Tech News: Study finds too many manual processes slowing down accountants in finance departments

Tech News: Study finds manual processes waste time

March 21, 2022 10:49 AM

A Tipalti study says there are too many manual processes; Wolters Kluwer announces a new partnership for cryptocurrency; the IRS warns people to be on the lookout for cybercrime; and other tech news for accountants.

Manual processes waste time: Study

A survey commissioned by payment management company Tipalti found that finance leaders estimate that 43% of their end-to-end accounts payable processes are manual or paper based, with an average time to completion being 50 minutes to provide a supplier invoice, 11 days to close monthly accounts and 13 days to close quarterly accounts. Tipalti said this means 53% of time in finance departments is spent on manual processes versus strategic initiatives.

WK in crypto partnership

Wolters Kluwer announced a partnership with Bitcoin company NYDIG to launch Bitcoin Risk Assessment – NYDIG Clients, which assesses a financial institutions' control environment related to its participation in the NYDIG Bitcoin platform. The partnership enables access to more information about a customer's digital asset risks, particularly where it concerns regulatory compliance within the NYDIG platform.

Acquisitions

Continuing professional education firm Knowfully announced its acquisition of MasterCPE, which provides courses for CPAs. … AP automation firm Medius said that private equity firm Advent International has acquired a minority stake in the business, though Marlin Equity Partners remains its majority shareholder.

IRS warns taxpayers to be on guard for cybercrime

Sign in front of IRS building in Washington, D.C.

Pamela Au/wingedwolf - Fotolia

The IRS, in a recent alert, warned people to be aware of cybercrime and protect themselves online. It advised that people treat their personal information as if it were cash, reveal sensitive info like their Social Security numbers only when absolutely necessary, use strong passwords that are difficult to guess, set passwords and encryption protection for wireless networks, be wary of phishing scams, use security software, back up files, understand the risks of public WiFi, and educate themselves and others about online safety.

Funding

Finance software provider Ramp said that it has secured $750 million in new funding, including $200 million in equity funding in a move led by Founders Fund, and $500 million in debt financing. … Real-time finance and information platform Digits announced the close of a $65 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank to support the company launching its first major product.

Other news

Xero announced that its annual Xerocon conference will return to Sydney, Australia, in 2022. ... Bill.com announced the appointment of Rinki Sethi to the position of vice president and chief information security officer. … Tax and accounting software firm Corvee has launched a new state and local tax calculation feature, allowing professionals to analyze client tax scenarios at the federal and state level for additional tax savings and state-specific tax planning strategies. … Tax software company FlyFinn released a free 1099 tax calculator, which can be accessed through the firm’s mobile app. … Revenue management software company BillingPlatform announced new features to its product, including rule-based price quote generation, more invoice configuration and management options, rules-based merchant payments, auditor sandbox and production instances, user entity tracking, role permissions checks, and performance and user interface improvements. … QuickBooks Cash has been renamed QuickBooks Checking to reflect new product offerings, which include a checking account with a 1% annual interest yield, a debit card, access to instant deposits, integration with the QuickBooks Online platform, compatibility with Google Pay and Apple Pay, budgeting features, a cash flow planner, bill payments, and mobile check deposits. … Business management firm Stripe said that its Stripe Tax product is now available in three more countries: the UAE, Singapore and Iceland.