Accounting teams are at the heart of every business: ensuring compliance, supporting decision-making, and keeping operations running smoothly. Yet they often face significant challenges that can hinder efficiency and accuracy. Based on recent insights, we’ve identified six key problems that are putting increasing pressure on accountants, especially in shared service centers (SSCs), but also beyond.
1. Data Quality and Integration Issues
Finance teams often work with data coming from multiple systems – ERPs, spreadsheets, third-party platforms – that are not fully aligned. This leads to inconsistencies, duplicate records, and extra effort in reconciliation. Poor data quality affects not only accounting, but also management reporting.
2. Manual Processes
Many transactional processes like invoice processing, general ledger entries, and reconciliations are still manual. This results in delays, errors, and time-consuming corrections, especially during month-end or year-end closing periods.
3. Closing and Reporting Pressure
Finance departments are under constant pressure to close books faster, while providing more detailed and accurate data. Tight deadlines and increased complexity make it hard to meet expectations without overloading the team.
4. Knowledge Management and Staff Turnover
Losing experienced accountants can lead to a loss of critical know-how. In a hybrid work setup, knowledge transfer is harder to manage, impacting the consistency and quality of accounting processes.
5. Audit and Compliance Readiness
Audits – whether internal or external – require quick access to well-structured documentation. If compliance considerations are not built into day-to-day accounting workflows, companies risk last-minute scrambling and non-compliance.
6. Collaboration with IT and Digitalization
Digital transformation of accounting processes depends on strong cooperation between finance and IT teams. However, accounting’s needs are not always prioritized in digital roadmaps, leaving teams stuck with outdated tools and manual workarounds.
Conclusion
Addressing these six pain points requires a mix of technology, process redesign, and cross-functional collaboration. Finance leaders who invest in automation, training, and better data practices can not only reduce pressure on their teams – they can also turn accounting into a true strategic partner of the business.
