There is no shortage of surveys in the world these days and we make it our business to stay on top of tech industry research, especially where accounts payable is concerned. For today’s post we have identified three trends in technology that are helping advance the adoption of the digitized accounting processes. These aren’t the only trends behind adoption, but trends we’ve noticed recently in our readings. They include:
- Digital Transformation
- Work from Home
- Machine Learning, AI and Beyond
About 93% of companies surveyed in 2021 said they are in the process of digitizing their accounting functions or will do so within the next year, according to a PYMNTS.com study. Specifically, about half said they were digitizing payments processing.
“CFOs view three specific payments-related operations as immediate priorities, meaning significant shares of firms are currently investing in them,” said the study. These areas include:
- Invoicing customers and vendors - 61% are digitizing now and 11% plan to this year
- Payment processing - 51% are currently working on it and 24% plan to this year
- Tracking payments received and due - 48% currently are investing and 24% plan to this year
You may also be interested in End-to-End Accounts Payable Process Explained
3 Trends Behind Digitizing Payments Related Functions
Digital Transformation
While it seems obvious, it’s worth mentioning that digital transformation includes operations from sales to back office to plant floor and every other business function. Becoming more agile and efficient through automation and digitization is key to staying competitive in every role, and digital transformation has been on the rise for the last few years. Once the benefits of DX are realized in one department, it becomes easier to see how it will provide value across all functions. This can lead to faster and faster rates of adoption.
Work from Home
Of course, the big quarantines in 2020 and 2021 advance teleworking adoption years ahead of where it was expected to be pre-pandemic. And while many businesses have returned to the office now, the work-from-home trend remains top-of-mind for every business leader and worker. About 83% of workers say they would prefer some form of hybrid office moving forward, according to an Accenture survey. This means most workers would prefer to work in the office part-time with much work performed from home. Automation, data accuracy, accountability and anywhere processing provided by cloud-based AP software make this easier for accounting teams.
“As remote work becomes the norm for many, organizations are reconsidering how to support remote workers’ productivity through additional equipment and support,” said Gartner.
Machine Learning, AI and Beyond
About 26% of survey respondents described their use of AI as “mature” according to a report from O’Reilly, and 35% are evaluating solutions. Like we said above, digital transformation leads to more digital transformation. With growing adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the value of these technologies increases as more functions are digitized and integrated. With more accurate, timely data that is automated and automatically updated, business leaders can derive greater insights from their intelligence solutions.
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