FP&Ai Podcast: Ep 14: Automate and Systemise Routine Finance Work
In this episode of the FP&Ai Podcast, Roger Knocker is joined by Anthony Wilson and Donovan Moses to explore how finance teams can automate and systemise routine work to improve efficiency, reduce manual effort, and create more time for analysis and business partnering.
The conversation explores where finance teams should start with automation, why repetitive, low risk and high-volume activities often provide the best opportunities, and why reliable data and appropriate controls remain critical. The speakers share practical examples across creditor reconciliations, recurring journals, balance sheet reconciliations, regulatory submissions, reporting, and month end processes.
They also discuss how automation can shift finance teams away from processing every transaction towards managing exceptions, and how tools such as Excel, Power Automate, CPM solutions and AI can streamline reporting and repetitive monthly activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should finance teams start with automation?
Start with repetitive, low risk, high volume activities. Donovan explains that finance teams should avoid beginning with complex, high risk transactions and instead identify routine activities where automation can save significant time while maintaining appropriate controls. Creditor reconciliations and recurring journals are practical examples of processes that can provide an effective starting point.
Podcast timestamp: 2:59–6:23
Why is reliable data so important when automating finance processes?
Automation depends on the quality of the information feeding the process. If invoices, payments, journals or ERP data are unreliable, automating the process can simply accelerate errors. The team explains why finance teams need trustworthy data together with appropriate review controls before allowing routine processes to run automatically.
Podcast timestamp: 6:23–9:36
Which routine finance processes can be automated?
There are opportunities across many repetitive finance activities, including creditor reconciliations, recurring journals, prepaid expenses, accruals, balance sheet reconciliations and regulatory submissions. The key is to look for activities that follow the same steps each month and rely on consistent sources of information.
Podcast timestamp: 9:36–12:31
How can automation help finance teams focus more on exceptions?
Rather than spending time checking every routine transaction, finance teams can automate predictable activities and focus their attention on anomalies and unusual transactions. This shifts finance professionals away from repetitive processing and towards reviewing exceptions, managing risk and applying judgement where it adds the most value.
Podcast timestamp: 12:31–13:51
Why do supplier reconciliations still matter when finance processes are automated?
Supplier reconciliations remain an important financial control, even when parts of the process are automated. The discussion explores how differences can still arise because of timing, cut off, three way matching, supplier statements and discrepancies between invoices, receipts and payments. Automation can reduce the amount of routine checking required, while finance professionals focus their attention on exceptions and discrepancies that need investigation.
Podcast timestamp:
13:51–18:50
How can finance teams automate monthly reporting?
Many finance teams repeat the same reporting process every month, exporting data from ERP systems, transforming it in Excel, creating pivots and preparing reports. Anthony explains how these repetitive activities can be automated using integration and ETL tools, CPM solutions, Excel automation, Power Automate and AI. Even organisations without large technology budgets can start automating repetitive reporting activities using tools they already have.
Podcast timestamp: 18:50–23:28
How much time can reporting automation save?
Anthony shares a practical client example where preparing information from the ERP system for reporting previously took four to five days. After implementing a corporate performance management solution, the process was reduced to approximately two to three hours, giving the finance team significantly more time for analysis and reporting.
Podcast timestamp: 23:28–24:15
Can AI help finance teams create variance commentary and management reports?
Yes. The discussion explores how AI can assist with generating variance commentary, insights, recommendations and remedial actions when reliable data is available. Standard prompts can also be reused each month to streamline repetitive reporting activities and help finance teams spend less time formatting reports and more time interpreting performance.
Podcast timestamp: 24:15–28:44
How can finance teams use Copilot in month end reporting?
Finance teams can use Copilot to make recurring month end reporting activities more efficient. Donovan explains that once a reliable prompt has been developed and refined, it can be retained and reused each month with updated reporting data. This allows finance teams to standardise repetitive tasks such as generating commentary, identifying insights and preparing reporting outputs, while still reviewing and applying judgement to the results.
Podcast timestamp:
26:51–28:44
Key Takeaways
- Start automation with repetitive, low risk and high-volume finance activities.
- Make sure the underlying data is reliable before automating a process.
- Maintain appropriate review controls and safeguards when introducing automation.
- Automate routine work so finance professionals can focus on exceptions and anomalies.
- Look for automation opportunities across reconciliations, journals, month end processes and reporting.
- Use existing tools such as Excel, Power Automate and AI before assuming expensive technology is required.
- Standardise recurring reporting processes to reduce manual data preparation.
- Use AI to support variance commentary, insights, recommendations and management reporting.
- Spend less time processing and formatting information and more time analysing performance and supporting business decisions.
🎧 Hosted by
- Roger Knocker
- Anthony Wilson
- Donovan Moses
About FP&Ai
FP&Ai helps finance teams transform planning, reporting, forecasting, consolidation, analytics, automation, and decision making through modern finance technology, AI, and best practice processes.
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https://www.fpai.co.za/
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