Understanding digital transformation and the opportunities of cloud

Understanding digital transformation and the opportunities of cloud

Digital disruptions has changed the way many of us do business. There is now a need to put technology at the forefront of your business strategy and finance function - failing to do this runs the risk of falling behind the curve. Riaz Kala, Associate Director and cloud specialist, discusses why it is vital to make the switch to digital.

Digitalisation is the process of using technology to create and modify new and existing business processes to meet changing market demands. By embarking on this continuous digitalisation journey you can adapt to new ways of working and ensure your finance function is ready to thrive in the digital world.

Cloud platform

Moving to the cloud can have far reaching benefits for you and your business. Individuals, teams and workforces can work seamlessly all while being entirely distributed – much as they have been over the last 18 months. Cloud accounting technology allows you to work collaboratively from any location and enables you to run your business on the go. 

By embedding technology into all of your businesses processes from invoicing, stock management and credit control to supplier payments, customer payments and HR, you can drive efficiencies and boost your bottom line. Businesses can now reduce manual entry, processing of data and use reporting technology which enables access to visual and real time reports, budgeting for departments and accurate and up to date forecasting. 

Cloud automation

When reviewing your businesses systems and processes the key to saving time and money is to automate the manual entry and process of data. Automation decreases time spent processing, but more importantly it removes human error and ensures more accurate data.

Automation comes in many forms but the end goal is always to improve the flow and accuracy of data into your core accounting systems. Bank feeds, online supplier account connections, process rules, and payments directly to and from your suppliers and customers are just a few examples of automation tools.

Cloud data

Making the switch to cloud allows more accurate and up to date information about your business. When all your data sources flow into one central cloud based solution, a bigger picture of your business’s financial health can be created, allowing greater visibility over performance. Finance functions that incorporate data from all sources and are responsible for setting and monitoring targets will support business growth and assist in spreading the mission statement, vision and culture of your business

Cloud insight

Better business insights means better business decisions. Reports and forecasts will enable you to be more forward thinking whilst cutting out the need to manually manipulate data. Cloud based reporting and forecasting tools that integrate with your core system and are set up correctly need minimal maintenance but sense checking to ensure forecasts remain accurate.

We are here to talk if you need support with your journey to digital transformation. Get in touch with our team of specialists to see how we can help you and your business.