When you think about process optimization (especially with new tech) on your finance team, what are the first areas you address? Where do you start?

For process optimization with new tech, first and foremost would be to understand how things are working today, document the current state identifying roadblocks or challenges. After understanding the future need and your final goal, you can prioritize them based on ROI, quick wins etc.  A market study (RFP) to identify the best tool that serves your future need will be beneficial. Also look into your current technology available across the organization - can any of the existing technology utilized by the organization meet your need etc 

When I think about process optimization with new tech, I first look at the linkages to my current tech to ensure there are no issues (security, data integrity, altered processing in old tech) and second at the individual roles which are impacted to understand how to best leverage the new tech. Those utilizing the new tech and IT need to be involved as neither has a full picture of impact. I start with a data flow and process flow map.

In optimizing finance processes, especially with new technology, the first and most critical area to address is establishing a single source of truth for data. This concept is pivotal because disparate data sources often lead to inconsistencies, where different team members use varied datasets and come up with conflicting figures in their reports. Such discrepancies can significantly hamper decision-making, as teams might spend excessive time reconciling reports instead of analyzing them to make informed decisions. By centralizing data, you ensure that everyone is working from the same, accurate dataset, which enhances the reliability of reports, streamlines the decision-making process, and reduces the time wasted in reconciling different data sets. This approach not only increases efficiency but also strengthens the strategic impact of the finance function by providing a solid foundation for accurate analysis, forecasting, and planning.

The process optimization is to be done with new age technologies gaining popularity. it becomes even more important if one aims for processing of invoices using robotics tools. The process mining tools are also easily available to understand the execution of As Is process and identify potential areas for improvement. The transaction processing functions like Accounts Payable, customer invoices processing and employees expense reports processing are potential areas to get low hanging fruits.