By Julien Villemonteix, CEO at UpSlide
AI and automation are redefining the financial services sector. But firms that want to harness the power of this technology for valuable gains need to have effective strategies in place to make the most of their investments and get ahead of the competition.
When used to their full potential and integrated successfully, automation and AI allow teams to do much more with less, shifting the power dynamic between smaller and larger firms. This means more boutique firms, with leaner teams that are empowered by smart tech solutions, are in a much better position to be able to compete against larger firms with deeper pockets.
Technology can also be the answer to the issues that firms say are preventing them from competing effectively, such as operational inefficiency, subpar deliverables and branding challenges. In our recent report, the top concerns cited by firms in the accounting and advisory sector were outdated or limited technology and tools, pitches not meeting client expectations, and poor brand equity.
Strategic investment in technology to streamline manual, time-consuming tasks such as document creation and financial modelling can be the solution to all of these challenges – if used effectively. It also allows firms to increase their capacity for higher-value, strategic work, strengthening their ability to compete in an increasingly competitive market.
However, these technologies are not enough on their own. Our research found that significant amounts of budget is wasted on software solutions that are poorly integrated and onboarded – putting the chances of ultimate success at risk.
The fact is that simply buying software doesn’t equal impact. For example, we know that only a third of firms using a document automation tool are getting maximum usage of this technology and a quarter (25%) admit to low or no usage of their automation tool. The majority of these say this is due to teams not being effectively trained on the tool.
This is an all-too-common issue in high-paced firms operating in highly competitive markets. The decision is made to invest in technology but without a fully fleshed out implementation project plan to ensure everyone understands how to get the most out of it. Without the right partner provider to make this happen, many businesses end up in a situation where only a fraction of the workforce is using the technology to its full potential.
It’s clear that firms must get their tech implementation strategy right to compete successfully now and for the future. With the effective training, integration, and internal alignment, AI and automation tools become much more than helpful IT solutions, they become powerful catalysts for growth.
