Good controllers are providing their accountants with the latest tech. But the great ones are getting them to actually use it
Good morning. This year, many financial leaders plan to invest in new technology, but a vital factor will be whether employees will want to use it.
“It’s better to have less technology with a workforce that accepts it than to have the cutting edge of technology and resistant employees,” Mallory Barg Bulman, senior director, research in the Gartner Finance practice, said in a new report.
Take, for instance, accounting. Gartner Inc., a research and consulting firm, found that 18% of accountants make financial errors at least daily, with about a third making at least a few financial errors every week, and 59% making several per month.
The findings are based on a recent survey of 497 controllers who oversee a firm's accounting operations. The errors were closely correlated with companies having to operate with smaller staffs as economic and regulatory pressures keep rising. To address staffing deficits, technology like automation is increasingly being implemented, but, according to Gartner, those gains have proved underwhelming.
Experts at the firm ran some tests with accounting teams and found that companies where technology is more readily accepted saw a 75% reduction in financial errors, according to the report. So is it fair to blame some firms' mistakes simply on a lack of employee engagement? I reached out to Bulman to find out more.
“Employee engagement is directly tied to the trust employees have in their manager and work environment,” Bulman told me. She shared “critical steps” for controllers as they automate the work of their teams:
—Highlight how technological tools will positively affect accountants’ day-to-day work. “Accountants instinctively understand technology’s potential to disrupt their job, and downplaying possible workplace changes will likely build skepticism rather than acceptance,” Bulman said.
—Ensure that the technology made available “meets a minimum threshold” for acceptance. “New technology must allow accountants to access the data they need and minimize the time they need to switch tools or views to achieve necessary tasks,” she said.
—Listen to accountants at critical decision points so employees have opportunities to influence decisions. “Controllers often ask for employee feedback too late to meaningfully inform decisions,” Bulman explained. “At the other end of the spectrum, controllers may include too many people involved across too many stages, slowing decision-making and causing opinion overload.”
How are you preparing your teams for new technology? Send me an email.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
