Finance technology
Some estimates suggest that 90% of all finance transactions will eventually be automated. That’s why we have invested heavily in finance technology and automation across our UK finance shared service centres.
Keeping our centres on shore not only reflects our commitment to efficiency through automation but it also allows us to work with UK and European clients in the same time zones.
What’s more, spreading the cost of these investments over our 100+ client base offers access to modern technology at a fraction of the cost to you of purchasing it alone. You’ll save valuable time too, as you don’t need to worry about system selections and maintenance. And because we continually upgrade our technology infrastructure, you always have access to the latest version of all our platforms and tools.
Process improvement and finance automation
We always aim for continuous improvement – in our processes, methodologies and through the use of innovative tools to drive automation.
We aim to identify these improvement opportunities through our dedicated Process Improvement & Automation lead who brings a sharp focus in this area.
What does this mean for you?
We will always look to identify ‘quick wins’ for immediate implementation in the next accounting, reporting and compliance cycles.
As we move you to an outsourced service, we can also identify larger and more fundamental improvements. We can apply LEAN process improvement techniques to assess potential gains. And we can use technology and robotic process automation (RPA) to provide improvements in areas such as transactional finance as well as supporting the collection of tax sensitive data.
Robust governance
Once our service delivery model is up and running, we continue to work with you to assess progress and address any challenges faced. This way we can keep pace with your needs and improve our service.
We have a formal governance structure in place so we can jointly review and approve the changes we identify with our clients. We’ll assess the benefits of any investment, to you and to us, then work out the potential costs for everyone involved.
We look carefully at every detail of our approach to working with you, including the integration of our indirect tax compliance, bookkeeping and financial reporting tools with your systems.
Analytics
Traditional management reporting works well but increasingly businesses are starting to use analytics to evaluate historic performance and trends more closely. They can also be used to compare performance to similar businesses in the same industry or to look forward to predict the outcome of future products and business strategies.
At RSM, we gather a range of data points from across our systems, our clients and from external knowledge management sources. We house these in a secure ‘data lake’ and use Power BI to analyse those data points, producing insightful core as well as bespoke reports. These are an integral part of our UK and global service offerings - as in the examples below.
To learn more, please contact Ian Sadler.
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Stage 4
Stage 1
The finance system
All change starts with a vision. At stage one, our vision was to have a suite of cloud-based technologies that would integrate with your finance system of choice.
As Europe’s leading implementation partner of Oracle NetSuite, it was natural that we should put the NetSuite cloud-based platform, with its financial engine, at the heart of our outsourcing technology suite.
Flexible, dynamic general ledger segments store transactions for multi-dimensional reporting – a single version of truth that allows you to receive vital information to support your core business.
Internationally, consolidations at every level are effortless, with multi-currency management supporting 190+ currencies and exchange rates and 19 languages.
The multiple accounting books function means we can maintain full control over differences between group reporting and local GAAP. In addition, pre-configured tax codes and localised reporting for over 50 countries drive compliance with local regulations. Where needed, we can draw on the experience and support of our member firms in over 120 countries worldwide.
To manage costs and add simplicity into the outsourced process, we have created a standard configuration of NetSuite that uses best practice workflows and streamlined processes, drawing on our experience of managing the same tasks several hundred times a month for numerous clients across the world.
Stage 2
How to prepare and share MI effectively
Whilst Oracle NetSuite is great for reporting, making changes to reports requires a little experience, and adding in graphics and visual displays can take time.
This is why we provide a cloud-based reporting tool and client portal, RSM Cloud Reporting and Analytics. This system synchronises financial transactions by segment, allowing us to prepare all the profit and loss and balance sheet management information (MI) that you need. Reports can be tweaked by “click and dragging” columns or simply by adding in codes, periods and other elements.
Stage 3
Analytics
Historic MI reporting works, but more and more businesses are starting to use analytics to evaluate historic performance and trends more closely. This is used to compare performance to similar businesses in the sector and to predict the outcome of future products and business strategies. At RSM, we gather a range of data points from across our systems, our clients and from external knowledge management sources, and house these in a secure ‘data lake’. From this, we can use powerful tools to analyse those data points, producing standard as well as bespoke reports.
We provide reports to our UK and global outsourcing clients using the Power Bi tool, and these are an integral part of our finance and accounting and global compliance services. These services can be expanded to meet your individual needs – as in the examples below.
Stage 4
Invoice capture
We use an invoice capture platform with OCR recognition to efficiently enter and store Accounts Payable invoices into NetSuite. Workflow approval functionality is then used to approve the invoices ready for payment.
For more information on our technology offering, please contact Suzanne Willmott.
