More than 50% of organizations report that integration challenges cost their businesses an average of $500,000 every year. That’s a huge financial burden, even when such an integration is performed well.
Accounting firms and audits are no different. To ensure a successful remote audit, your firm needs to create an integrated infrastructure to avoid the knowledge gaps and inefficiencies that occur when software systems don’t communicate. Streamlining communication helps stakeholders understand where everyone is at, yes, but it also enables a strong business ecosystem.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. 95% of companies strive to enable their business ecosystems, but 38% lack confidence in their capacity to scale to support the integration initiatives that are key to doing so. By creating an integrated network of applications, including CRM, document portals, billing, workpaper, collaboration, and practice management systems, you can:
- Avoid communication gaps
- Reduce document management time
- Streamline stakeholder collaboration
- Streamline document validation
- Centralize comments & questions
The key to avoiding this waiting game is to focus on prioritization. When deciding what to work on, here are a few tips:
Automate critical transactions - Many firms struggle with this step, but it’s not because they don’t see the value in streamlining transaction processes. Rather, they may rely upon an engagement process that precludes smooth transactions simply because it’s so fragmented. An expedited, all-in-one engagement platform can shift this paradigm, using automation to turn a pain point into an integration boon.
Quickly onboard new customers and partners - Engagements are often incredibly complex, and stakeholders need to move quickly to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Quickly onboarding clients, partners, and any other stakeholders is a must for ensuring that these processes move as smoothly as possible. Professionals should thus seek out platforms that enable this crucial component of integration.
Improve employee productivity - Employees are at their most productive and integrative when a firm’s investment in its work culture is at its most proactive. This means creating a space in which employees feel that ethics matter and that they can be transparent. When that workplace need is respected, employee investment soars.
Gain visibility into holistic data flows - This ties back to the need for a single, streamlined platform. Such a centralized workflow empowers a similarly centralized and holistic data flow. This principle informs the success of every other integration factor here: transactions, stakeholder onboarding, employee investment, and more all stem from ready data accessibility
Improve security - This tip may seem gratuitous, but you might be surprised at how many practices skip adequate investment on security features. And with the risk of succumbing to fraudsters from outside and inside the business higher than ever, so too is the need to improve security wherever possible. Better security informs a better process integration.
Reduce system-generated errors - One of the gravest integration challenges that comes with relying on a basket of different portals and software is the potential for system-generated errors. Streamlining engagements as much as possible helps firms circumvent this challenge. The fewer disparate systems being asked to interact, the fewer things will slip through any cracks.
Suralink, the world leader in PBC request list and engagement management software, understands the need for system integration and why it matters more than ever in this digital age. Indeed, our founder was a professional who knew the need for an engagement that wasn’t just expedient, but integrated. That philosophy informs our platform design and ensures that every step of your engagement is as streamlined and holistic as possible.
Click here to learn more about how Suralink’s all-in-one platform creates transformational experiences for you and your clients!