Category

Technology

Feb 15
0

Getting Started with Digital Transformation

By | Technology | No Comments
person on tablet with overlay meant to show digital transformation

Digital transformation is the current industry-wide buzzword. But what does it mean? It means adopting and utilizing technology to improve an organization’s ability to support its goals and mission. Digital transformation impacts many areas of an organization beyond the obvious IT department. This technology can liberate the accounting department from time-consuming data entry. Instead, they can utilize their time to function as real accounting professionals, analyzing the data to shape and share their organization’s story.

Why Focus on Digital Transformation?

It is a common misconception to dismiss digital transformation as an unnecessary expense, just more software. Digital transformation moves beyond the mere utilization of software. It will usher in organization-wide change towards spending more time on data analysis and interpretation and less time on data gathering.

There are many reasons why finance leaders should be at the forefront of the move towards digital transformation. These include:

  • Finance leaders shape an organization’s overall story based on the data they interpret. Spending less time gathering and entering data and more time shaping the overall story equates to better support for the mission and vision of an organization.
  • Technology remains the best way to protect and secure data. It makes sense that the financial leaders in a company should not only be involved, but lead this effort.
  • Leaders define and drive change in an organization—financial leaders can define and drive digital transformation just as well, if not better in some cases, that the IT department leaders.

With the right technology support and the emphasis on how such technology transforms processes and outcomes in an organization, financial leaders will be in a better position to influence others.

Automation Is the Key to the Digital Transformation Journey

The right technology supports and facilitates digital transformation by automating mundane tasks. The best solutions make it so easy to automate routine tasks that organizations can immediately see the value. Automation frees time so that the finance team can strategize, forecast, plan and budget—all tasks critical to the success of an organization.

So, what can automation do for your finance team? Automation can:

  • Speed up monthly and year-end closing
  • Enhance and speed up the process of account reconciliation
  • Share information with people in other departments to help them make timely decisions
  • Reduce operating costs
  • Improve accuracy for transaction-based accounting processes
  • Disseminate critical information to managers and department leaders
  • Eliminate redundancy
  • Reduce manual data entry mistakes

What’s Stopping You from Accounting Automation?

As you review the list of benefits, embracing accounting automation may seem like an automatic yes. But organizations find there are several barriers that stop them from implementing accounting automation technologies.

Several reasons may be behind this reluctance to fully embrace automation.

  • A misunderstanding about the importance and need to prioritize technology and digital transformation
  • Not enough time to understand and embrace solutions—we can get so stuck in our daily activities that we lose sight of the big picture ideas that can shape and change our organizations
  • Feeling like it’s not the CFO’s job, i.e., that you might not know enough about technology to lead the digital transformation efforts
  • Resource limitations, including lack of budget and people to work on the project
  • Departmental silos—departments may not understand the positive impact that accounting automation can have on the entire organization
  • The sense that accounting is part of overhead, that it is not a department that can influence the overall course of a nonprofit’s mission or vision

One way to move beyond these perceived limitations is to assess how much time your department spends gathering information and entering it into the system versus actual analysis and interpretation. Sharing this figure as a percent or as hours with your leadership team or board, and then demonstrating the value that can be achieved by automation may convince them that supporting such an initiative is in the organization’s best interests.

Digital transformation goes well beyond the adoption of new software and systems. Yes, the right nonprofit accounting system is important. But, so is the mindset and the commitment of the team behind the transformative efforts. The CFO of the future is one who will lead their organization’s digital transformation.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

Jan 13
0

How to Find and Clean Dirty Data

By | Data, Technology | No Comments
broom sweeping data

If dirty data sounds like something you want to get rid of, and fast, it is. What is dirty data? It is corrupted, incomplete, or inaccurate data that is clogging up your accounting system and making it difficult to produce accurate reports. Here, we share tips for finding and cleaning such data from your systems.

A Primer on Dirty Data

One question you may ask is, “How does dirty data get into our system in the first place?”

Several factors contribute to dirty data in a system. The first is obvious: human error. Individuals entering customer information may inadvertently create duplicates by misspelling a company or customer name or using an acronym instead of spelling out a word. Other factors that can cause poor data quality include lack of internal controls, merging systems together, and inadequate processes to manage data.

Steps to Identify and Correct Data Issues

CPAs and accountants who suspect that data quality issues are contributing to poor decision making should take steps to uncover and rectify dirty data. The following process can help identify problematic data.

  1. Understand and map the business process that creates the data: Data is captured as part of a business process or workflow. For example, an accounts payable process starts with the order of goods or services, receipt of an invoice from a vendor, and payment to the vendor. By mapping the process, you can then identify where data enters the system and points to review to ensure accuracy. For example, controls need to be in place to ensure that invoice amounts match the contract amounts, and that the final payment matches the approved invoice.
  2. Analyze data sources: How is data input into the system? Is it manually entered or automatically entered? Manual data entry creates more potential for mistakes, so these should be your first areas of inquiry.
  3. Identify acceptable data elements: Another important step is to identify what are considered the acceptable data elements or data fields. By making these consistent, you’ll ensure consistent data entry.
  4. Review existing data sets and tables: Although this step is time-consuming, it is important to manually open existing data sets and data tables and review them. You may wish to break this step into smaller parts or tackle it one hour per day for large datasets. This gives your mind a break between review sessions to ensure you see things with a fresh eye.
  5. Note what data is problematic or missing: After reviewing the data, take notes on which elements are missing or incomplete. These should be fixed as soon as possible.
  6. Document the database requirements: Create a data dictionary, which defines what information goes into each field. Document the requirements for data entry as well. This ensures consistency in future when others enter information into the system.
  7. Identify exceptions: As with every rule-based system, there will be exceptions to the rules. Identify these exceptions and document them as well to provide guidelines for what is an acceptable deviation from the norm.
  8. Clean the database: Fix any errors and remove duplicates after reviewing the entire database.

Hint: There are companies that can help you clean up big databases, especially those involving names and addresses. These companies can conduct what is called a “merge/purge/suppression” by comparing datasets and identifying for manual review any potential duplicates. Then duplicates can be merged, deleted (purged), or suppressed (hidden) depending on your needs. While this may not be an appropriate step for confidential financial information, for customer databases it can be an enormous time saver.

Garbage In, Garbage Out!

Failing to clean dirty data could result in poor decision-making (garbage in, garbage out) from reporting on bad data Taking the necessary steps now to have clean data in your system will be worth the short-term costs and resources required for this effort. Contact us for more information on this topic, help with your data clean-up project, best practices on data entry and shared data between multiple systems including automation, reporting and compliance.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.

Aug 30
0

Time Management Tips: Ditch the Digital Distractions

By | Cloud, Corporate Culture, Technology | No Comments

According to CNBC, the average American worker spends 5 hours a day managing email: reading, responding, sorting, deleting messages. That breaks down into approximately 3-4 hours checking business-related email and one hour managing personal email. Add to that tally the daily distraction from social media, instant messengers, text messages and telephone calls, and accountants may find little work accomplished at the end of their workday—except a clean, organized in-box.

With so many messages flooding our screens each day, is there a better way to manage the typical digital distractions inherent in the modern work world? The following tips may be useful to help you manage the daily electronic communications flow that threatens to engulf your day.

5 Tips to Manage Digital Distractions

  1. Turn off notifications

The first step to manage distractions is to minimize them. This includes turning off the sounds and on-screen notifications that often accompany many instant messenger programs. Most of us do not need to be notified of every single message arriving in our inbox, nor do we need notifications for instant messages.

Turning off notifications varies according to your device. This article provides basic guidelines to disable notifications on most operating systems.  

  1. Set aside blocks of time for specific purposes

One way to handle email more efficiently is to set aside blocks of time specifically for responding to emails. Keep your email program closed until it is time to log on. This helps you avoid the temptation to check email repeatedly during the day. Let colleagues know that if something is urgent, they should phone you instead of emailing you.

  1. Utilize email filters

Email filters go beyond the typical spam filters which sort out unwanted email from business emails. Again, depending on your email system, you may be able to establish rules that presort email into categories you determine. You may be able to organize your daily emails more efficiently by project, type of communication, or urgency of task, depending on the rules you set up in the system itself. Speak with your company’s IT person to learn more or search online for tips establishing and using email filters for common email managers such as Gmail and Outlook.

  1. Adopt calendar apps

Are half of your emails requests for meetings? Many people find that most of their emails are indeed meeting requests or requests for blocks of time with which to meet others. Instead of responding to dozens of requests a day, your company can adopt calendar apps or shared calendars.

Calendar apps such as Calendly enable clients to request call times without viewing your calendar. The app synchronizes with your chosen digital calendar and displays only blocks of time available for meetings. The other party can request and secure a time without having to email you in advance. Other software such as Microsoft 365’s Teams enables users to view one another’s calendars without seeing engagement details and requesting meeting time.

  1. Establish communication preferences and timelines

Alert colleagues to your communication preferences. Limit the number of instant messenger apps your company uses and establish preferred communication channels and methods for your team. Lastly, establish clear expectations around response timelines. For example, let clients and colleagues know that emails are answered within one business day. This way, people know that if they require an instant response, they should pick up the phone and call you.

Cloud Software Helps Improve Communication

Whether you’re struggling with too many emails and not enough time or instant messenger overload, one thing that helps cut down the endless barrage of digital communications is cloud-based technology. Sharing financial data over the cloud, as well as collaborating on documents in the cloud, improves communication and cuts down on emailing documents back and forth.

With a few changes to your routine and habits and support from the right software, you’ll be able to better manage your digital communications and stop the feeling of being overwhelmed.

About Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.

Feb 16
0

7 Tips to Become a Better Virtual Communicator

By | Corporate Culture, Nonprofit, Professional Development, Technology | No Comments

According to The Washington CPA, 70% of managers say they are more open to a flexible working model now than they were before the start of the pandemic. If any good came from the last two years of turmoil, it is that companies are now recognizing that employees can be as productive and responsive when working from home as they can when reporting to an office.

Given that the world isn’t likely to return to pre-pandemic work norms, it makes sense to focus on improving communication skills in a remote working environment.

Barriers to Effective Virtual Communication

There are several barriers that must be overcome when communicating virtually with team members. Virtual communications differ from in-person communication in several ways.

When people converse in person, they rely on body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice to convey deeper meaning than words alone can convey. Virtual communication removes these added layers of information-sharing and puts the emphasis on written words alone. Even with videoconferencing, some nuances are lost, and not all work can be shared effectively during video conferences.

Best Practices

The skills you’ve come to rely on for effective in-person communication differ from those needed for effective virtual communication. Here, we share several tips to help you become a better virtual communicator.

  1. Use technology to enhance communication: Most companies choose one project management system, one instant messenger system, and add email and videoconferencing to the mix. These four basic technologies cover most day-to-day needs. It doesn’t really matter which ones you choose, as long as you use them consistently.
  2. Set expectations and boundaries around technology use: Establish response timelines and share them via written documentation. For example, you may request that during the business week, all instant messenger communications and emails are answered within 24 hours or that the project management system is updated by a certain day of the week. Share these expectations and hold team members accountable for following through.
  3. Select specific channels for different types of communication: Instant messenger tools such as Slack and Skype are great for quick responses, but unsuitable for longer discussions. Learn when to use specific types of communications. Some good rules of thumb are:
    • Quick questions or updates: instant messenger channels
    • Project updates or information sharing: project management channels
    • Formal communication, reports, or updates: email
    • Brainstorming, team meetings, large briefings: video conferencing or conference calls
  4. Provide frequent feedback: Another important element to virtual communication is frequent, regular contact with team members. Providing regular feedback on project updates, messages, and initiatives is vital for effective virtual communication.
  5. Close communication loops: Don’t leave anyone wondering what’s going on. Along with frequent feedback, “close the loop” by ensuring you alert others when a task is complete, a project is finished, or a customer situation has been addressed.
  6. Write in a short, succinct, and direct manner: Since so much of virtual communication is conducted via typed or written words, it must be impactful. Avoid extraneous thoughts, off-topic asides, and trying to convey emotions via writing. Humor and sarcasm may be suitable for your personal communication but added to a business communication can seriously twist a message, often to the point where it can be misconstrued. Use shorter sentences, plenty of bullet points, and other written communication techniques to ensure shared understanding.
  7. Keep everyone informed: A good rule of thumb is to over-communicate rather than under-communicate. Include anyone who may need the information in an email as a Cc line, or forward information to team members who may need it.

As the world continues to embrace flexible work arrangements, more workers will demand the ability to work remotely. This is especially true as the so-called “great resignation” shows no sign of abatement. Offering virtual work options, flexible work arrangements, and telecommuting options allows you to hire outside of your immediate geography and find excellent candidates. But, in order to make it work, you and everyone else at your organization must improve your virtual communications. Become a whiz at that, and you’ll be set up for a strong future.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.