Sage 2022 Close the Books Survey reveals key strategies for organizations to attain a faster financial close and unlock greater value
28 June 2022 - 11:00PM
Sage, a leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology
for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), shared results today
from its annual Close the Books Survey. Based on a poll of more
than 1,400 finance and accounting professionals across 60+
industries, results reveal that 93% of respondents are under
pressure to close the books faster. More than 60% say accelerating
the closing process would allow them more time for data analysis to
uncover insights or trends.
The unprecedented global events of the past few years have
created a rapidly changing business environment. These developments
have also created unique opportunities for innovation. Finance
teams are looking for new ways to be more agile in order to monitor
these constant changes and to ensure ongoing success for their
businesses. Manual financial close processes, often the norm with
on-premises accounting software, can negatively impact agility in
several ways – including consuming time and slowing access to the
real-time financial and operational information needed to make
strategic business decisions.
Insights gathered from data in the survey results uncovered
three key strategies for organizations to achieve a faster
close:
- Automate key accounting processes to help save
time and reduce stress. 60% of respondents say they “absolutely or
strongly agree” that automation saves time at the month’s end.
Automation eliminates manual, time-consuming processes and helps
eliminate spreadsheets which are prone to errors. The top processes
surveyed companies are choosing to automate include the proactive
search for anomalies or errors, daily bank reconciliations, and
bank or credit card feeds. They ranked the highest time savers to
be templates for journal entries and prebuilt dashboards and
reports.Larger companies reported having automated processes 40%
more than smaller companies. That automation allows them to close
their books 15% faster than smaller organizations – even though
larger organizations often need to handle complex accounting issues
like intercompany transactions and foreign currency translations.
On average larger company finance teams say they have 22% more time
to analyze data.
- Leverage artificial intelligence (AI)
functionality that is purpose built and embedded in your
organization’s accounting software. AI gives organizations the
ability to check large volumes of data for accuracy in minutes and
learn from that data to provide valuable insight. This will
increase the speed and accuracy of the close. While AI is still in
the process of moving into mainstream, according to the survey, 21%
of larger companies are already onboard with AI and seeing its
advantages.
- Invest in a faster close by adding new
technology, additional headcount, or dedicating resource time to
evaluate and improve the monthly close process. To achieve a more
efficient and faster close, just like any other process or series
of processes that need to be streamlined, businesses should invest
in any or all of these areas. 40% of respondents to the survey said
they have adopted new technology this year to help with the close
process – nearly double the number from last year.
“It’s important for accounting software vendors to help
businesses streamline processes and knock down the barriers to
their success,” said Aziz Benmalek, President, Sage North America.
“Sage continues to embed advanced functionality, such as AI and
Machine Learning, into our solutions to increase automation, drive
efficiency, and free up finance teams to spend more time adapting
to change. The less time businesses spend closing the books, the
more time they have available to analyze the results and make
strategic decisions to drive growth.”
Continued Movement to the CloudThe expansion of
the work-from-home model and the ongoing trend of digital
transformation is driving a big shift to cloud accounting. This
year, 87% of businesses reported having a cloud-based or hybrid
accounting solution. This represents a 50% increase from last
year’s survey. Of those using a hybrid or on-premises solution,
half plan on moving to a fully cloud-based solution within the next
two years.
Survey results found high adoption of cloud accounting software
across organizations of all sizes because it offers many benefits
over spreadsheets and legacy on-premises accounting systems. This
move towards that software has provided more businesses with
automation of key processes, seamless integration with other key
business systems, access to date anywhere/anytime, and the agility
needed to scale as they grow.
To see the full results, download a complimentary copy of the
2022 Close the Books Survey report.
Media Contact:Monique
DanielSagemonique.daniel@sage.com(905) 781-0758
About SageSage exists to knock down barriers so
everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small- and
mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners, and accountants.
Customers trust our finance, HR, and payroll software to make work
and money flow. By digitizing business processes and relationships
with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our
digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering
insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time,
technology, and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic
inequality, and the climate crisis. Learn more at Sage Canada -
Software & Solutions for Every Business
Sage (LSE:SGE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Sage (LSE:SGE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024