FAS system is the enterprise finance and accounting (F&A) system, where the financial data of an enterprise resides. FAS maintains all the data related to accounts payables and accounts receivables in the enterprise.

FAS maintains all the books and ledgers on a digital platform, in a manner similar to a manual scenario, such that they are readily auditable. It records all the assets, liabilities, and operational data digitally and in real-time.

FAS automation is the process of updating all the transactions on a fast track. It involves mapping and synchronizing the records with different enterprise systems used for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Inventory Management, etc.

FAS automation allows enterprises to automate their core processes, including accounts payable, accounts receivables, book keeping, taxation and compliance, payroll management, expense management, etc. It allows to expedite processes with the same number of existing resources and culminate monthly and quarterly closures in time, accurately, and consistently.

FAS automation allows enterprises to automate all swivel chair operations and synchronize all enterprise systems in real-time. It allows enterprise resources to auto-generate reports as well as create spare time for executives for analysing the financial information and emerging trends to plan enterprise growth in close coordination with other enterprise teams and enterprise leadership.

The main Finance and Accounting (F&A) processes are Accounts Receivables (AR) and Accounts Payables (AP). Automation of these two processes allows enterprises to accelerate the processing time, ensure timely closures, improve accuracy and cost savings. These automations are also referred to as Order-to-Cash (O2C) Automation and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Automation, respectively. BPM service providers offer Finance and Accounting automation and outsourcing services as well as process accelerators to jumpstart Finance Accounting System (FAS) automation.

Finance & Accounting Procure to Pay Automation or simply P2P Automation is the process of automating all the tasks right from procurement of goods and services to the paying out to the last mile vendor in the supply chain or value chain. Purchase Order and Service Order automation, Invoice Management, Service Received Note integration, 2/3 way matching, Reconciliation, and integration with core systems are all part of P2P Automation.

Most F&A P2P Automations enable evaluating vendors, shortlisting them on the basis of quotations for each and every part required for manufacturing, and generating payment advices for account transfers. Master Data Management, Vendor Catalog Management, and Contract Management are also part of P2P Automation.

The main goal of F&A P2P Automation is to improve accuracy and first-time rights, streamline processes, improve collaboration between intra and inter department stakeholders, reduce operational costs. Aligning the Procurement division with the Accounts Payables is also a primary ask in P2P Automation projects. It focuses on eliminating technical debt that has accrued over a period of time as point automation solutions were embraced in the different stakeholder departments at different time periods.

F&A P2P Automation also propagates complete visibility for audit purposes and eliminates the scope of fraud. It empowers the Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing and production paradigm and improves supply chain management, which may involve different time zones. It offers real-time visibility of the digital platform to the leadership and management teams to conduct business as well as envisage changes and expansion. It also steps up vigilance activities and compliances with internal and external governance bodies.

Most BPM service providers have Finance & Accounting services and accelerators to jumpstart P2P Automation for their customers.

Finance & Accounting Order to Cash Automation or simply O2C Automation enables businesses to improve cash flows and productivity, over time. The automation in the Accounts Receivables ensures that your earnings are received quickly and invested back in the business for expansion, dividends are paid out, and payables are cleared. Improved revenues also ensure sustained growth. A healthy balance sheet also improves the trust of the investors and employees.

End-to-end O2C automation for Accounts Receivables also allows keeping track of customers who make on-schedule payments and those who cross the credit days frequently. It also allows maintaining research data about new customers and their creditworthiness such that credit limits and credit days are enforced in the automation logic and write-offs are practically eliminated. It improves the cycle time of order processing by routing all incoming channels of orders to the concerned departments by converting them into sales orders to deliver the goods. Each department, right from Sales, Finance Credit, Product Engineering, to Logistics starts working in a clockwork manner thus reducing lead time and improving customer satisfaction.

Most BPM service providers have Finance & Accounting services and accelerators to jumpstart O2C Automation for their customers.

F&A Record to Report Automation or simply R2R Automation automates the gathering of all the Finance & Accounting data, processes it, and generates a story for internal and external compliance reporting. It frees up the bandwidth of resources to focus on strategic decision-making and high-value tasks.

The R2R Automation usually sits atop core systems. It collates and consolidates data in a particular staging server, verifies and validates the data, flags anomalies, and outliers, generates various reports for different levels of compliances, improves the effectiveness of productivity tools, eliminates time lag in reporting, and reduces risk exposure.

Most BPM service providers have Finance & Accounting services and accelerators to jumpstart O2C Automation for their customers.

The F&A services that are usually outsourced to finance and accounting outsourcing companies are Accounts Receivables and Accounts Payable management, Financial Dashboarding & Reporting, Financial Planning & Analysis, AI/ML-enabled Forensic Accounting, and Tax Filing.

Some of the main benefits of Finance and Accounting outsourcing are saving operating costs, saving time on hiring expert resources, eliminating the hiring of temporary staff to mitigate peak workloads, improving cash flows, and making data-driven decisions.