Moving to the cloud
Cloud-based technology is revolutionising many different aspects of business. For accountancy teams, however, the changes are particularly relevant and useful. Distributed teams in particular can benefit from cloud software: everyone can access the same vision and functions of the platform no matter where they are, so if your firm is based across multiple sites or some employees work remotely, then access is still possible. Because software-as-a-service cloud accountancy functions are technically located online rather than on a local server, there is no need for a wholehearted and difficult software installation process to take place.
This, in turn, can lead to lower set-up costs – both in terms of time and cash. It’s likely that the increased focus on cloud accounting technology will also lead to more cross-departmental harmony, as it means that finance data will no longer be exclusively accessed by those running a machine with clunky or difficult software on it.
Better dashboards
Even the most basic accountancy software has a dashboard of some description that allows you to see major insights and figures at a glance. However, modern accountancy software is taking the concept of a dashboard one step further by allowing users to integrate financial data with information from across the company in one holistic, joined-up view. By sharing on-boarding costs data with HR, for example, professionals in both teams can identify locations for efficiencies and other savings without having to waste time requesting data from each other.
Artificial intelligence
Look to the medium term, meanwhile, and the key consideration for many is actually set to be artificial intelligence (AI). For some time, accountancy has been seen as something that only humans can do – but research into how accountancy packages can benefit from AI is nownbeing done, and prototypes are now being developed. The potential here is enormous, especially in the field of financial data: as a report from the ICAEW points out, artificially intelligent systems “can process huge amounts of data (structured and unstructured) – much more than humans ever could”. All accountancy professionals could benefit from that.
What’s clear, then, is that there’s a whole host of features you need if you’re investing in accountancy software in the modern age. From cloud-based functions that allow all members of your organisation to check out information to the cutting-edge AI features now available in some packages, there’s a lot for a software-savvy CFO to investigate.
For a closer look at the trends on the horizon in finance in the coming 12 months, check out our guide. And have a look at our finance hub if you want to find out more about how Access can help solve your problems.