Automation in the Internal Finance Team

Abstract

Finance is a dominant function in every organization since it has a direct association with the organization's growth. However, there is a lack of necessary research related to finance automation. Hence, this study aims to explore how automation can improve the performance of internal finance teams. A qualitative research strategy was applied, following an interpretivist philosophy, an inductive approach, and a comparative case study research design based on an Indian and a Finnish company. One high official from each company was interviewed via Microsoft Teams, and a survey was conducted on sixteen employees from the case companies using Microsoft Forms and a Likert scale. Finally, the study conducted a thematic analysis to identify patterns in the data collected related to internal finance automation.

The research findings indicate that the contemporary finance automation of both companies is different due to business maturity, years of experience, size of organizations, industry, and geographical variance. The major challenges highlighted by the companies are employee resistance, budget and time constraints, data security, and integration issues. Nevertheless, the benefits of the companies are operational speed, optimized resource allocation, quality decisions, and accuracy. The study suggests that Kotter’s 8-step change model should incorporate automation as a continuous learning process rather than technological development.

It is recommended that employee training in recent technological advancements be an important requirement for finance automation. Likewise, supporting employee growth and ensuring data security and privacy are significant for a corporation. The government should also provide support with affordable automation, strengthen data security regulations, and mandate corporate sustainable automation.