It’s Halloween, which means it’s time to share some accounting horror stories.
We’ll be looking at the scariest things that can happen if you are stuck with a ghastly old accounting system.
Don’t worry, we will provide you with solutions to keep any nightmares to a minimum!
Let’s get started:
1. A Nightmare of Manual Operations
Accounting systems are supposed to make your life simpler, not frustrate you. One of the most nightmarish things that can happen if you are stuck with a ghastly old system is having to go through manual processes to get work done.
Manual operations are a source of boredom and a huge timewaster for busy accountants. They might not take up much mental bandwidth, but they do eat up your precious time.
For instance, it may seem easy to consolidate data from multiple systems in Excel when you need it. But what happens when the data changes? You will need to manually go through the whole process again.
What to do about it:
The solution is implementing a modern, automated accounting system that can integrate with your existing business systems.
For instance, innovative financial management software such as SunSystems and NetSuite can significantly reduce manual inputs including automatically importing data from other systems to your financial software so that the finance team do not have to waste resources on manual entry.
2. Horrifying Errors and Omissions
We all know how important accuracy is in accounting. But outdated financial systems are the very mainstay of dreadful errors and omissions.
While it is not easy to detect mistakes in old systems without intense manual effort, you’d often have to redo the whole process from scratch- yikes indeed.
This is terrifying, especially if you are under a tight deadline to close your books. This can also lead to varying consequences such as incorrect financial and regulatory reports which can be damaging to your company’s reputation or even lead to trust issues with stakeholders such as customers, regulators, auditors, etc.
What to do about it:
Instead of trying to manage the chaos manually, why not invest in modern financial management software that ensures the accuracy and timeliness of both financial and non-financial data.
Infor Q&A for SunSystems, for example, is a powerful financial management software that increases productivity by providing accurate data that’s accessible to everyone in your team. It allows your finance team to generate financial reports automatically according to predefined business rules that are customisable.
Another example is NetSuite’s SuiteAnalytics which provides users with built-in reporting, searches, key performance indicators (KPIs) and dashboards. With embedded analytics, you can generate actionable analysis and gain meaningful operational and financial insights into your organisation’s performance across multiple departments and teams.
With these tools, business intelligence is at your fingertip in real-time and you’d be able to easily make data-driven, informed decisions in a timely manner.
3. Mysterious Losses of Data
One of the most dreaded things in finance is losing your data. It’s heart-wrenching to imagine losing critical information that has taken you months to collect, analyse and prepare.
But that’s exactly what you get with frightful, cobwebby systems. On-premise financial systems running on old servers with out-of-date software tend to have poor data security and backup features, and this often results in data loss.
What to do about it:
First off, if your business deals with sensitive information, you should stay away from obsolete accounting software that fails to provide good security measures.
Second, you need to make sure your data is safe and easily accessible at all times. Modern financial management software will allow you to access your data anytime from any device in real-time so that you can make critical business decisions in a timely manner.
This type of software offers cloud and automatic backups which is an effective way to ensure business continuity in the event of loss or theft of data.
4. A Hotbed for Zombie Hackers
The problem is that heinously old accounting systems are full of bugs and loopholes. They lack appropriate security measures to protect your data, which can lead to creepy activities by hackers.
Even if you are lucky enough to have security measures in place, these systems can be vulnerable because of the older technology that they are built upon – this can happen when software has seen sunset or is no longer supported
Financial systems are one of cyberhackers’ favourite targets because that’s where a company’s financial data and other sensitive information is stored.
What to do about it:
Investing in modern, cloud-based financial management software that offers comprehensive data security and risk mitigation can help you rest easy!
5. Blood-Curdling Technical Glitches
Old, out-of-date software can present technical and compatibility issues. Perhaps you’re stuck on an older version of Excel because of an outdated add-in, or you can’t upgrade Windows for the same reason.
Now imagine dealing with this sort of issue on an everyday basis. This is what you get with old-school financial software.
Not only do they lack key features and functionality, but some of them are also full of bugs that cause them to shut down or malfunction.
What to do about it:
Rather than dealing with scary technical glitches every day, it’s better to switch to financial management software that offers a stable and reliable platform for your business.
Infor SunSystems and NetSuite are two examples of modern financial software that provide a worthwhile platform for enterprises to run their business on.
It might be Halloween but don’t be scared to get in contact with us to discuss how our financial management solutions can enhance your business.
Happy Halloween!
