The Immediate Benefits of A Continuous Accounting Approach

Part 13 of the Continuous Accounting blog series. You can access the full series here.

Continuous Accounting is a journey, and the advantages increase with every step. As automation, control, and period-end tasks are embedded within day-to-day activities, accountants are freed from manual work.

This approach saves time that can be allocated to continuous process improvement and preventative controls. It also gives accountants access to game-changing, real-time data so they can provide analysis and business intelligence at the point of need.

It’s An Organization-Wide Win-Win

Enabling accounting and finance teams to spend their brain capital on analysis and strategy doesn’t just benefit accountants. Access to and quick analysis of real-time data helps the entire organization become more agile, responsive, and proactive.

Companies that have continuous visibility into financial resources and capabilities can seize marketplace opportunities as they appear. Real-time analysis prepares organizations to pivot when the economy changes or customers identify the need for new products and services.

These Benefits Impact Your Bottom Line

As accounting and finance organizations continue to practice Continuous Accounting, the immediate benefits of increased efficiency, improved processes, and greater accuracy will continue to compound.

Here are three more long-term benefits that will impact your bottom line.

1. Increased employee engagement and reduced hiring costs.

Bored, tired, burned out accountants are a flight risk. But working on something meaningful, like strategy creation, increases engagement, investment, and ultimately, retention.

The turnover of just one employee is expensive, equivalent to that team member’s yearly salary_._ It’s far more cost effective to ensure that employees are engaged in meaningful work.

Additionally, when accountants are immersed in manual activities every day, they are not being set up to help your organization succeed in the future. Technology is disrupting the way business is run, and accountants need to reskill and upskill to meet the demands of both internal and external stakeholders.

1. Continuous improvement.

In the old record-to-report process, there was barely enough time to manage the close, let alone focus on how to improve it. But with the time saved in the Continuous Accounting model, accounting and finance teams have the additional bandwidth they need to drive continuous improvement.

With Continuous Accounting streamlining the close and reducing manual labor, organizations have more time to take a closer look at and continuously hone internal processes.

1. Functioning as a strategic force.

Prior to Continuous Accounting, the close was an after-the-fact event. Today, finance organizations have access to the real-time information that is so crucial to functioning strategically.

This creates the opportunity for accounting and finance teams to function as a strategic force in the organization. CFOs, controllers, and other accounting leaders can now help the business act proactively instead of reactively by providing up-to-the-minute analysis and intelligence.

The Path to Success In the Modern Marketplace

Continuous Accounting is the way to be truly proactive. Automating repetitive, rote tasks facilitates access to real-time data while simultaneously freeing accountants to do more strategic, value-added work.

By aligning the pace of accounting with the pace of business, accountants, controllers, and CFOs not only keep up with the modern marketplace. They can finally help drive the entire organization’s success within it.

Read the Blueprint for Continuous Accounting ebook to learn more about how to achieve this transformative approach at your organization.

Part 13 of the Continuous Accounting blog series. You can access the full series here.

Continuous Accounting is a journey, and the advantages increase with every step. As automation, control, and period-end tasks are embedded within day-to-day activities, accountants are freed from manual work.

This approach saves time that can be allocated to continuous process improvement and preventative controls. It also gives accountants access to game-changing, real-time data so they can provide analysis and business intelligence at the point of need.

It’s An Organization-Wide Win-Win

Enabling accounting and finance teams to spend their brain capital on analysis and strategy doesn’t just benefit accountants. Access to and quick analysis of real-time data helps the entire organization become more agile, responsive, and proactive.

Companies that have continuous visibility into financial resources and capabilities can seize marketplace opportunities as they appear. Real-time analysis prepares organizations to pivot when the economy changes or customers identify the need for new products and services.

These Benefits Impact Your Bottom Line

As accounting and finance organizations continue to practice Continuous Accounting, the immediate benefits of increased efficiency, improved processes, and greater accuracy will continue to compound.

Here are three more long-term benefits that will impact your bottom line.

1. Increased employee engagement and reduced hiring costs.

Bored, tired, burned out accountants are a flight risk. But working on something meaningful, like strategy creation, increases engagement, investment, and ultimately, retention.

The turnover of just one employee is expensive, equivalent to that team member’s yearly salary_._ It’s far more cost effective to ensure that employees are engaged in meaningful work.

Additionally, when accountants are immersed in manual activities every day, they are not being set up to help your organization succeed in the future. Technology is disrupting the way business is run, and accountants need to reskill and upskill to meet the demands of both internal and external stakeholders.

1. Continuous improvement.

In the old record-to-report process, there was barely enough time to manage the close, let alone focus on how to improve it. But with the time saved in the Continuous Accounting model, accounting and finance teams have the additional bandwidth they need to drive continuous improvement.

With Continuous Accounting streamlining the close and reducing manual labor, organizations have more time to take a closer look at and continuously hone internal processes.

1. Functioning as a strategic force.

Prior to Continuous Accounting, the close was an after-the-fact event. Today, finance organizations have access to the real-time information that is so crucial to functioning strategically.

This creates the opportunity for accounting and finance teams to function as a strategic force in the organization. CFOs, controllers, and other accounting leaders can now help the business act proactively instead of reactively by providing up-to-the-minute analysis and intelligence.

The Path to Success In the Modern Marketplace

Continuous Accounting is the way to be truly proactive. Automating repetitive, rote tasks facilitates access to real-time data while simultaneously freeing accountants to do more strategic, value-added work.

By aligning the pace of accounting with the pace of business, accountants, controllers, and CFOs not only keep up with the modern marketplace. They can finally help drive the entire organization’s success within it.

Read the Blueprint for Continuous Accounting ebook to learn more about how to achieve this transformative approach at your organization.