The Cloud-Based Future of Accounting Solutions
(6 min read)
Effective modern CFOs need real-time, accurate access to company financial data for agile and effective planning. But how can you get this knowledge fast enough to act with speed and confidence? It’s simple: fully integrated cloud-based financial software allows CFOs to act faster and with fewer errors, all the while maintaining a consistent picture of the company’s financial status. In this article, I’ll explain how you and your company can benefit from fully connected financial management and project accounting software and what you should look for when shopping for the perfect solution for your enterprise.
Financial Accounting that’s Globally Smart
To meet the needs of companies operating in the globalized market, accounting software needs to include the capability to manage multiple languages, business entities, and currencies. Beyond this, many companies actually have various locations internationally, operating with different currencies, whose records need to be accessible from a single interface and login. Managing transactions across these locations and currencies is crucial: SAP S/4HANA Cloud for example, allows for transactions including up to 11 different currencies.
So, you have the data, but what about an integrated international team? Beyond managing transactions, international communication and collaboration is also a key element that financial software solutions should support.
Fast and Accurate Consolidations
Traditionally, financial managers could expect consolidation and closing to last for weeks. This just isn’t good enough in today’s fast-paced markets. Lost time can lead to lost deals and revenue. How can you combat this threat? With integrated, cloud-based financial software, precise, accurate, and advanced analytic insights are available anytime to aid in decision making. These decisions can have a wide impact across your entire organization, so accuracy is as important as speed.
Companies need accounting software that can speed up consolidation and closing without sacrificing accuracy of data. The best software is also a boon to your team, allowing them to work faster and manage more complex transactions and interactions involving various entities, assets, and currencies, all while maintaining compliance.
Integration Is Key
It’s all about integration. This means having software that connects back- and front-end functions seamlessly for fast and accurate transactions. Whether it’s asset management, trading, or insurance, collecting and maintaining good data improves the quality of your services, regardless of the state of the market.
Integration also cuts down the needless manual data processing throughout your company. Why cobble together reports from various departments when your software can generate integrated reporting for you, drawing from different sources? Through integration, your accounting software can give you the reporting you need to gather insights for better decision making.
Multidimensional and Real-Time Reporting
When companies take the traditional approach to financial reporting, there are so many opportunities for data to become outdated or inaccurate. This leads to company strategy founded on inaccurate information. Using integrated accounting software based in the cloud, you can avoid connections between data getting lost in the shuffle when departmental spreadsheets are consolidated. You can skip the time lags in departmental reports that can lead to old data landing in reports for managers. Your team can save time and energy that would be spent generating periodical reports and performing data reconciliation. Your software can offer automatic, dynamic, real-time reporting based on accurate data from right now.
The Right Accounting Solution—Now and in the Future
When choosing accounting software, you of course should be looking at features: integration, real-time reporting, international capabilities, compliance features specific to your area or industry. Depending on your needs, you might need something individualized.
But what about scale? It’s one thing to find software that fits your company right now, but you should also be looking ahead. Where do you see things going in the next year, or more? Scalable software will prevent you having to look for new solutions at the crucial points when you’re also planning and executing company expansion.
The Right Fit for Your Company
The most technologically advanced software solution still needs a break-in period. Before you decide on accounting software, make sure the system is compatible enough with the way your business works to avoid long-lasting bottlenecks in workflows. Of course, training is unavoidable with any major change in company software, so plan ahead and choose a system wisely. Depending on how much training is needed and where it’s most crucial in your enterprise, you can stagger trainings or hold a large training session for the whole company together. Considering these factors will help you weather the inevitable transition gracefully.
OK, But How Much Will It Cost?
ware solutions is about more than the initial price tag. It’s important to know exactly what it will take to keep the system up and running in its most current, stable form, including updates, maintenance, and upgrades over time. Look around for user feedback—in the digital age, it’s easy to find. Will your new system require separate integration with other existing software your company uses? Can you add more users as your company expands (remember scalability)? Depending on the pricing model—yearly subscription, one-time fee with extra fees for upgrades, etc. —your favorite choice might not be the perfect fit. It’s better to know exactly what you’re getting into financially from the get-go.
Just to sum up:
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- Cutting-edge accounting solutions are fully integrated, lightning fast, and globally intelligent.
- Look for software offering accurate data management, dynamic and real-time reporting, and the scalability your business needs to grow.
- When buying, think about how a new cloud-based accounting solution will fit your company’s current workflows, and what transitioning to a new system will cost, in both time and money.
Now you know how fully integrated cloud-based software helps you to act faster and precisely. Still have questions about which solution provides the right functionalities for your challenges? Read what we can offer you and get in touch with our expert to receive a detailed advice:
