Ensure competitiveness – lead your business with real-time data
Digitisation is one of European Union’s top projects, which also promotes leadership with up-to-date information. With the help of information available in real time as well as automated processes, companies can forecast instead of react, achieve significant cost savings and promote the green transition.
Digitized financial information brings savings and makes leadership more efficient
Of all the EU projects, the online invoices, digital procurement messages and the company’s digital wallet promote the digitalisation of information and thus facilitate the utilisation of data in the companies’ everyday life. The introduction of the digital e-receipt is estimated to benefit Finnish companies by more than 600 million euros, as the amount of manual work decreases. In addition, transactional VAT as defined in the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) directive means that VAT reporting will happen in real time. Not to mention the ease of data archiving and the advantages of digital auditability.
The digitalisation and automation of financial administration processes will facilitate data-driven leadership – soon information will be available to support decision-making transparently, always and everywhere.
A continuous view of a company’s financial situation also makes management more efficient. When real-time financial reports are always available to the company’s management, decision-making is also up to date and risks can be avoided in advance. Already now, with modern financial management systems, such as Procountor, it is possible to monitor and analyse the company’s finances in real time. From a professional financial management partner, companies get help in interpreting data and drawing conclusions, and thus means for predictive and better decisions.
The prerequisite for utilising the hottest tools of digitization – solutions based on automation and artificial intelligence – is that the company’s enterprise resource planning and other functions are digital and up to date. Artificial intelligence does not sort paper receipts or individual excels.
Digitalisation is a journey, not a destination
Digitalisation is often talked about in such complex contexts that the meaning of the word itself is forgotten. In the simplest terms, it’s about utilising information technology in everyday life – digitalisation challenges the existing operating methods and develops new and better ones instead.
Digitalisation has been set as one of the EU’s three main priorities.
Development is now being accelerated with significant financial contributions: by 2030, a total of 250 billion euros will be available in the EU region to promote digitalisation and, for example, the real-time economy.
In Finland, digitalisation is supported through the ongoing Real-time Economy project, which develops a unified and real-time financial management ecosystem. Within the framework of the project, the government has defined that it will switch to fully digital procurement messages as early as 2024 and will actively promote the use of e-receipts, encouraging companies to switch to fully digital financial management services.
In order for companies to be able to utilise digital processes and data, the data must be in one system as so-called master data, which works compatibly with other systems. In addition to financial data, for example, centralising personnel data in solutions that have ready-made interfaces and integrations to support the company’s various functions brings considerable advantages. Accountor's Mepco Total product family is a perfect example of personnel management solutions whose data companies can use to support the management and development of their HR management.
Green transition requires and promotes data-driven leadership in companies
The European Union's sustainability reporting obligation also guides companies to lead with data. The Corporate Responsibility Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires large companies to report digitally on their impact on the environment and society as early as 2024. The directive will gradually expand to include small and medium-sized companies as well. Indirectly, the requirements will soon affect a large number of companies, as one of the obligations is also to report, for example, on the sustainability of suppliers of goods and services in accordance with the regulations.
With the reporting obligation, companies’ financial and operating data are now being digitalised at speed.
One of the prerequisites for smooth sustainability reporting is that the information is stored digitally to be forwarded.
Information about, for example, purchases and suppliers can already be obtained automatically from digital invoices and in the future also from e-receipts. For example, the automatic carbon footprint calculator integrated with Procountor uses financial data and reports the company's emissions in real time.
With the help of real-time and transparent information, companies’ decision-making can raise to the next level: forecasting instead of reacting. When business development, product and service sales, personnel development, market situation and trends are monitored in real time, operations can be lead proactively, transparently and sustainably. In terms of competitiveness, the most successful operators are those that are actively managed in light of the current economic and market situation.
