I work as a Chief of Finance at Karelia Air Wing and my work includes financial management, procurement and internal accounting. I am a supervisor in a team of four people responsible for organising the financial management of the Air Wing in accordance with the financial regulations of the Defence Forces.
A twenty-year career with the same employer has given me an opportunity to see the evolution of financial management tasks at first hand. During my career, I have always worked with computers, but for example one of my colleagues with 40-years of working experience remembers the times when the first computer came into the workplace. Before that everything from bookkeeping to inventory accounting was a completely manual, paper-and-pencil job.
When I think of my own parents, born in the 1930s, in a time when there was not even electricity or running water in their homes, the leap of development has been simply breathtaking. Could my elderly mother have ever imagined that one day vacuum cleaners would be robots and that making actual phone call would just be one of the many ways to use of that apparatus? And then when I think of my own daughter, born into the generation that has had a smart phone already at primary school – what will the world be like when she turns 90? My imagination is not vivid enough to even comprehend that. I came across to this video in Instagram where an elderly lady sees a Tesla for the first time in her life. I found that so hilarious but at the same time very descriptive.
Digitalisation in financial management has been a fast-paced process, especially in the 2010s. I think that the pandemic has been one of the main drivers of this digitalisation due to the expansion of telecommuting. The sudden and quick shift to telecommuting forced us to review our working practices and transfer even the last manual workflows into electronic ones. In this point of view the pandemic had also a positive impact in terms of streamlining our daily work routines.
In my own work the obvious benefits of digitalization are the ability to handle large amounts of data quickly, the paperless archiving and automated workflows such as electric invoicing. Finance is responsible for preparing plans, monitoring performance and providing information to management for follow-up and decision-making. Reporting is constantly evolving to become timelier and more accurate, supporting management from an internal control perspective.
Artificial intelligence and robotics will eliminate routine data entering and inspection tasks and free up human resources for expert work, process development, design and innovation. The focus of the everyday work has changed. In the past the handling of procurement and travel invoices was carried out manually from start to finish locally and by the same secretary using paper documents. Now, the focus is clearly more on proactive planning and preparation and monitoring of procurements and invoices. Routine data entering and invoice processing is almost entirely automated. Travelling services and working hour planning are no longer provided by secretaries – employees use self-service portals and applications. The quick and constant development and expansion of digitalisation requires organisations to focus on skills management. The organisation must pay attention to the self-direction of employees and support the adoption of new ways of working.
I asked AI how digitalisation will affect the economic and financial sectors in the future and AI listed a very comprehensive list of different aspects and factors. I have used AI a couple of times in the past to write academic essays, mainly by asking a question related to the topic and then, based on the list I received in response, I was able to ensure that I had covered all aspects of the topic in my answer. The AI does not present the sources it uses, so it is up to the user to verify the accuracy of the information, but I find the information AI provides to be to be a good support and checklist tool for my own work.
AI listed the following as the transformative effects of digitalisation on the economy:
- Efficiency through automation – automation of routine data entering and verification tasks eliminates the potential for human error and frees up human resources for specialist tasks.
- Up-to-date data – accurate and timely reporting to support management in decision-making
- A comprehensive data mass supports business trend forecasting and market and customer profiling. This promotes management in proactive decision-making.
- Cloud services and collaboration tools enable and support effective teamwork that is not tied to a specific location. Information can be shared in real time globally.
- Digital reporting tools support the organisation and execution of internal control controls.
- Employees’ roles are changing from traditional accountants to specialists. This requires skills management and up-to-date training.
- From the customer’s point of view, digitalisation will make services more accessible and personalised by enabling them to do business wherever and whenever they want.
- Cloud services and digital archiving reduce the carbon footprint of businesses. Going paperless and reducing travelling supports sustainability goals.
AI also brought up the benefits of blockchain technology, such as enhanced security and streamlined processes. The block chain technology is a subject which is not familiar to me at all so it was good that AI brought it up – I have to get back to that topic and explore it some more!
AI also raised the challenges that digitalisation will bring:
- Cybersecurity
- Data protection
- Adopting new technologies and keeping up with developments can be challenging and costly for small and medium sized enterprises.
These challenges for organisations are comparable to those for individuals. Privacy violations and cybercrime are increasing hand in hand with the development of digitalisation. It can also create inequalities and jeopardise the rights of citizens who lack the capacity to adopt and use new technologies. While digital skills are now taken for granted by the younger generation, it should be remembered and taken care of that, for example, today’s elderly population may not have access to new technologies for real.
These challenges are the downside of digitalization and laws and regulations are needed for the protection of privacy invasions and on-line criminal activities. The GDPR regulation was launched in 2018 and it aims to protect personal data which is collected, stored and managed by companies and organisations in the EU. The Regulation obliges companies to pay attention to the processing of data collected from customers and citizens. This is very timely and important issue and I believe that in the future the legislation will be further refined.
The GDPR regulation brought up cookies which we all come up with in everyday life. The GDPR regulation charges websites to inform visitors about the data they collect and how it is handled. The regulation provides the visitors the possibility to limit and supervise the personal data which is collected. I must say I have been choosing the “OK” butt on quite thoughtlessly and I have not been paying enough attention to the cookies. Through this course, I got interested in cookies in generally and took a look at some cookie policies. I learned that I can make choices and restrictions in my web browser settings regarding cookie management and I have started to pay more attention to them.
I work for the Defence Forces where data security issues and publicity regulations and manouvers are seamlessly tied into every day work. The personnel has to take courses about these topics regularly. The courses cover topics such as social media, information security, data protection and operational security. I think I can claim that the ethics and attitudes are in a very high level in our organisation concerning these topics.
This course made me think about both the possibilities and the challenges of digitalisation. The role of data protection and data security should be taken seriously in every organisation. A careless attitude might lead to serious and harmful impacts both on individuals and in business. Keeping up with the digital development is not optional – it is comprehensive. Properly organised and well maintained data management provides organisations competetive advantage and support security and confidence of individuals.
I commented on Hanna Ahtiainen and Jenniina Harno-Tasihin
Oh, wonderful writing and a diverse range of topics. It’s truly interesting to explore the subject from outside the everyday reality of nursing. I have worked in the healthcare field for almost 20 years and have seen many things change from paper to digital, yet much of our basic work still largely relies on hands-on tasks, while also strongly existing in the digital world. Perhaps we don’t yet even fully understand what possibilities lie ahead of us.
My blog, which is in its infancy, is here: https://blogi.savonia.fi/turusentiina/