Technology at the service of companies: how to manage finances in the digital age?
Have you ever stopped to think about how long our society has been dealing with money? The first coins representing values date back to the 7th century, which means that for at least 2,700 years, man has needed to control his expenses and balance them with the amount of resources available. And what would financial management be like in the digital age?
The fact that it is something very old makes many people think that the way of dealing with finances does not change. This is a huge mistake, especially if we take into account the changes that have occurred in the last 100 years with the creation of the speculative market, new means of payment and technological advances as a whole.
Anyone who thinks that technology has no bearing on the financial world is also mistaken. Just ask any professional in this field to know that a lot has changed in the world of numbers. And many of these changes have been given a little push by technology and digital transformation .
Managing finances today is a very different process from what it was a few decades ago. Things have become faster, more dynamic and more accurate. That's why it's important to welcome the era of technology-based financial control.
Financial management in the digital age
Financial operations involve calculations. The fact is that counting things and controlling them has never been an easy task. It requires reasoning, focus, concentration, mathematical skills and, above all, great discipline with numbers.
You can (and will) find people with this analytical and systematic profile. However, do you see how these factors exclude other professional skills?
What technology has done to the financial world is to adapt and automate the most difficult and complex tasks. They also require the most labor and concentration from people. From a simple calculator to a complex spreadsheet of monthly results, everything has been transformed by technology, aiming for practicality and agility. The methods of digital financial management have changed drastically these days.
The result was a huge change in the needs of professionals. Out went the individual who only knew how to do the math and in came the professional who was able to delegate these tasks to a machine while focusing on more “thinking” tasks, such as developing the strategy of his team.
In short: digital transformation has also changed the profile of employees in the finance area. It has changed their focus, made their tasks faster and simpler by automating countless calculations and projections.
This is the first point to think about when we talk about financial management in the digital age: technology has changed the scope of work and the profile of the professional, while at the same time creating opportunities for people to put aside unproductive tasks to focus on tasks that are more important for business growth.
For each operation a solution
Complementing what was discussed in the topic above, it is possible to see that digital transformation has addressed numerous demands in the financial sector. Even less “mechanical” and more intellectual tasks, such as building financial strategy, managing teams or analyzing results, are covered by digital tools.
The routine of a finance professional can rely heavily on the use of intelligent systems and, mainly, digital platforms , making the old control spreadsheets and cash books disappear from the scene.
Tasks that require a lot of attention to numbers and planning, such as cost control, which were previously done manually, can now be carried out through intuitive platforms and in a 100% digital way, something fundamental to optimizing financial control.
Simplifying accounting
Accounting , issuing invoices and controlling payments? Today, all of this can also be done online and automated.
In parallel with financial management in the digital age, operations such as Balance Sheets have also become easier and more accurate with the use of technologies such as QuickBooks . In addition to being great for balance sheets, the system also works to control cash flow and taxes.
There is no shortage of technological solutions aimed at the financial world. It would be possible to cite several examples, but the list grows as we explore the activity of the financial sector.