Harmonizing Automation and Human Expertise in Financial Planning and Accounting

Harmonizing Automation and Human Expertise in Financial Planning and Accounting

Technology for Financial Planning and Accounting

Automation and technology have become increasingly important in the world of financial planning and accounting. The rise of technology has introduced numerous innovative tools and software solutions designed to streamline tasks and improve precision in financial planning and accounting. While automation excels in repetitive tasks and data entry, it is imperative to recognize that human expertise is still required for interpreting data, offering insights, and making strategic decisions. Financial professionals must acknowledge that technology should complement, rather than replace, their skills and knowledge.

One of the key benefits of technology in financial planning and accounting is its ability to automate repetitive tasks and streamline processes. For example, software programs can automate data entry, reconciliation, and reporting. This not only saves time and reduces errors, but it also frees up CPAs to focus on higher-level tasks such as analysis and strategic decision-making.

Technology also provides tools for data visualization and analysis. With the ability to collect and analyze large amounts of data, financial professionals can gain insights that were once impossible to obtain. This allows CPAs to provide better advice to clients, make more informed decisions, and identify opportunities for growth and improvement.

However, it is important to remember that technology is not infallible. While software programs can perform tasks with incredible accuracy, they are only as good as the data they are fed. It is up to people to ensure that the data being input is accurate and complete. It is up to CPAs to interpret the data and provide insights based on their expertise and experience.


The Importance of a Personal Touch

When it comes to financial planning and accounting, there is often a personal element involved. Clients want to feel like they are working with someone who understands their unique needs and goals. While automation has proven valuable in handling data entry and generating reports, it falls short in delivering a personalized approach to financial planning and accounting. This is an area where human expertise truly shines, as it encompasses several critical aspects:

  • Building Relationships with Clients: Developing trust and rapport with clients is essential in the financial planning and accounting sphere. It is the human touch that fosters lasting professional relationships, ensuring clients feel valued and understood.
  • Understanding Client Goals and Concerns: A personalized approach requires a deep comprehension of each client’s financial objectives, risk tolerance, and concerns. Human professionals can empathize and adapt their advice to match the client’s unique financial situation, which is beyond the scope of automation.
  • Providing Tailored Advice and Solutions: Financial planning and accounting professionals can create customized strategies and solutions that align with their clients’ specific needs, preferences, and circumstances. Automation, on the other hand, may lack the flexibility and adaptability necessary to address the nuanced complexities of individual financial situations.

The Value of Human Expertise

While automation can handle many tasks, there are some things that only humans can do. For example, financial planning and accounting often require expert analysis and interpretation of data. This involves not only understanding the numbers, but also understanding the broader economic and market trends that can impact a client’s financial situation. Additionally, human expertise is important when it comes to identifying opportunities for cost savings and improving financial performance.


Balancing Accounting Efficiency With Quality

While automation can improve efficiency and save time, it is important not to sacrifice quality in the process. Financial planning and accounting services require accuracy and attention to detail, and it is important to ensure that these standards are met even when using automated tools. This requires a careful balance between using technology to streamline processes and maintaining a high level of quality and accuracy.


The Future of Financial Planning and Accounting

As technology continues to evolve, it is likely that automation will play an increasingly important role in financial planning and accounting services. However, it is important to remember that people will always be necessary to interpret the data, provide insights, and make strategic decisions. The key is to find a balance between people and automation that allows for efficient, accurate, and personalized financial planning and accounting services. Outsource you financial planning and accounting to Lavoie CPA to see how combining the right technology with human expertise can benefit your business.

Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

Lavoie CPA has added Jirav, an all-in-one business planning software for small and medium companies, to its lineup of preferred cloud solutions for the accounting profession.

At Lavoie CPA, we leverage accounting as a service and cloud-based accounting technology to streamline clients’ accounting, payroll, and analytical processes. Implementing software solutions is critical for improving financial reporting and making businesses scalable over the long term. We work closely with clients to identify the right software solution that supports strategic objectives while making operations more efficient and effective.

Through this partnership, Lavoie CPA and Jirav aim to give clients a competitive edge in their accounting and administrative processes.

Jirav is an all-in-one financial planning and analysis solution that maximizes the collaborative value of forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and analytics so leaders can drive their businesses forward with confidence and speed.

Jirav integrates natively with leading accounting or ERP platforms such as Xero, Quickbooks, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct. With Jirav, you are up and running your forecasts using templates in minutes.

This powerful business planning software helps companies:

  • Maximize Growth: Model the outcomes of investing in sales, marketing, or other areas. Scenario test to optimize your growth strategy and track results to plan.
  • Operate With Financial Excellence: A key to growth is having a plan and measuring against it. Manage detailed KPIs and collaborate with owners to keep the business on track.
  • Focus on Strategy: Finance teams at growth companies lose too much time to spreadsheets and generating reports. Automate the tasks and focus on being strategic.

Contact slavoie@lavoiepllc.com to request a demo today. To learn more about the platform, please visit https://www.jirav.com/.

About Lavoie CPA

Founded in 2009, Lavoie has served as a reliable Charlotte CPA firm that specializes in strategic financial and operational planning for businesses of all sizes. By delivering state-of-the-art strategic support, Lavoie’s clients can focus on growing their business and soar to the next level of greatness. In addition to providing customized solutions for clients, Lavoie prioritizes social justice issues and is extremely involved in the local Charlotte community.

About Jirav

Jirav is a comprehensive business planning solution for small and medium companies that maximizes the collaborative value of forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and analytics so leaders can drive their businesses forward with confidence and speed. The all-in-one financial planning and analysis software offers faster implementation and a more intuitive interface, allowing finance leaders to build financial models in hours (not days) and generate financial reports in minutes (not hours). Jirav is headquartered in San Francisco with offices and teams across the world including Seattle, Austin, and Poland. Learn more at www.jirav.com.

Women’s Enterprise USA Magazine Salutes Top WBE CEOs of 2021

Women’s Enterprise USA Magazine Salutes Top WBE CEOs of 2021

DALLAS — Women’s Enterprise USA has released its list of Top Women-owned Business Enterprise CEOs of 2021 — a group of visionary women business leaders who demonstrate the best and brightest of women-owned business enterprises. Women’s Enterprise is an award-winning print and digital publication focused on the development and accomplishments of women-owned businesses.

“These CEOs are leading the way for other female entrepreneurs to bring competitive, collaborative and innovation solutions to a marketplace in motion,” said Kristin Schneider, publisher of Women’s Enterprise. “Our Top WBE CEOs of 2021 have not only built successful companies, they are changing the way the world does business.”

To determine the top CEOs, WE USA’s team of advisors and editors reached out to the regional partner organizations of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and business leaders throughout the country to identify women business owners who have achieved measurable success, advanced innovation in their industries, become role models and contributed substantial time and effort to helping other WBEs. The following are the WBE CEOs ― in alphabetical order ― who most strongly exemplify these characteristics.

 Juuhi Ahuja, Founder, CEO and President, Wise Men Consultants, Houston, Texas
Imelda Alejandrino, CEO/Creative Director, AP42 Marketing and Technology, San Ramon, California
Dana C. Arnett, CEO, Wicked Bionic LLC, Los Angeles, California
Camille Austin, Owner, Elite Roofing Services Inc., Tampa, Florida
Michelle Aristeo Barton, President, Aristeo Construction Co., Livonia, Michigan
Debra Berry, CEO, Berry Industrial Group Inc., Nyack, New York
Donna Brin, Founder & CEO, bFIVE40, Little River, South Carolina
Gabrielle Christman, President and CEO, Hunter International Inc., Avon, Ohio
Donna Cole, President/CEO, Cole Chemical & Distributing Inc., Houston, Texas
Jacqueline Darna, CEO, Darna & Co. LLC dba NoMo Bands, Tampa, Florida
Iyabo Dedmon, President, ThriveOn Concepts, North Kansas City, Missouri
Dana Donofree, Founder and CEO, AnaOno LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nathalie Doobin, Owner, President and CEO, Harvard Services Group Inc., Miami, Florida
Leanne Duong-Ma, President/Owner, Direct Source Procurement, Las Vegas, Nevada
Pamela Feld, Founder and CEO, Triumph Technology Group, Tustin, California
Jill Frey, President and CEO, Cummins Facility Services LLC, Prospect, Ohio
Nenette Gray, Founder and CEO, Lemonade Creative Marketing LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Lili Hall, Founder, CEO and President, KNOCK Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Linda Hamilton, CPA, CEPA, SYSTEMologist®, Linda A Hamilton CPA PLLC, New York, New York
Kyra Hardwick, MBA, Managing Consultant, The Kyra Co. LLC, Houston, Texas
Jodi Cannon Hohman, CEO, Lagarda Security, Burton, Michigan
Kate Holby, Co-Founder, Ajiri Tea Co., Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania
Porcha Johnson, Founder and Publisher, Black Girl Health, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Hannah Kain, President and CEO, ALOM Technologies Corp., Fremont, California
Sharai Lavoie, CEO/Managing Member, Lavoie CPA PLLC, Charlotte, North Carolina
Mary Lawrence, President, Richards Graphic Communications Inc., Bellwood, Illinois
Elizabeth Ledoux, Founder and Head Strategist, The Transition Strategists, Ft. Collins, Colorado
Sandy Lish, Principal & Co-Founder, The Castle Group Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
Betty Manetta, President and CEO, Argent Associates, Plano, Texas
Michelle Manire, CMM, Founder and President, Coast to Coast Conferences & Events, Long Beach, California
Dee C. Marshall, CEO, Diverse & Engaged LLC, Newark, New Jersey
Carol Muszynski, President, Eighth Day Design Inc., Falls Church, Virginia
Carmen Nazario, President/CEO, ELYON International Inc., Vancouver, Washington
Mary Parker, CEO, ALL N ONE Security Enterprise, Atlanta, GA
Lauren Rakolta, President & CEO, DFM Solutions Inc., Detroit, Michigan
Ann Ramakumaran – will send responses, CEO and Founder, Ampcus Inc., Chantilly, Virginia
Angelica Rivera, President and CEO, Colmex Construction LLC, New Orleans, Louisiana
Silvana Rosero, President & CEO, Laguna Media Group, Grand Prairie, Texas
Jenell Ross, President, Bob Ross Auto Group, Bobrossauto.com
Molly Sandlin, Founder and President, CAET Project Management Consultants LLC, Keller, Texas
Rosa Santana, Founder and CEO, Santana Group, San Antonio, Texas
Billie Bryant Schultz, CEO, CESCO Inc., Dallas, Texas
Wendy Spivak, Principal & Co-Founder, The Castle Group Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
Debra Stevens, Principal, The Stevens Group/International Tenant Representative Alliance Global, Boston, Massachusetts
Liora Stone, President, Precision Engineering Inc., Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Amy Tiller, CEO and Co-Founder, Inspired Results Inc., Portland, Oregon
Andrea Tsakanikas, President, CrewFacilities.com LLC, Austin, Texas
Nina Vaca, CEO, Pinnacle Group, Dallas, Texas
Biddie Webb, Partner, Limb Design LLC, Houston, Texas
Liz Whitehead, CEO, 12PointFive LLC, Silver Spring, Maryland

 

For questions, please contact:

Kristin Schneider, Publisher

kristin@wegp.biz

 

About WE USA magazine

Now close to celebrating its 30th anniversary, WE USA magazine is America’s award-winning resource for information on women’s business enterprise and diversity. Reaching an audience of women business owners, corporate procurement managers and executives, education professionals and government representatives, WE USA focuses on value for the readers, advertisers and communities it serves. For more information, visit weusa.biz.

    Sage Intacct’s 6 Key Performance Metrics For Subscription Businesses [INFOGRAPHIC]

    Sage Intacct’s 6 Key Performance Metrics For Subscription Businesses [INFOGRAPHIC]

    How Healthy Is Your SaaS Business? These 6 Metrics Will Help You Figure That Out

    As a Sage Intacct certified accounting and implementation firm, Lavoie CPA is excited to share the latest findings for SaaS businesses to become successful in 2021.

    From startups to organizations ready to scale each one of these indicators is an invaluable piece of information to evaluate your company’s overall health — not to mention prep you for that looming board meeting in the near future.

    In this infographic we will dive into why each of these metrics is the difference between getting your next round of funding, scaling year over year, or hitting the wall.

    Get the infographic and learn why you should care, how to calculate, and an interesting fact about the following KPIs:

    • CARR (Committed Annual Recurring Revenue)
    • CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
    • CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
    • Churn
    • Free Cash Flow
    • CCS (Cash Conversion Score)

    5 Myths around Outsourcing Finance Functions

    5 Myths around Outsourcing Finance Functions

    Outsourced Accounting or Accounting as a Service (AaaS) providers can be the catalyst to take your organization to the next level.  For some SMBs, accounting is not looked at as a strategic function of the organization, but it should be.  It also shouldn’t take focus away from growing your core business.  Lots of SMBs don’t consider Outsourcing.  Here are 5 main reasons why.

    1) They think it is too expensive

    By using Accounting as a Service, you have access to shared service center.  Providers have put a lot of investment, thought, and execution into their model and have staffed accordingly.  With an AaaS provider you now have access to a full accounting department that often is less expensive than one full-time FTE.  This doesn’t even figure in technology costs that come with the service.

    2) It is the same as bookkeeping services

    Bookkeepers are responsible for recording daily financial transactions.  Controllers are responsible for financial reporting, internal financial audit and internal controls. Outsourced CFOs are responsible for financial planning, financial data analysis and strategic planning.  By relying only upon a bookkeeper you are stuck looking in the past and cannot see into the future to effectively make critical decisions for your business.  AaaS providers ensure daily transactions are done correctly but also greatly reduce risks and provide necessary forward-thinking strategy to help growth your business.

    3) We can just do the same in-house

    For most SMBs it is hard to justify the expense of having a bookkeeper, controller, VP of finance and CFO.  All positions have importance.  You don’t want to pay a senior level person to do daily transactions and you definitely don’t want to ask an entry level person to manage financial risks.

    4) We cannot have any finance staff in-house

    Often AaaS providers work with internal staff to fill voids.  Yes, providers can function as the entire finance department but often work with existing staff to help maximize their production.

    5) We have more control and stability by utilizing in-house staff

    Employees turnover and training are always on the minds of companies.  If you don’t have a defined professional develop plan for each employee, you are at risk of losing your top talent to other opportunities.  By using an AaaS provider you eliminate the risk of employee turnover.  You also will not miss a beat when people people are out sick, on vacation, or on leave.

    What do I get with an AaaS?

    • Enterprise software platform (workflow, automation, dashboards etc)
    • Vendors paid on-time
    • Customers billed on-time and accurately
    • Employee expenses captured and reimbursed
    • Cash transactions reconciled
    • Timely payables collection
    • Accounts analyzed and reconciled on an ongoing basis
    • Financial and management reports delivered on-time and accurately
    • Scalability and rapid deployment, when needed
    • Regulatory compliance delivered
    • Audit ready
    • A finance and accounting function that is STRATEGIC
    8 Signs You Might Need the Cloud

    8 Signs You Might Need the Cloud

    If you haven’t already, it is time to consider switching over to the cloud. Gartner recently released a report on cloud computing where they predicted that by 2020, a corporate “no-cloud” policy will be as rare as a “no-internet” policy is today. In order to stay competitive you need to stay ahead of the technology curve.

    Not convinced you need to make the switch? Take a look at the following signs that indicate you might need the cloud.

    1. You want to upgrade your software

    Businesses with on-premise software need to maintain it with upgrades, troubleshooting and updates. This becomes rather expensive and time-consuming since you need to train employees, test systems and also implement the upgrades. Switching over to the cloud can reduce your costs, save you time and improve your efficiency. Cloud accounting software is upgraded by the provider and without additional costs for you.

    2. You want fast deployment

    On-premise ERP systems are notorious for long implementation times. For larger systems and corporations it can take months to fully deploy the system. A cloud ERP system is quite the opposite. Since the ERP system is delivered via the Internet, deployment is almost instant.

    3. You want to integrate your systems

    Do you work with multiple software systems and wish they could all be integrated? Your wish can come true! Cloud software systems are inherently open and allows users to connect to other systems to allow for collaboration. For example, Sage Intacct, an ERP cloud-based software, allows integration with other providers such as Adaptive Insights, Bill.com and Avalara.

    4. You want to increase employee collaboration

    If you have multiple employees working with the same data, you might be in trouble. Having multiple versions of data can not only be time-consuming to fix, but you can also end up with a major financial loss. Off-premise software systems allows employees to access the data they are working with simultaneously and in real-time. Thus, you eliminate the possibility of having multiple versions spreadsheets.

    5. You want to scale

    This might be one of the first things you hear about the cloud. On-premise software can get really expensive if you’re growing at a fast pace, making it difficult to scale your business. On the other hand, with the cloud, you can request more functions, space or users and get them instantly.

    6. You don’t want to spend your budget on IT, but rather your core products

    It doesn’t make sense to manage your own on-premise servers and develop your own portals if IT is not your core competency. Nonprofit organization, for example, will benefit from investing their budget on their mission and cause rather than an IT department. Cloud software allows businesses without IT knowledge to operate without owning their own IT equipment. Rather, all you need is access to Internet and a device.

    7. You have a mobile workforce or multiple offices

    As Internet access increases worldwide and remote work continues to be a trend in the workplace, having remote access is becoming more important. Cloud software makes this a reality as you can access your data anytime, anywhere and from any device with Internet connection.


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