Businesses, at their core, run on information. In yesteryear, that information could be found on paper, written in ink, filed in manila envelopes and stored in desk drawers or clunky metal filing cabinets. Now our information is stored digitally and is expanding exponentially.
Unlike in the era of the filing cabinet, in today's business, just storing information and data is a wasted opportunity. To stay relevant and profitable, companies must capture, store and use this information - that is, leveraging it to stay ahead of the competition.
The benefits of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) are manifold. The solution provides a smart way for finance departments to oversee, categorise and leverage their business information and content over its entire lifecycle.
ECM is an intelligent solution for finance departments which are moving away from paper-based and manual processes to digitised and streamlined workflows. ECM reduces risk, improves productivity and increases efficiencies by improving the integration between transactional documents, automating paper-to-digital processes and allowing easy access to data.
The finance department needs processing solutions that optimise efficiency. Here are some of the ways ECM will benefit your company's finance department:
Business process efficiency is key to success and the steadiness of your bottom line. Whether you're thinking big picture or looking at day-to-day employee efficiency, how content and information is used within your business will affect not only the finance department but the business as a whole.
One of the big benefits of Enterprise Content Management is that it offers your finance department a solution to speed up manual processes by putting the right information at your fingertips. Not only this, but ECM will allow the information and documents created by financial processes to be available to the right people (those with proper permissions) in other departments easily and quickly. This saves your employees time and frees them from constant requests and delays for information.
Think about this common accounting issue: an invoice is received and sent to the relevant employee to approve the payment, but that employee is on holiday for the next three weeks. Without ECM, the invoice may sit in their inbox for the best part of a month and the vendor becomes dissatisfied waiting for payment. With an ECM solution that invoice is automatically rerouted via a predetermined workflow to someone who isn't on holiday and has the authority to approve the payment. The payment is made on time and the vendor is satisfied.
ECM also allows employees in your finance department to quickly and easily exchange information, fostering a culture of enhanced productivity and collaboration across the business.
Document digitisation gives finance employees access to documents, information, data and content from anywhere on any device. Receipts, invoices and receivables 'paperwork' are now easily accessible because of ECM.
This also makes things simpler and more efficient when audit time rolls around, everything required is available in minutes rather than the days it would take to gather physical paperwork. Data is also stored in compliance with statutory retention periods keeping your department on the right side of the law.
ECM solutions help your finance team organise and streamline access to documentation, as well as designate user permissions to secure sensitive information so only the right people have access.
Automated finance processes improve productivity, reduce costs and also cut down the incidence of human error. The finance department is well known for document-intensive processes. From file preparation to approvals, sign-offs from third parties and more, ECM automation is a collaborative process that can help manage department and company information by digitising previously manual steps and unlocking much quicker and simpler workflows.
KYOCERA ECM enables your business to make the most of the data and knowledge embedded in your finance department. ECM captures, stores, analyses and automates such content, and can derive value from data that was previously untapped.
As this article shows, there are many benefits of Enterprise Content Management. Its implementation results in content being used to engage employees and customers, automate finance processes and enhance collaboration and productivity.
A new ECM will change how people work and affect the way documents are managed right across your organisation. It's not an easy or quick decision to make, but our Enterprise Content Management Checklist will help you consider your options and identify the right ECM to meet your business needs.