Accounting Innovation Opportunities

Artificial Intelligence (Siri/Cortana/etc) embedded in an ERP. You can run with the endless features/abilities it can do.

Hey...you asked!

Here is another one....

I/O options.... Finance and Accounting is STUCK in the usual I/O options. Monitor/printer. It would be nice to iINTERACT, manipulate or do something with data/information some other way.

Again...you asked!

Fixed asset tracking directly within the accounting system instead of having a standalone product like Sage FAS. It'd be great to add and dispose of assets and have it automatically update the GL when the next month's recurring entry is posted.

I would suggest automation of different processes. Some that come to mind are:
1. bank reconciliation where the software would interface with the bank's site and automatically clear checks, add deposits, etc.
2. credit card recons where the gl postings would be automated from uploads and where vendor accounts would track expenses charged to a card (i.e. when a utility bill is charged to a card, the vendor record for that utility company would show how much was paid)
3. ability to have both "book" financials and "tax" financials, meaning the system could switch between federal and book depreciation, subtract expenses not allowed on taxes, etc.

With the transition to a shared service model, one area we are struggling with is accruals and working with different geographical sites and managers. It would be helpful to have a central repository that could match open purchase orders, with un-applied vendor invoices and a place for cost center owners to add accruals for services that haven't been invoiced. We are struggling with two many worksheets and timing differences because of working over multiple time zones.

Accounts payable automation!

Ability to have all data in enterprise accessible through one system.

Example: Manufacturing. there are many moving parts with different software programs tied into the process. Some are stand-alone products, others may or may not be part of the central accounting system.

Think what you could do if you had all the data in one place for reporting analysis? How long was a machine down, the actual maintenance cycle, etc.

Lots of AI-ERP initiatives emerging....

As I initially alluded to....Artificial Intelligence and input/output options will revolutionize the Accounting and Finance function.

Imagine (as an example) Alexa, Siri or Cortana inside your ERP. Imagine the things they can do on everyday transactions, analysis, budgets, projections, scenario analysis, etc.

http://www.cio.com/article/3131609/enterprise-resource-planning/artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-erp-solutions.html

functional User-defined fields

I think, Cloud-based and online, or what we call, saas solution has already taken over the accounting marketing. When the accounting software is hosted on the remote servers, everything becomes mobile, which is the need of the hour for every business. This helps the accountants, CPAs, to access the software anytime, anywhere, get real-time information, and be sure that data and software are safe on the cloud.