Finance and Accounting

Importance of Record-to-Report Services

There is no doubt that data is the most valuable resource in this digital economy as it can give business owners and managers insights into the market dynamics, what is working, and what needs to change when it comes to their strategic position. However, simply having access to data is not enough, as raw data has very few uses. You need to properly collect, process, organise, and present the relevant data for it to make sense and be useful, particularly in preparing the balance sheet and income statement.

When it comes to financial data, a business has access to and can gain insights from numerous types of data that can help them make sound strategic decisions. But this data comes from multiple sources and can be difficult to track and visualise for actionable insights. This is where the record-to-report process (or R2R process) comes into the picture, allowing you to collect, record, process, and present the relevant financial information to assess the company’s performance.

What is record-to-report bpo solution?

An integral part of finance and accounting management, the record to report bpo process is a two-phase process, with the first phase involving documentation of all the financial activities and the second phase compiling this data into reports that offer insights into the financial health and overall performance of your business. Although both these phases are equally important, the outcomes of the second phase depend on the quality of data in the first phase. Therefore, timely and accurate recording of accounting data is integral to the value of reports and insights you can gain from the record to report bpo process.

The record to report bpo process automation

You can break down the two-phase record to report bpo process automation into five common stages, depending on the data collection and processing activities, as follows:

Data extraction:

The first stage refers to extracting the necessary data – about revenues, purchases, and expenditures – from primary sources, such as financial documentation, marketing leads documents, emails, and more.

Data collection:

This involves measuring and representing the extracted data for easy comprehension. You can combine this stage with data extraction, but maintaining the integrity of the data collection process is essential to maintain the integrity of the entire R2R process automation.

Closing:

Once you have extracted and collected the necessary data, finance and accounting professionals lock the general ledger – containing information like business assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and equity – for a specific accounting period and send the data over for further processing.

Data validation and consolidation:

Here, you would validate the accuracy of the collected data and consolidate it into a single secure source for further processing.

Data analysis and reporting:

Once you have cleansed the data, the final step is analysing the data and building reports highlighting the key insights about financial health and the business’s overall performance.

Importance of record-to-report solutions

In addition to providing accurate and efficient financial reports and insights, the record-to-report process has numerous benefits. Some of these most common benefits include:

Improved decision-making and strategic planning:

Record-to-report solution gives you a bird’s eye view of the company, allowing you to understand the company’s financial health, overall performance, and effectiveness of your strategic position. This can facilitate improved strategic planning and decision-making for the company.

Compliance with financial regulations:

R2R processes can also help you ensure that your business complies with financial regulations when it comes to collecting, presenting, and reporting financial data.

Streamlined tax processes and reporting:

In addition to strategic planning, financial reports also factor in when making tax calculations. Accurate financial data from R2R processes can help you assess your tax liabilities and streamline the tax calculating and reporting process.

Tips to optimise the R2R process

If you want to leverage these record-to-report solution benefits, you can use the following tips to optimise your record to report bpo process and make sure it is foolproof:

• Create standard operating procedures and processes
• Define the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder clearly
• Use appropriate and uniform accounting terms to maintain data consistency
• Promote communication and collaboration between cross-functional teams
• Host regular reviews with stakeholders
• Consider using automation tools

If you can optimise your record to report bpo process, you can ensure on-time closure, have access to accurate financial data and actionable insights, and ensure compliance with financial, statutory, and tax regulations.

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How can Infosys BPM help with record to report accounting?

Infosys BPM F&A Record-to-Report Services can help you transform your financial processes, from financial reporting and enterprise reporting, analysis, and planning to testing, compliance, and tax support. Our portfolio of next-gen record to report bpo process solutions can help you improve efficiency by up to 45%, accelerate the month-end closure, and allow you to move closer to “continuous accounting”.