The Age of
the Accountant
The discovery of fire (more accurately, the controlled use of fire) enabled early humans to cook food, repel carnivorous beasts, and survive past the ripe old age of 22, thus radically altering the course of homo sapiens’ future.
Continuous Accounting is no less game changing for the evolution of the accountant.
In the last century, slide rules and spreadsheets tethered accountants to the monthly close schedule. Every meaningful task was crammed into a week or two of frenzied work, with beleaguered accountants entering data, double-checking data, and running reports.
After days on end spent matching transactions and hunting for discrepancies, accountants had little time for performing the really important work of Accounting: strategy creation and analysis.
Continuous Accounting changes all of that. When close tasks are spread across the entire month, instead of relegated to the end of the month, accountants are far less frenzied and have more time for analysis. As key activities happen every day through automation, accountants and decision makers always have access to real-time data.
Because accountants aren’t trying to cram four weeks’ worth of work into one and no longer need to manually enter data, accuracy improves. Tasks that were reserved for the end of the period are embedded within daily activities, which means the pace of Accounting finally aligns with the pace of business.
When close tasks are spread across the entire month, instead of relegated to the end of the month, accountants are far less frenzied and have more time for analysis. As key activities happen every day through automation, accountants and decision makers always have access to real-time data.
It’s not just physical—it’s philosophical
Continuous Accounting represents not just a physical shift in how the work is done—day-to-day and via automation—but a philosophical one.
With access to real-time information, accounting teams are no longer the proverbial “day late and a dollar short” in delivering financial information. The C-suite doesn’t have to wait weeks—or months—for today’s balance sheet. As such, Continuous Accounting provides accountants with the means and methods to finally move away from the tedious, time-consuming tasks of manual accounting.
Those who practice Continuous Accounting quickly start functioning as
highly valuable strategists.
What’s good for the accountant is good for the organization (aka, “everybody wins”)
Enabling accounting teams to spend their brain capital on analysis and strategy doesn’t just benefit accountants. It also helps the entire organization become more agile, responsive, and proactive. Access to and quick analysis of real-time data is the Excalibur, the Golden Snitch, the Holy Grail of the 21st century.
Companies that have continuous visibility into financial resources and capabilities can seize marketplace opportunities as they appear. Real-time analysis is really what enables organizations to pivot when the economy changes, a new start-up gets uppity, or customers suddenly demand new products and services.
Companies that have continuous visibility into financial resources and
capabilities can seize marketplace opportunities as they appear.
