Manual Accounting, Automation, and Rebounding

By The Center Team on September 28, 2020

In this month’s roundup, articles on automating accounting processes, setting executive optimism, high-performance collaboration, and more.

News and insights to keep you up to date and on track: automating accounting processes, setting executive optimism, high-performance collaboration, and more.

The Real Costs of Manual Accounting

Molly Boyle for Strategic Finance | @SFMagazineIMA

The impact of relying solely on manual accounting processes can be significant for companies in terms of time, cost, risk, audit and compliance, and talent. Here’s why migrating to automated systems results in increased productivity, better visibility, and streamlined processes.

“Physical data extracts, spreadsheets, manual adjustments, and data entry take a heavy toll on efficiency because they often serve as the “glue” that connects accounting processes across a vast array of systems, data sources, and entities.”

Center is one core digital transformation project you can start and finish in days, not weeks or months: Does Your Expense Automation Stop at the Back Office? It Doesn’t Have To.

 

The 10 Essentials to Building a Values-Driven Company

Jake Saper and Anne Raimondi for Fast Company  | @FastCompany

Having a set of clear, authentic, and focused core values can help a company’s employees make better decisions, and builds the foundation for a strong company culture.

“When a leader knows their values, they are able to make decisions quickly and with confidence. When the leader is unclear, the organization becomes chaotic.”

Another important way to unify and energize your team: Fiscal Culture is Company Culture. What’s Yours?

 

How Amazon Automated Work and Put Its People to Better Use

Alex Kantrowitz for Harvard Business Review | @HarvardBiz

Automation does not have to equal job cuts. Amazon shows that transitioning some work to AI and reassigning employees to new functions can lead to new business opportunities.

“The purpose was not to eliminate jobs but to automate tasks so that the company could reassign people to build new products — to do more with the people on staff, rather than doing the same with fewer people. The strategy appears to have paid off.”

How Center helps finance teams work smarter: Doing More With Less: Rethinking Expense Management Now

 

6 Ways to Come Back From the Pandemic With a Stronger Team

Keith Ferrazzi for Inc. | @Inc

An expert in high-performing teams outlines ways teams can improve collaboration, even while working remotely.

“Necessity has forced us to cut across silos and draw from the combined wisdom that ignites innovation. The teams I’ve worked with over the years have discovered how remote working can drive even greater collaboration.”

Additional insights from Center CEO Naveen Singh on how finance teams can come out stronger:  The Other Side of COVID-19: 4 Fixes to Come Out a Stronger Business

 

U.S. Confidence Starts to Rebound

Lauren Muskett for CFO | @cfo

A survey of finance executives shows their optimism around their companies’ financial prospects in the second quarter, though they expect a slow recovery.

“Many of the executives surveyed said they expected their firms’ operating income, employment, and total compensation to bounce back in 2021 after shrinking in 2020.”

Stripe Offers $20K Bonus — and a Pay Cut — to Relocating Workers

Dan Ennis for Banking Dive | @bankingdive

Want to move somewhere with a lower cost of living, keep your job, but take a pay cut? The new state of the workplace is driving some workers and companies to rethink location, as well as compensation.

“The company wouldn’t appear, on its face, to be economically struggling. But it also wouldn’t be the only well-heeled Northern California company to localize compensation.”

More examples of policy changes in response to COVID-19: Expense Policy Changes to Consider Right Now

 

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