paramount. AR automation simplifies the payment process, enables quicker invoicing, and offers easier payment methods, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. By freeing up time and resources, finance teams can focus on building stronger relationships with customers, offering personalized solutions, and addressing their needs promptly.

A Successful AR Automation Journey

Transitioning from manual to automated processes requires a collaborative effort and a commitment to change. Successful AR automation projects involve engaging finance leaders, AR specialists, IT teams, and other key stakeholders. By gaining their buy-in and addressing their concerns, organizations can ensure a smooth implementation and adoption of the technology. Moreover, with a solution like BlackLine’s AR Automation platform, which offers quick implementation, pre-built rules, and industry-leading match rates, businesses can experience immediate benefits and drive results faster.

Numerous organizations worldwide have already reaped the rewards of AR automation. For instance, global companies have seen match rates rise from less than 38% to over 80% and as high as 92% in some places after implementing BlackLine’s AR Automation solution. These success stories highlight how embracing this no-brainer technology can revolutionize finance operations, improve efficiency, and drive business growth.

In conclusion, AR automation is a transformative tool that empowers finance leaders to create cohesion, unlock working capital, and optimize operations. Embracing this no-brainer technology is an opportunity to increase productivity, enhance customer experiences, and achieve business goals. The time to act is now, and by doing so, organizations position themselves for success in an increasingly dynamic marketplace.

Learn more about AR automation. Download BlackLine’s eBook, It’s a No-Brainer: Why AR Automation is the Go-To Tool for Organizations

Maximizing Cash Flow: How Technology Optimizes Accounts Receivable Operations

August 10, 2023 by Revelwood

Effective management of accounts receivable (AR) is critical for the financial health of any organization. Timely collection of outstanding payments can improve cash flow, reduce the risk of bad debts, and enhance overall financial stability. However, manual AR processes can be time-consuming, prone to errors, and lack actionable insights.

Automating Cash Application

Cash application is a fundamental part of the AR process, where incoming payments are matched with outstanding invoices. Traditionally, this has been a tedious and error-prone task. With AR technology, cash application becomes automated and efficient. The system should intelligently match payments with invoices, reduce manual efforts and ensure accuracy. This automation can save valuable time for finance teams, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks.

Enhancing Payment Matching

One of the common challenges in AR management is dealing with diverse payment sources and remittance formats. AR automation technology addresses this issue by seamlessly scraping payment information from various sources, such as bank statements and remittance invoices. The technology should match this data with relevant invoices, streamlining the reconciliation process. As a result, organizations achieve better visibility into their cash flow and minimize the risk of unidentified or misapplied payments.

Customer Risk Assessment

Understanding the creditworthiness and payment behavior of customers is vital for managing risk in AR operations. Technology such as BlackLine’s solution’s customer attractiveness scoring system helps organizations identify customers with varying levels of risk. By analyzing factors such as payment history, outstanding debts, and payment trends, the system assigns grades to customers, enabling finance teams to prioritize collections efforts and manage credit exposure more effectively.

Cash Flow Forecasting

Cash flow forecasting is an essential practice for any organization to plan and manage financial resources efficiently. An AR Intelligence solution should empower finance professionals with data-driven insights to make informed cash flow predictions. By analyzing historical payment patterns, invoice due dates, and customer payment behaviors, the system provides accurate forecasts, helping organizations anticipate cash inflows and outflows with greater precision.

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, optimizing financial operations is essential for sustainable growth and success. AR solutions offer comprehensive and intelligent approaches to streamline accounts receivable processes. By automating cash application, enhancing payment matching, and providing valuable insights through analytics, organizations can reduce manual efforts, mitigate risk, and achieve better financial outcomes.

Learn more about optimizing AR – watch our on-demand webinar, BlackLine in Action: Optimizing Your Accounts Receivable Process.

Building Financial Resilience with AR Intelligence: Embracing the Power of Automation and Data

August 3, 2023 by Revelwood

In today’s fast-paced and unpredictable economic landscape, businesses must be equipped to weather financial storms and emerge stronger. One critical aspect of financial resilience is effective management of accounts receivable (AR) and credit risk. Traditional approaches to AR reporting often lack real-time insights, leading to inaccurate cash forecasting, extended payment terms, and delayed collections. However, by embracing AR intelligence through automation and data analytics, businesses can optimize cash flow, make informed credit decisions, and enhance collections strategies.

The Power of AR Intelligence

AR intelligence is revolutionizing the way businesses manage their financial operations. By integrating automation and artificial intelligence, AR intelligence platforms streamline data collection, analysis, and reporting processes. These platforms provide real-time payment data, customer payment behavior insights, and debtor performance information, enabling financial decision-makers to access critical information at their fingertips. With automation handling time-consuming manual tasks, finance teams can focus on strategic decision-making and respond swiftly to market changes.

Optimizing Cash Flow with Payment Forecasting

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and accurate payment forecasting is crucial to ensure its smooth operation. AR intelligence utilizes historical payment data to predict future payment patterns and identify potential cash shortfalls. Armed with reliable forecasts, businesses can make better-informed decisions on spending, investments, and overall financial planning. This level of insight empowers treasurers and credit collections teams to allocate resources efficiently, analyze the effectiveness of collection strategies, and improve cash flow.

Efficient Collections Strategies through Data Analysis

Collections teams face the challenge of managing the entire customer portfolio with limited resources. AR intelligence resolves this issue by providing in-depth data analysis of customer payment behavior and outstanding debts. Collections efforts can be targeted based on high-value accounts or invoices with a higher likelihood of success. This targeted approach improves debt recovery, optimizes resource allocation, and enhances cash flow.

Mitigating Credit Risk with Real-Time Assessment

Understanding customer payment behavior is essential in managing credit risk effectively. AR intelligence leverages real-time payment data and advanced analytics to assess customer creditworthiness accurately. Businesses can make informed credit decisions, monitor customer credit risk in real-time, and adjust credit policies to align with their risk tolerance and objectives. This proactive approach mitigates the risk of bad debt and strengthens customer relationships.

Proactive Dispute Resolution

Customer disputes can hinder cash flow and damage relationships. AR intelligence offers comprehensive insights into customer behavior and historical interactions, enabling businesses to identify dispute trends and expedite resolution processes. By addressing underlying problems proactively, businesses can prevent future disputes and maintain positive customer relationships.

Building financial resilience is imperative for businesses to thrive amidst economic uncertainties. AR intelligence, fueled by automation and data analytics, empowers organizations to optimize cash flow, manage credit risk, and enhance collections strategies. By harnessing the power of real-time insights, finance leaders, credit teams, and collections teams can make informed decisions and steer their businesses through challenges while seizing growth opportunities.

Embracing AR intelligence is not just a trend; it is a strategic move to stay ahead in a dynamic market. As the economic landscape continues to evolve, businesses that embrace AR intelligence will be better equipped to navigate change, build financial resilience, and position themselves for long-term success. With the right tools and mindset, the journey towards financial resilience is within reach for every business.

Learn more about AR intelligence. Download BlackLine’s whitepaper, How to Build Financial Resilience Through AR Intelligence.

Modern Accounting: How to Approach Intercompany Recharging

June 30, 2022 by Revelwood Leave a Comment

This is a guest blog post from our partner BlackLine, explaining best practice recommendations for managing expenses across various business centers within your company.

What Is Intercompany Recharging?

What exactly is a recharge in the world of accounting? It essentially involves providing a good or service to an entity and recovering the cost from the entity served on a fee basis. Intercompany recharging happens when one entity incurs a cost and then bills, invoices, or moves that cost to another entity in the larger organization. The goal is to accurately charge the entity that received the value of the good or service provided.

Notable examples of intercompany recharging occur when shared services, IT and telecom, or any costs that are centralized must be billed to their ultimate beneficiaries across the corporation. For example, charges for phone, computer, and networking usually come from vendors in one comprehensive invoice. That invoice might be paid by corporate, but corporate would have to split the invoice and “recharge” portions of the bill to the entities in the organization that used the service.

Two Different Approaches to Intercompany Recharging

Broadly speaking, intercompany recharging can be handled in one of two ways:

The very detailed allocation model involves getting down to a per head cost with each line in an invoice allocated to the specific person or project it served. That cost, such as a mobile phone expense, is charged to whatever entity that person rolls-up to in the organization.

Challenges with this model occur when an individual doesn’t align easily to a single entity or when personnel changes happen within the organization. For example, people change roles, the billing or accounting information changes, or the organizational structure itself adjusts.

The more generic allocation model involves setting a cost per person and allocating that figure to intercompany entities based on the number of people allocated to that entity. For example, a percentage of costs would be allocated based on headcount regardless of whether the people used the billed product or service.

The challenge with this method is that it results in many disputes. Arguments arise because people disagree with how costs were allocated to their group. For example, a French entity might argue that their telecom costs are cheaper than the US or that only a portion of their team were given access. Then charges must be debated.

How to Decide Which Approach to Intercompany Recharging Is Best

When deciding which approach to intercompany recharging is best for your organization, consider three things.

1. Understand the organization’s risk tolerance.

This will help determine how precise to be. Risk averse companies will want their intercompany recharging to be more detailed to give them more support on how they allocate. Everything would be easy to trace back and serve as proof in the event of an inquiry or audit. Less risk averse companies, on the other hand, would take a more simplistic approach and might not be as concerned about how the costs are moved around.

2. Consider the organization’s cost tolerance.

How much it is willing to spend on being precise? This typically depends on where the business is in its evolutionary cycle. If it’s prospering and doesn’t believe it needs to worry about every detail on every line, then it won’t. But if the belief is that the organization needs to watch every cost, then the intercompany recharging will be broken down to the finest details.

3. Determine what the organization can operationalize and maintain.

Find the sweet spot that provides enough detail that a consistent process can be maintained month over month or quarter over quarter. Intercompany involves many functions which might limit what is possible. It all depends on those who are actually touching the data and reconciling it. There may be technology constraints where the systems can’t handle all the data coming in. The account reconciliation team may not be able to handle the volume of transactions, and the people inputting the information can also become overwhelmed.

The Trend Toward More Detailed Allocation & Greater Transparency

Intercompany recharging practices are moving toward more detailed allocation and greater transparency. This contrasts with how the recharging process has been addressed historically, when companies simply threw people at the problem or employed front end technology overlaid with workflows.

Backend technology, such as spreadsheets or reports, have also been used to reconcile accounts. However, this is more reactive than proactive, and usually happens after the fact when the accounting team is trying to reconcile everything together.

Do It Once, Do It Right

The benefits of doing it right include fewer intercompany disconnects, which result in a more accurate and timelier close. Ensuring transaction allocations are correct before they are booked also eliminates last-minute conversations with people trying to work out where disconnects happened and why. There is less chaos and churn. And if issues do arise, they can be resolved faster because teams can quickly see where disconnects exist.

The intercompany recharging methodology that BlackLine specializes in eliminates disconnects, booking both sides of the transaction at the same time. It also gives visibility to that data to deliver an understanding of what is billed, and what is being billed for. This process also enables good reporting. This is how BlackLine provides full transparency into the intercompany recharging process.

Modern Accounting: Using AR Automation to Boost Cash Flow

June 9, 2022 by Revelwood Leave a Comment

This is a guest blog post from our partner BlackLine, explaining how to gain cash flow confidence with AR automation.

Disruptions, Borrowing & Inefficient Processes
Raise the Bar With AR Automation

Put simply, a significant reason businesses are struggling right now is a lack of working capital. Preserving and maintaining sufficient cash flow is crucial for the stability and success of a business. When it’s reduced or restricted, businesses have less ability to perform, pay, and invest, meaning many turn to costly borrowing.

Businesses with a stronger cash culture are more likely to make it to the other side. Research from McKinsey shows that businesses that prioritize cash flow are more capable of recovering faster after disruption, especially in a post-pandemic world.

It all starts at the top. And by making cash a priority, CFOs are setting the tone for business success.

Disruptions, Borrowing & Inefficient Processes

Time is of the essence when it comes to achieving business success. But because traditional processes aren’t typically time efficient, finance leaders are challenged with aligning and unifying their cash flow systems. The longer that cash is unreachable, the older the debt gets, and the likelihood of receiving a payment in full is reduced.

You might think taking the tried-and-tested route of borrowing will work better for your business. While that may seem like a good idea at first, rising inflation and stringent lending conditions can create complications later down the line. Easy fixes like this only temporarily bridge the gap for businesses lacking cash—and you can end up paying through the teeth for it.

The pressure brought on by the biggest disruption of all—COVID-19—is urging finance leaders to make better, more confident, and strategic business decisions. But to do so, greater business intelligence is required.

According to the Hackett Group financial report, finance executives consider it somewhat likely that innovation will fundamentally change the way financial functions work, yet relatively few leaders are acting on it currently.

Without using AR data in the right way, businesses are less capable of understanding and categorizing customers, debtors, and their cash flow.

Raise the Bar With AR Automation

In 2019, PWC calculated that $1.5 trillion dollars was held hostage on global balance sheets. Without access to that working capital, CFOs have less opportunity to drive business success.

But there’s a solution: get your cash flow moving to a different beat.

By implementing AR automation, you can unlock working capital with ease and achieve greater visibility into your cash position, keeping your business machine well-oiled and functioning to its full potential.

What’s more, you can surface critical customer data that your business can use to transform its cash culture for the better—and enable you to make more strategic business decisions that have a company-wide impact.

Plus, with greater cash availability comes greater financial flexibility. AR automation means you won’t have to rely on costly borrowing thanks to increased access to working capital from within. This also allows you to build financial resilience to cope with whatever is around the corner.

The market’s moving, and it’s time for you to move with it. With BlackLine AR automation by your side, you have the tools to boost your cash flow and improve business outcomes.

This blog post was originally published on the BlackLine blog.https://www.blackline.com/blog/how-to-gain-cash-flow-confidence-with-ar-automation/