Transaction matching automation for a more efficient, less stressful financial close
The transaction matching process should make the month-end close easier and more efficient. However, more often than not, it feels like an insatiable monster, devouring the time, morale and skills of accountants.
For larger enterprises that may have thousands of unmatched transactions to work through, it is astonishing how many still rely on spreadsheets, eBinders, or specialist software that are neither integrated into nor complementary to their existing process.
As a result, accountants, already dreading the long, hard slog of account reconciliation, must first work extended and difficult hours (often overtime), manually uploading many different sources of data, chasing for supporting evidence and reconciling.
What would the ideal solution look like?
Imagine instead, your team of highly skilled financial professionals moving smoothly through the transaction matching process, having the time to investigate exceptions, devise better processes for the future and progressing seamlessly into the account reconciliation process.
Less stress, fewer errors and a shorter close. Every accountant’s dream.
This is where an automated transaction matching solution generates so much value.
The power of automation to change an accountant’s day from tedious to engaging is groundbreaking. Not only does automation improve the quality of work, but it also helps bring the entire financial close cycle under control and smooth out the peaks and troughs of the hectic month-end. Because you can rerun your transaction matching as often as you want, it’s possible to get a jump start on the financial close. Complex issues can be tackled earlier and reduce bottlenecks – the last thing your team needs with the month-end deadline looming.
The challenges of manual transaction matches
During every period close, accountants are expected to complete a wide variety of tasks in the close cycle promptly and accurately. Often, the third-party tools they use are as numerous as the tasks they perform. One way to bring the month-end under control is to bring everything into the same unified platform.
For those enterprises that still use manual processes or disparate, unconnected close tools, an integrated transaction matching solution like Aico’s can bring a number of critical benefits to their finance teams.
- Gather data from a wide variety of sources: pull in data from your AP and AR and any other source you need.
- Analyse matches against your tolerance rules: configure the matching engine to your specifications.
- Flag exceptions for further investigation: spend time on the anomalies, not the norm.
- Create action items for others in the workflow: request supporting evidence or other documentation.
It is more than likely that your team will be dealing with the same sort of issues in every close cycle. The traditional, manual processes take so long and are so fiddly that they don’t allow time for finance teams to investigate, diagnose and remedy the procedures that cause these exceptions. With their time freed up, they can now focus on finding solutions and improving the financial close into the future.
Not only can financial teams transfer their high-level skills to high-value activities, but the entire account reconciliation process will also evolve to be more streamlined and efficient. They can start delving into account reconciliation with more energy and less stress.
Getting the financial close under control
Adding transaction matching to your account reconciliation process brings accuracy and timeliness, especially a solution that can be integrated into your existing financial close platform.
The power of a complete platform becomes clear when you can:
- Rerun your matching as often as you want throughout the month and reduce the build-up of work and stress on your team.
- Work on the exceptions immediately, creating journals, reversal and clearing documents as you go, eliminating the time it takes to go back later.
- Standardise your entire closing process by ensuring your transaction matching engine is integrated into your closing, account reconciliation and journal entry processes.
- The ability to tackle and solve issues as they arise, from one complete financial close platform, is a critical timesaver.
- For large companies, with a high volume of transactions, a highly configurable transaction matching rules engine is essential to simplify matching exceptions.
To find out how Aico’s Transaction Matching solution can solve the 4 toughest challenges of the pre-close workflow, click below.