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The Future of Accountancy: Basic Automation vs. Bespoke Automation

Posted on 24 October 2023

By Ian Cooper, Head of UK Operations at FYI

Automation is no longer a buzzword—it’s an essential part of many firms’ operations. While the focus may be on what comes next, in the form of AI and machine learning, the here and now is automation.

However, not every form of automation is created equal. While basic automation serves to streamline straightforward tasks using rigid templates, true, bespoke automation, can be tailored to meet the unique needs of your accountancy firm.

This tailored approach can lead to substantial efficiency gains, more satisfied staff and clients, and offers a significant competitive edge, as it can be tweaked, and new automations created to deal with different workflows.

Having a clear understanding of the processes in service delivery is a great cornerstone to build from. Accountants are in an envious position as many processes are refined and efficient, Business Process Automation (BPA) allows these tried and tested processes to be taken to the next level with automation.

Basic automation: A one-size-fits-all approach

Basic automation in accountancy often involves the use of off-the-shelf software to perform routine tasks like data entry, simple calculations, and report generation.

While this form of automation saves time and reduces errors, it often lacks the flexibility to adapt to the complexities that are inherent in the accounting world.

It’s a rigid program that offers only a narrow range of predefined operations, leaving firms struggling to adapt the tool to their specific and unique needs. Its usefulness is, therefore, limited.

Bespoke automation: crafting solutions

In contrast to basic automation, true automation can be customised to the specific requirements of your firm.

Whether it’s tailoring workflows, integrating with other platforms, or automating client communications, customised business process automations (BPA) allow you to configure software to create new solutions designed around your specific preferred ways of working – without the need to request developers to update their solution.

By offering this adaptability, those platforms that provide craftable automations make themselves invaluable to firms, who increasingly are looking at ways to streamline their workflows.

Process-driven workflows

Automation enables firms to design process-driven workflows that cater to your unique operational demands. Instead of rigid, one-size-fits-all processes, you can configure bespoke workflows that make sense for your team and clients.

However, merely adopting automation tools isn’t enough; the real competitive advantage lies in having in-house automation expertise.

The most automated firms empower a digital champion to automate many service lines in the firm.

Their remit will first start with understanding the processes today. Following this review, it becomes an easier process to see which areas can be automated to bring the most value.

As accountancy firms increasingly integrate advanced, bespoke automation solutions into their operations, the value of having a dedicated team or individual experts focused on maximising the potential of these tools becomes evident.

Navigating complexity with ease

Accountancy practices are often fraught with complex tasks and processes. Understanding how to tailor these systems effectively requires a nuanced understanding of both the software and the accountancy domain.

Having in-house experts ensures that your firm is not just implementing automation but doing so in a way that is most beneficial to your specific operational needs.

Agility and rapid adaptation

Financial regulations, client needs, and market conditions are ever-changing. An in-house team with automation expertise allows your practice to be agile, adapting quickly to new situations by tweaking the automation processes in real time. This responsiveness is hard to achieve if you are entirely dependent on external vendors or generic solutions.

Continuous improvement

Automation is not a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ solution but rather a dynamic tool that can continuously be improved for better outcomes.

Having a team that can regularly assess the efficacy of automated processes, refine workflows, and leverage data analytics provided by advanced platforms to make data-driven decisions for ongoing improvements.

Lucy Handly, Accounts and Advisory Manager at Ammu is one such user of automation, via FYI, to benefit from this approach: We can tailor it to what we want, which is important. So, we can have the automations that we want and define how we want them to run.

“We are constantly changing how we use FYI and making improvements, but equally the platform is constantly being upgraded to offer new, useful features – it is an ever-moving tool in itself as there are more additions coming to it all the time.

“But we also know that we can build on this software the bigger we get. We’ve never stopped improving the way we use FYI and we like that we can handle the innovation ourselves. It doesn’t have to be a software developer in the background that is doing it.”

Ammu like that they can decide how they want FYI to look and function. They have developed many automations that have created the functionality to do lots of powerful and time-saving tasks, like sending out automated emails to clients.

Clients benefit from the digital journey

Clients today expect quicker turnarounds, real-time updates, and a more personalised service. In-house automation allows you to not just meet these expectations but exceed them by delivering highly customised services that can be adapted to each client’s specific needs.