EInvoicing & Automation

Francois Lacas - Deputy Chief Operations Officer - Yooz

While the pandemic continues to form a black cloud of economic uncertainty over businesses, CFOs are being burdened with the pressure of not just maintaining cash flow, but improving it.

Because while the CEO is often seen as being in the driving seat, the CFOs role has transformed during the pandemic - from bean counter to digital innovator.

CFOs are increasingly taking the lead in supporting digital strategies, identifying key areas of focus and investment in all areas of the business as well as the finance department.

But under increasing financial scrutiny, choosing between tightening the purse strings and investing in long-neglected areas of the business is a tough balancing act.

In 2022, there are three priorities CFOs should concern themselves with to see out another successful year, no matter what unforeseen events come their way.

Francois Lacas, Deputy COO at Yooz

The change in working conditions brought about by the pandemic has forced many companies to accelerate their technology strategies.

Cloud technology is rapidly becoming one of the key investments for future-proofed businesses, with 30% of businesses planning on moving to cloud systems and adopting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms as a top priority during the next year.

The benefits of cloud computing in finance - increased efficiency and flexibility, improved cash flow, and more - has long been the driving force behind adoption. But an additional advantage of the technology in reducing costs, ensuring server availability, and preventing unforeseen disasters is something businesses have become all too familiar with.

Alongside these black swan events have been the sudden changes in working environments, moving to more flexible/ remote practices, and more questions being raised about cybersecurity.

This is especially true for remote teams handling sensitive financial data. Securing data and sensitive financial information was a top priority for 36% of finance leaders over the next 12 months, according to a new survey.

Guest contribution by David Brightman, Director of Product Marketing at BlackLine

The last few months have transformed the way finance teams work. The disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses to adopt technological solutions at an accelerated rate, while many businesses operate from their homes, tackling a list of new and ongoing issues remotely. This new way of working has changed the way organisations collaborate internally and interact with their clients, but most noticeably, how businesses approach the adoption of new technology that can transform finance and accounting processes. In this article, I round up the most notable trends that I expect will shape finance and cash management within organisations this year.

Digitisation - It's no longer a question of when

In 2021, it is no longer a question of if Accounting should digitise—but how best to do it. Remote work has become the new normal - so all departments (even those which have been traditionally office-based, such as Accounts Receivable) will be looking for ways to monitor the success of remote workers. The year will see the Controllership invest in technology to turbocharge their digital transformation journeys and move to a modern accounting model that unifies all of a company's systems and data into a single source, automating manual, repetitive activities that drain time and energy, and providing real-time information and analysis to inform business decisions.

Guest contribution by Vincent Poulain D'Andecy

In this article, Vincent Poulain d’Andecy, Research Department Manager at Yooz, revisits his early days at the organisation, which had started using artificial intelligence in Accounting from the very beginning.

At Yooz, why did you decide to use artificial intelligence to automate accounting processes for companies?

Thirty years ago, Yooz’s name was Informatics and Advanced Technologies. The company was already working with the computer science engineering school in Nîmes, France, EERIE, which is now part of the well-regarded Mines d’Alès National Higher School of Engineering.