The state of automation in companies
Automation in financial administration remains underutilized and sometimes poorly understood or resisted. Large companies typically adopt automation faster than smaller organizations, where understanding of benefits may exist but resources or urgency for change is lacking.
According to Taru Manner from Realia Group: “The more companies have good experiences with automation, the more willing they are to experiment different ways to automate routine tasks.”
Technology sophistication is advancing, enabling companies to develop processes further. Most organizations have systems supporting basic automation; increased sophistication requires market solutions that don’t demand massive time or financial investments.
Janne Blomqvist from Azets notes that while automation benefits are understood, the magnitude of organizational change automation brings is underestimated. He emphasizes: “We should help companies ensure automation fits their circumstances and goals optimally.”
The benefits of automation in financial administration
All interviewed experts agreed automation delivers significant benefits:
- Decreases routine, manual work – the primary driver for automation adoption
- Frees time for strategic work – supporting decision-making, predictions, trend analysis, and business partnership
- Reduces errors and improves data quality – machine-to-machine communication reduces human error
- Prevents unsustainable personnel cost growth – automated processes handle increased data volumes
- Reduces costs and accelerates processes – demonstrated through purchase invoice automation
- Shifts focus from routine tasks to financial expertise – requiring administrators with analytical capabilities
- Makes financial administration work more interesting – transitioning from repetitive tasks to expert consulting
- Improves recruitment and retention – attracting candidates seeking challenging roles
- Enables impossible manual operations – processing hundreds of thousands of invoices monthly
- Aligns with financial administration goals – supporting correctness, speed, and cost-effectiveness
3 roadblocks on the path to automation: people, processes, and lack of knowledge
Automation bottleneck: People
Jouko Peltonen from Technopolis observes: “Financial administrators are pedantic, obedient people who kindly do whatever is asked and do not question their working methods.”
Jesse Ahokas from Efima suggests negative attitudes may stem from previous poor automation experiences, contributing to change resistance. Fear of job loss creates psychological barriers to embracing transformation.
Resource constraints present additional challenges. Roope Rauhalinna from Mehiläinen notes: “It would benefit development if operative accounting staff weren’t simultaneously responsible for improvement work.”
Management ownership proves critical. Heikki Pulli from OpusCapita states: “Finance management must consider process combination, inter-unit workflows, and KPIs supporting straightforward processes.”
Automation bottlenecks: Processes
Two issues emerge: administrators either lack process knowledge or cannot perceive complete process pictures. The first manifests as resistance to change based on historical practices. The second occurs when processes are fragmented across departments without end-to-end visibility.
Janne Blomqvist explains: “Financial processes are often hindered by excessive exceptions. Sometimes legitimate business reasons exist; frequently they don’t.”
Process complexity may involve manual paper workflows, contradictory system architecture, flawed data, or incoherent structures.
Automation bottlenecks: Lack of knowledge
Many experts cite insufficient knowledge about automation possibilities, benefits, and financial process effectiveness as major obstacles.
Perspectives vary on required understanding levels. Some advocate basic knowledge for everyone; others emphasize management comprehension; some stress service provider responsibility for education.
Pepitta Nyman from Versowood notes: “Service providers must locate genuinely interested individuals willing to champion automation internally.”
Olli-Pekka Kuha from Premis observes: “Most financial software providers haven’t integrated latest technology advances, sometimes shifting saved automation time into maintenance requirements.”
Steps to take when increasing automation in the organisation
Recommended actions include:
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Research – Familiarize yourself with automation technologies: AI, robotics, machine learning, and their possibilities.
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Use outside experts’ help – Jouko Peltonen advises: “Show your processes to others; let them question your setup and be willing to question it yourself.”
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Be open and involve everyone from the beginning – Especially financial administrators, whose daily expertise proves invaluable and whose early involvement increases commitment.
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Communicate more than you think is necessary – Jesse Ahokas states: “Frequent, open communication reduces resistance and advances positive automation project atmosphere.”
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Research and question manually performed tasks – Maya Hänninen from Newsec recommends: “Find points enabling big automation gains. Focus on data mass first, ignoring exceptions initially.”
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Prepare the organisation for work methodology changes – Begin preparing people long before technological solutions arrive.
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Define goals and KPIs for the project – Assess whether current systems support objectives and whether data quality is sufficient.
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Determine ownership and resources – Organisational change without ownership fails from inception.
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Investigate market offerings – Identify solutions fitting seamlessly with current systems and workflows.
Final word: automation is not complicated, it is for our benefit
Key conclusions from expert interviews:
- Additional knowledge about automation uses and benefits would significantly benefit companies; becoming technology experts isn’t necessary.
- Automation delivers extensive benefits exceeding non-automation scenarios, with emerging benefits likely as technology advances.
- Understanding processes from beginning to end strengthens automation arguments, improves effectiveness, and initiates productive conversations about current versus potential practices.
Ultimately, automation centers on people: it originates with people, benefits people, functions optimally alongside people, and elevates both individuals and organizations.
Industry experts interviewed: Jesse Ahokas (Efima), Taru Manner (Realia), Roope Rauhalinna (Mehiläinen), Janne Blomqvist (Azets), Heikki Pulli (OpusCapita), Jouko Peltonen (Technopolis), Pepitta Nyman (Versowood), Olli-Pekka Kuha (Premis), Maya Hänninen (Newsec).
