Imagine a growing company where invoices pile up, approval processes lag, and financial oversight can’t keep up. Now, picture the same company with streamlined workflows, automated fraud detection, and visibility into finances that help the business. The difference? Strong financial controls.
Financial controls are the guardrails of good decision-making in any business. They include the procedures, policies, and methods for monitoring and controlling economic resources. In today’s digital age, these controls have evolved beyond traditional manual processes.
In the webinar “Mastering Internal Financial Controls for Sustainable Success,” ApprovalMax experts Jonathan Kyritsis and Angela Bierman shared a critical truth for Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and their clients: modernizing financial controls is vital to sustainable business growth.
But how can CPAs use these evolving controls to deliver tangible value? Let’s explore three key areas:
- The evolution of financial controls in the digital era
- Using automation for efficiency and fraud prevention
- Building scalable controls for long-term success
Whether you’re a CPA looking to enhance your services or a business leader aiming to strengthen your financial processes, these insights will provide tips on where to focus your attention and how to get started in modern financial management.
The Digital Evolution of Financial Controls
“Financial controls are the guardrails of good decision-making in any business,” Angela said. These controls protect against fraud, prevent costly mistakes, and provide the foundation for sound financial stewardship. The digital era has changed how these controls operate and their role in business growth.
Consider the traditional invoice approval process. Angela described the old way:
“If it’s paper, you take the stack of invoices to the various people who need to approve them, and they sign it. They may have a comment or a question, or they come back with post-its, and you’re like, whose signature is this? And what’s the status?”
This manual process is inefficient and prone to errors.
Modern, digitized financial controls automate this process. Invoices are automatically routed to the right approvers, reminders are sent systematically, and every action is logged with a clear audit trail. This removes the chaos of paper trails and reduces the risk of lost or mishandled documents.
Beyond digitizing paperwork, modern financial controls use technologies like optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning (ML) to extract data from invoices, detect anomalies, and predict potential issues before they arise.
This evolution allows CPAs to offer more strategic, value-added services. Instead of spending hours on manual data entry and chasing approvals, CPAs can focus on analyzing financial data, identifying trends, and sharing insights that help business growth. Jonathan says it’s about understanding “how we can impact your business” through tailored, modern financial control systems.
Using Automation for Efficiency and Fraud Prevention
Automation underpins modern financial controls’ evolution, boosting efficiency and security. For CPAs, becoming familiar with these systems can be important for offering innovative services that support client success.
There are big efficiency gains from automation. Angela candidly said: “Chasing invoices is such a time suck. We all have better things to do.”
Automated systems handle tasks like routing invoices, sending reminders, and tracking approvals. Technologies like OCR automatically extract data from invoices to reduce manual data entry and errors.
These improvements allow finance professionals to shift focus from routine tasks to strategic analysis and decision-making. For CPAs, this means spending less time on data processing and more on consulting clients.
Automation also enhances fraud prevention. Automated systems constantly monitor for suspicious patterns and anomalies. They can flag payments just below approval limits—a common tactic in fraud schemes. Angela noted: “When you have a threshold of $10,000, $50,000, whatever it is, and you start to see bills coming in just under that threshold, that should be a flag.”
Automation fortifies vulnerable points in financial systems, such as vendor information changes. Angela highlighted this risk: “Where they get you, and where the areas of higher risk are, is the changes. Someone says, ‘Oh, I have new banking information. Can you update my account?'”
Automated systems enforce strict protocols for such changes, requiring multiple approvals and flagging suspicious updates.
However, automation complements rather than replaces human judgment. Jonathan said: “Logic sometimes might fly out the window because this is something quick that your boss’s boss is getting you to do. So again, it’s about having the processes in place.”
Automation provides the framework and flags potential issues, but human oversight is still key.
Building Scalable Financial Controls for Sustainable Growth
As companies expand, their financial control needs become more complex. Scalability becomes essential. Angela advised: “With every decision you make regarding processes, policies, and technology, ask yourself: Does this scale? Can this work with more people, more departments?”
A manual approval process suitable for a team of 10 can become a nightmare for a company of 100. Scalable, automated controls adapt effortlessly—moving from a single-tier approval system to a multi-tiered one that accounts for different departments and spending thresholds.
Establishing scalable controls empowers CPAs to transition from traditional number crunchers to vital strategic partners in growth. By anticipating future client needs and creating adaptable processes, CPAs can deliver exceptional value that enhances their role and influence.
Flexibility is important, Jonathan said: “Every client is not the same from client to client. We have to be flexible in this day and age, especially with the world changing as quickly as it is.”
Customization plus scalability ensure that financial controls remain effective and efficient regardless of a company’s size or complexity.
Scalable controls also democratize the oversight process. Angela noted: “What I think is so important is to empower every single person involved in the accounts payable process with the ability to press pause and say, ‘I’m not comfortable with that.'”
This approach maintains robust oversight even as organizations grow.
Setting up scalable controls early saves businesses from growing pains later. Angela pointed out: “It’s so much easier as an employee, as a project manager, as a relationship manager, to say to somebody, ‘Hey, these are our policies. This is what we’ve got in place.'”
It’s more efficient to grow into robust controls than to build them retroactively.
Watch the Full Webinar and Earn Free CPE
Digital, automated, and scalable financial controls form a powerful triad for sustainable business growth. They provide efficiency for daily operations, security against fraud, and flexibility for long-term expansion. For CPAs, mastering these controls is critical to delivering extra value in today’s business landscape.
To fully grasp the role of strong financial controls, watch the webinar “Mastering Internal Financial Controls for Sustainable Success.” Jonathan and Angela offer practical insights and real-world examples to enhance your service offerings.
Register for free here and earn free CPE for watching: