In reaction to changes in technology, legislation, and life itself caused by the start of a global pandemic, the world of finance has changed with the rest of the world.
FREMONT, CA: The trend in the modern world is to accomplish more work in less time with more efficiency. This is why the digital migration of so many platforms is not particularly surprising. The epidemic triggered the necessity for a virtual control to which the world had to adjust rapidly, but it would have done so, albeit more slowly, if the situation had not demanded such rapid change. Accounts Payable (AP) is a challenging, time-consuming, and resource-intensive operation. Numerous accounting outsourcing firms are pioneers and consistent followers of the following trends. Consider the prevalent trends of AP management for the year 2022:
Significant Changes in the Workforce: Many variables contributed to at least partially misunderstood Great Resignation phenomena. However, many other impacts have led to additional significant advances for millennials and expanding Gen Z workforces. This implies that the AP team must struggle with fundamental changes to talent acquisition and growing expectations for practice, culture, and technology.
Some remote workers desire to return to the office even partially, but others wish to continue telecommuting as they see fit, necessitating a hybrid workforce model with unique requirements. Noting and preparing for these expectations are not universal and will be one of the greatest obstacles concerning this development. The aftermath of the paradigm shift established during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in the United States is a prime example.
Paperless Payment Transition: The transition from manual and paper-based processes, toolsets, etc., and the rising automation of old tasks are evident benefits of digital transformation; nevertheless, what does this entail? In general, automation is adopted in stages, and there is a discernible lag in totally phasing out outdated techniques and solutions, such as paper documentation.
However, this splintered journey has resulted in a far stronger appreciation for AP automation and increased demand. Considering that the vast majority of AP teams are currently at least partially automated, there will be a greater push within the department to utilize technology and transition to digital operations.
AP Cybersecurity: Since they are a regular target of fraud, AP teams have been required to maintain vigilance for a long time despite all of the cyber risks that have been headlines over the past few years. Before misconfigurations in Amazon cloud-hosted systems, fraudsters may forge paper checks and other payments in various ways.
The good news is that cybersecurity is gaining importance across all industries and products, especially among AP experts and solution vendors. Even as best practices improve and proliferate at the user level, software providers are increasing security controls on the back end in response to stricter rules and fines for data exposure.
More Effective Data: Data is the most valuable commodity of the digital age, yet collecting it is comparable to panning for gold in the seas. When it comes to capturing the right level of visibility and precise insights, businesses must have the appropriate tools and practices and know what to do with the information once they have it.
Perhaps more crucial than gathering data is the ability to draw the dots between points and use them to tell the real story of a company's accounting through reporting. As business intelligence in AP technology gets more polished and interconnected, the quality of reports will increase, and stakeholders will have greater collaborative access.
