Cloud-based AI-backed software giant BlackLine does just that for many of the nation’s businesses, including leading non-bank lender Resimac.

With over 50,000 customers, Resimac is one of Australia and New Zealand’s premium non-bank lenders and enjoyed double-digit growth in FY 2020, despite the global pandemic.

“The non-bank lender’s significant growth over the last three years drove growth in transactions and tasks for both treasury and finance teams, placing pressure on our back office to complete reconciliations in a timely manner,” says Resimac CFO Jason Azzopardi.

“BlackLine has enabled systematic completion of reconciliations on a monthly basis, and provide senior management with comfort on balance sheet integrity.”

“Being cloud-based software, Blackline has enabled us to stay on top of our control processes and checks notwithstanding the unprecedented work-from-home environment brought about by COVID-19. In particular, our auditors were able to access the required reconciliations and sight necessary controls in the reconciliations processes via direct access to Blackline.”

How does BlackLine achieve this seeming impossible task of removing the boring side of accounting while also guarding against fraud and keeping books up to date to the second?

“BlackLine Cash Application speeds up the accounts receivable process using artificial intelligence to automatically match customer payments to invoices and reduce unapplied cash by up to 99 per cent,” says Claudia Pirko Australia-New Zealand regional vice-president of BlackLine.

“When customer payments and electronic remittances are received, BlackLine Cash Application uses AI to accurately apply payments to customer invoices in their ERP.

“Over time, machine learning enables continuous optimisation by predicting future matches to reduce further the need for manual effort and reliance on remittances.”

The key, says Pirko, is control.

“Failure to enforce controls, whether in accounting or broader parts of the organisation, doesn’t just increase the risk of error,” says Pirko.

“It increases the risk of fraud. Performing balance sheet and bank reconciliations are standard procedures for preventing fraud risk, yet they are also one of the main reasons behind a slow close.

“Organisations often walk a tightrope between fraud risk, resource drain, or a sluggish financial close.”

Bank reconciliations are an excellent example of this, she says.

“Bank reconciliations are typically performed at the end of the month after the transactions have already been recorded.

“If an employee tries to commit fraud at the beginning of the month, accountants reconciling the bank statement transactions won’t catch the discrepancy until almost a month later, sometimes longer. These activities should be discovered and resolved as soon as possible, or the magnitude of the problem will likely get larger.

“With BlackLine, you will be able to perform your bank reconciliation with real-time data at the speed of the business, and you will find errors and fraudulent transactions in a timely matter to resolve.”

One of the biggest factors driving change in the way accountants work are of course the millennials.

“A growing change in attitude about the expectations of finance and accounting work is culminating with millennials.

“In accounting, repetitive, transactional work—while never popular—is increasingly becoming a liability from every angle. It’s a poor use of valuable headcount, especially as companies hire more accountants with advanced degrees, training, and CPA licenses. It drains the resources that should be retrained and retained for higher-value work.

Accounting professionals also see the writing on the wall, she says.

“With increasing automation, they’re anxious to upgrade their skillsets to stay above the rising tide of technology. The best of the talent is simply unwilling to tolerate unsatisfying and unchallenging work— and they’ll go elsewhere to look for something better.

“BlackLine can help address this by eliminating much of the mundane, manual work so finance and accounting professionals can focus on real-time and preventative management of controls, rather than just focusing on detective controls and gaining efficiency with rules-based Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions.”

Finally, what does the future hold?

“The pandemic has altered the business landscape and forced thousands of organisations to revise their business models and embrace wholesale digital transformation,” says Pirko.

“The upcoming years will bring challenges aplenty for Australian businesses as they recover from Covid, restructure their operations and position themselves to take advantage of growth opportunities.

“A finance department that is ‘fighting fit’: ready, willing and able to support business leaders by providing the up-to-the-minute data they need to inform strategic decision-making will be a powerful – and essential – asset.”

Resimac’s Azzopardi agrees.

“Cloud-based software and software-as-a-service platforms like Blackline, which enable staff to work with the same efficacy as they do in the office, stand to benefit hugely from the sea change brought about by COVID-19.

“It’s also a great opportunity for businesses still using legacy systems to re-evaluate their needs and consider newer and more modern digital solutions that provide the remote access capabilities they may be lacking.”