BlackLine—Difficulties in Accounting

An international survey commissioned by BlackLine found that intercompany accounting processes that are not set up and executed optimally pose widespread problems for companies around the world. In the survey, which involved more than 260 stakeholders in the intercompany environment of multinational corporations, 99 percent of respondents said they face specific problems with intercompany financial processes. The results show that the scope and scale of intercompany transactions pose challenges and significant pressures, particularly when they are based on outdated processes. 

All respondents confirmed that intercompany accounting challenges have a direct negative impact on business results. Ninety-two percent of respondents indicated that intercompany accounting challenges impact the recruitment and retention of top talent. The results suggest that they face tremendous pressure. One in three respondents said teams experience physical or mental health issues due to stress levels; 96 percent pointed out that their employees regularly spend sleepless nights.

Automation is the recipe for success in solving cross-enterprise problems. Fortunately, the results show that business stakeholders now understand that digitizing processes will improve the accuracy of their data. Most (80 percent) agreed that process automation is critical. All respondents confirmed that they benefit from additional technological capabilities for intercompany transactions. Half of the respondents pointed out that automated intra-company analytics and reporting are at the top of their wish list.

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