Improving Efficiency With Scalable Financial Operations

Achieving the right balance between human work and technology is vital for the success of any company, but it’s even more crucial in an industry which requires speed and precision. Moreover, as our business grows, we also need software that can grow with us, resulting in fewer hiccoughs and hurdles. That’s where scalable financial operations come in, and the secret to them is proper IT infrastructure.

How Can We Determine Efficiency?

Over the past few weeks, we have discussed how to implement efficient financial accounting and the role automation can have in this. Yet one thing we’ve yet to discuss is the importance of financial operations that are scalable. 

See, in the financial industry, many operations are still run manually, but any repetitive work that can be automated presents three main challenges:

• Human hours: Finding qualified people in the financial industry is no mean feat. So, when you do find great talent, it’s important that their time is dedicated to high-value tasks, not run-off-the-mill, repetitive tasks. Every minute saved from low-level tasks is highly valuable, as machines will always cost less than humans when performing repetitive manual work.

• Risk of errors: After hours of repetitive work, a human being’s attention wanes, leading to fatigue and an increased proneness to making errors. When dealing with large amounts of data, it becomes difficult for anyone to quickly verify everything, identify issues, and confirm that all is in order.

• Slow deliveries: In the fast-paced financial world, speed is a key component of success, yet it’s impossible for humans to compete with the computational power of machines. This often results in delayed deliveries and in missed opportunities. For example, it’s impossible for a human being to go over a huge volume of transactions and reconciliations involving multiple counterparties to create a daily NAV, which is essential in the fund administration industry.

What all this shows is that efficiency requires having the ability to automate repetitive work through software, eliminating the risk of human error, and ensuring tasks are completed swiftly.

To overcome this, some companies may opt to outsource their manual work to countries with lower salaries, but before considering this option, it’s important to explore what can truly be achieved by properly leveraging technology. After all, higher or lower salaries will never address issues related to human speed, error risk, and limitations.

What can truly make a difference is the right software: IT is a crucial part of any financial operations team and any repetitive manual work related to collecting, importing, processing, and reporting data that can be automated should be handled by software, not by a person.

How Do Scalable Financial Operations Improve Our Efficiency?

A computer can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year, meaning much of the work can be completed quickly, as well as overnight, so that when you arrive at the office, your data and reports are ready for you to scrutinise, analyse, and put into effect.

Even so, while standardising processes and using software that can be customised to meet your bespoke requirements are essential for managing the diverse needs of any financial business, you should also keep the future in mind.

Having software that can handle your repetitive tasks now and which is able to easily adapt once your business grows, is extremely important to long-term goal achievement. After all, as you grow, so does the volume of data you need to go through, and not having the right software, can result in even more delays in the future.

So, if you are ready to give your company this speed and peace of mind, then get in touch with us. Without any obligations, we will explain how custom automation and integration within your team could mark the beginning of a new chapter in your success.