Technology In Business: Increasing Efficiency & Driving Growth
Updated 18th May 2021 | 5 min read Published 19th July 2018
With the rapid pace at which technology evolves, keeping an eye on the latest developments can feel like a full-time job. The cloud, big data, the Internet of Things - it seems that just as you’ve got your head around the latest tech trend, there’s a whole host of new ones to get to grips with.
In this blog, we take a look at some of the most significant developments in technology with respect to business, and how they can enable efficiency and growth in your organisation.
The Cloud makes remote work easier than ever and increases data security:
While it’s true that security concerns have discouraged many companies in the financial and accounting sector from making the change to the cloud in past years, cloud providers have made a concerted effort to provide cutting-edge security and redundancy measures key elements of their service. Accordingly, the cloud is safer to use than it’s ever been, whilst the benefits it provides to efficiency and productivity are substantial.
The modern data centre features comprehensive physical and digital security measures, as well as multiple redundancy servers, meaning that your critical business data isn’t just kept securely under lock and key - in the unlikely event that the data is lost or corrupted, backups can be restored with minimal delay to ensure your business returns to productivity as quickly as possible with minimal disruption.
Another way in which the cloud increases productivity and efficiency in the business is by enabling your team to work together from remote locations. Cloud document software provides a single, constantly-updated document, to which members of your organisation share access. Working on a single document means all stakeholders remain on the same page at all times and are able to see changes being made in real-time. Having a single copy of each document also means you won’t have to deal with multiple versions, information being split between several documents, or accidental overwriting of latest data.
Automation software is a potential goldmine for business efficiency
Automation software is helping businesses in all industries achieve better efficiency by minimising the number of repetitive, error-prone tasks dealt with on a daily basis. But the automation software on offer today is quite different from what you might be used to.
Communication automation, for example, has improved in leaps and bounds. Generic email messages and robotic sales calls are things of the past: today’s automation software allows you to send to your clients, fully personalised communications that take into account the full context of their relationship with your business, the stage of the sales funnel they’re in, and the information that holds the most value for them.
Automation software doesn’t just provide more efficient methods of communication, though: with the amount of data the modern business has access to today, it’s virtually impossible to make sense of it manually. Organisations that use automation software, therefore, are better equipped to take advantage of the Big Data deluge and get ahead of their competition.
Lease accounting & management software helps organisations achieve compliance under new standards
With IFRS 16 implementation deadline approaching rapidly, the most significant changes to lease accounting reporting in more than a decade will come into effect. Most importantly, IFRS 16 will require all lease information to be reported on balance sheet. For large companies, multinationals or others with large leasing portfolios, the transition to IFRS 16 will involve a lot of due diligence and no small amount of work ensuring that all leases are compliant under the new standard. Data gathering, and analysis is arguably the most challenging aspect of transitioning to the new standards, as the data requirement for compliance is likely to be excessive.
For large companies where information is disjointed and spread across departments and sites, possibly in different countries, manually gathering, collating and analysing data sets of this volume would be an impractical and expensive undertaking - as would relying on outdated pen-and-paper or spreadsheet-based records.
Additionally, the use of spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel introduces further risk, as this kind of software is not specifically designed for lease accounting purposes. As such, accounting professionals, including auditors consider spreadsheet software inadequate for lease accounting purposes.
Consider a lease accounting software solution
Lease accounting and management software provides many benefits - not just with respect to transitioning to the new standard, but for the efficient management of lease accounting information.
Innervision’s Lease Accounting & Management Software, LOIS Lease Accounting (LLA), provides a suite of tools to help extract, validate and report on all the critical data within a lease portfolio required for the smoothest possible transition and full compliance with both IFRS 16 and FASB ASC 842. Loading all your data into LLA makes it easy to analyse your entire portfolio and identify which leases will be affected under the new standard. LLA is also capable of producing the accounting data you’ll need to accurately complete the statements obligatory for compliance, such as income statements, cash flow and balance sheets, all with the press of a button.
Plus, LLA gives you the tools and features you need to communicate and collaborate as effectively as possible with the key stakeholders of their organisation, whether through automated alerts and notifications or reports that form part of impact or readiness assessments. LLA is the perfect partner for compliance under the new lease accounting standards, as it will help you identify areas within your portfolio that need optimising.
If you’re looking for assistance with driving efficiency and growth within your organisation, choosing the right mix of technology is a key decision. Find out more about how LOIS Lease Accounting can help you achieve better efficiency and boost growth in your business - download our product brochure at the link below for free.