Businesses are now going beyond the best practices in accounting and see now that digital innovations are improving financial processes. These address pain points in production output, operational costs, and return on investment, among others. Finance leaders are now creating a balance of maintaining their traditional responsibilities while developing a corporate strategy with digitization and automation in mind.

However, according to a McKinsey & Company Survey, few organizations are taking advantage of new financial trends. Only around 25% of their functions have been digitized in the last year, while the adoption of new tools is low.

If you’ve been experiencing stagnancy in your business, then it’s time to make the decision.

As we close 2019 and look forward to 2020, take a look at 5 big finance and accounting trends that you can add to your strategy.

1. Highly-Sophisticated Automation

Is your company still on the fence about automation? Those who do not adopt this trend may still encounter slow processes, disorganization, miscommunication, and increased staff involvement that may lead to burnout. This may lead to increased operational costs and veering away from your core functions.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are two of the most important trends in accounting. In 2020, this will be a big help in reducing labor-intensive tasks such as payroll and tax preparation. For example, AI can help companies identify possible market threats, efficiently compile big data, and offer critical insights to improve a business’ performance.

2. Secure Audit Preparation

According to a DocuWare whitepaper, monitoring audit trails will still be important. But if you’re still using paper-based accounting information, you better switch to accounting software or document management programs that can categorize everything for you. This makes it easier for everyone in your company to prepare audits almost instantly.

3. Faster Fraud Detection

Financial institutions often face fraud charges which can cause damage to a company’s reputation, loss of revenue and direct business, and additional legal costs to settle cases.

The age-old saying “prevention is better than cure” rings true. That is why in 2020, a major trend for companies would be faster fraud monitoring. Creating a digital approval workflow can help you filter out dubious invoices or delete duplicate payments. You can also use highly-secure document management tools to process invoices in order to decrease fraud. 

These can help you avoid any problems with fraud and help your company maintain customer trust and revenue.

4. More Accurate Customer Intelligence

According to a report by PWC, customer intelligence will be an important predictor of revenue growth and profitability. In the past, data collected from simple focus group discussions and surveys gave companies an idea of what their customers value. In 2020, however, customer intelligence will be a key role in a business’ future growth. 

Use this trend to search through the available data of your customers and create the right offer at the right time in the right channel. This also helps you develop deeper relationships with your customers and make better decisions. Customer relationship management systems (CRMs) can help you gather all the data you need to provide the best for your customers and improve your revenue and competitiveness in your respective industry.

5. The Essential Human Factor

While the finance industry is gearing up for highly automated processes, human accountants still are still valuable resources due to their innovative and creative ways to improve businesses. AI and humans can work together to strengthen companies: the former to smoothen routinary processes and provide accountants better access to real-time information.

Outsourcing highly-skilled finance and accounting professionals can help you achieve your goals by giving you customized solutions, interpret detailed reports, and aid you in adapting in an ever-changing industry.

Infinit-O is the trusted customer-centric and sustainable leader in Business Process Optimization to Small and Medium businesses in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors by delivering continuous improvement through technology, data and people.

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