The common mistake that’s costing you time and money in your finance department

Do you know what is the most common mistake that many finance departments make? It’s not a miscalculation, a misreporting, or a miscommunication. It’s something much more fundamental and pervasive. It’s poor document management.

Document management is the process of creating, storing, organizing, retrieving, and disposing of documents. It may sound simple, but it’s a complex and critical function that affects every aspect of your finance operations. If you don’t have an effective document management system in place, you are likely to face the following problems:

1. Inefficiency and delays

Finance documents are essential for performing various tasks, such as invoicing, billing, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, auditing, and compliance. If you can’t access or process these documents quickly and easily, you will waste time and resources searching for them, duplicating them, or correcting them. This will slow down your workflows and reduce your productivity.

According to a study by IDC1, the average employee spends 2.5 hours per day looking for information. That’s 30% of their workday. Imagine how much time and money you could save if you could reduce that by half or more.

2. Errors and risks

Finance documents contain sensitive and confidential information, such as financial statements, tax returns, contracts, invoices, receipts, and bank statements. If these documents are not handled properly, they can be lost, damaged, stolen, or tampered with. This can result in errors, fraud, fines, lawsuits, or reputational damage.

According to a report by PwC2, the average cost of a data breach for UK businesses is ￡2.48 million. That’s not counting the potential loss of customers, partners, or investors due to a damaged reputation. Imagine how much money and trust you could protect if you could prevent or minimize such incidents.

3. Compliance issues

Finance documents are subject to various regulations and standards, such as GDPR, HMRC, FCA, IFRS, and ISO. These regulations require you to maintain accurate, complete, and consistent records of your financial activities and transactions. They also require you to protect the privacy and security of your data and to dispose of it properly when it’s no longer needed.

According to a survey by Thomson Reuters3, the average UK financial firm spends ￡40 million per year on regulatory compliance. That’s not counting the potential penalties or sanctions for non-compliance. Imagine how much money and hassle you could avoid if you could comply with ease and confidence.

4. Poor collaboration and communication

Finance documents are often shared and exchanged among different people, departments, or organizations, such as employees, managers, accountants, auditors, suppliers, customers, or regulators. If these documents are not managed well, they can cause confusion, misunderstanding, or conflict. For example, if there are multiple versions of the same document circulating around or if there are missing or outdated documents in the mix.

According to a study by McKinsey4, the average employee spends 28% of their workday on email communication. That’s not counting the other forms of communication they use, such as phone calls or meetings. Imagine how much time and energy you could save if you could communicate more effectively and efficiently.

5. Limited scalability and flexibility

Finance documents are constantly growing in volume and variety as your business expands and evolves. If you don’t have a scalable and flexible document management system in place, you will struggle to keep up with the increasing demand and complexity of your document needs. You will also miss out on the opportunities to leverage your data for insights and innovation.

According to a report by IBM5, 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years alone. That’s not counting the data that will be generated in the future by new technologies or trends. Imagine how much value and competitive advantage you could gain if you could harness your data for growth and improvement.

How AYOH Group can help

AYOH Group are a global leading document management implementor that can help you overcome these challenges and optimize your finance document management workflow. With our assistance, you can:

• Streamline your finance processes with automated workflows that capture, process, and distribute your documents with speed and accuracy.
• Save time and money with cloud-based storage that allows you to access and manage your documents from anywhere at any time.
• Secure and protect your finance documents with encryption, authentication, and backup features that ensure your data is safe from unauthorized access or loss.
• Comply with the latest regulations and standards with audit trails, retention policies, and deletion rules that help you maintain proper records and dispose of them when required.
• Improve the collaboration and communication among your finance team and stakeholders with integrated tools that allow you to share, comment, and approve documents with ease and transparency.
• Optimize the storage and retrieval of your finance documents with smart indexing, searching, and archiving features that help you organize and find your documents in seconds.
• Enhance the quality and accuracy of your finance documents with OCR, validation, and correction features that help you eliminate errors and ensure consistency.
• Boost the productivity and efficiency of your finance department with analytics, reporting, and dashboard features that help you monitor and measure your performance and identify areas for improvement.

AYOH Group are the ultimate partner for your finance document management challenges. We can help you save time, money, and resources, reduce errors, risks, and compliance issues, improve collaboration and communication, and increase scalability and flexibility. With AYOH Group, you can turn your finance documents from a liability into an asset.

If you want to learn more about how AYOH Group can help you achieve your finance goals, contact us today for a free consultation.

We’ll show you how you can transform your finance document management workflow and take your business to the next level. Don’t let poor document management hold you back. Let us help you unleash your full potential.

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