Context & Starting Point

An accounting firm, which manages the finances of dozens of clients, was struggling with repetitive and time-consuming processes. At the beginning of each month, dozens of Excel spreadsheets had to be manually processed and consolidated. Each such report contained data from the previous month that had to be manually transcribed, checked, combined and evaluated. Following consolidation, the results were entered manually into the client’s enterprise management system.

The entire process required approximately one week of human labour each month and involved a high risk of human error and repeated manual transcription of the same data.

The accounting office’s goal was to automate the process completely, speed it up, as well as increase its reliability.

Project Challenges & Goals

The challenge was to create a solution that would, without human intervention:

• process all the required input reports;
• perform the necessary calculations, checks and data consolidation;
• generate an output accounting records file;
• and send the data securely to the client’s enterprise management system.

The customer requested maximum reliability, transparency and the ability to control the process – but without the need to perform steps manually. It was also important that the solution was affordable, built on trusted technologies, and scalable.

Solutions

We implemented a complete automation solution built on the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.

The automation takes place in several downstream steps and combines modern cloud services with a simple user interface for process control.

The basic architecture includes:

• Azure Data Factory, which performs retrieval and loading of source data;
• Azure Blob Storage for storing files and intermediate results;
• Azure SQL database where all calculations, transformations and data consolidation are performed;
• Azure Logic Apps that provide step-by-step orchestration and exception alerts;
• and Microsoft Power App, through which the user simply starts the process and monitors its status.

After the data is processed, the system automatically generates a final Excel file from which the data can be posted directly to the accounting system, or – if needed – the records are sent directly to the enterprise management system via API.

The entire process runs fully automatically, and if an unusual situation occurs (e.g. a data discrepancy), the system immediately alerts the responsible employee.

The solution also includes a set of sophisticated control mechanisms to ensure data accuracy and completeness:

• continuous checks during data retrieval;
• cross-checking between source files and results;
• and back verification after data entry into the enterprise management system (before the posted transactions are saved).

These multi-level checks ensure that the resulting data is accurate, complete and error-free.

Results

By deploying automation, the accounting office has managed to completely eliminate the manual processing of monthly statements.
A process that used to take an entire working week now runs automatically and is completed within half an hour.
People who used to do routine manual transcription and checking can focus on higher value-added work.

The most significant benefits of the project include:

• saving approximately 40 man-hours per month;
• zero risk of errors caused by manual transcription;
• instant availability of results after the automatic calculation is completed;
• possibility to start processes at any time – even on weekends or outside working hours;
• and automatic alerts in case of exceptions or the need for human intervention.

The cost of operating the solution is under CZK 2,000 per month, which makes it an extremely efficient investment given the time savings and elimination of errors.

In addition, the solution makes full use of the benefits of Microsoft Azure, such as security, availability, scalability and integration with other tools like Power BI, Teams and Outlook. This keeps the entire process within a single ecosystem, making it easy to manage and scale up in the future.

What it Means for You?

This project shows that even traditional fields such as accounting can benefit greatly from automation.
The combination of Azure and Power Platform tools makes it easy to eliminate routine activities that take up time and resources.

Companies can similarly:

• automate monthly closures, data transfer and reporting;
• reduce dependence on manual processes;
• increase accuracy and speed of processing;
• and minimise operating costs.

The automated process is reliable and transparent, and can be used at any time – including at night, at weekends, and on public holidays.
The system will alert the relevant person automatically if a situation requiring human attention occurs.

As the head of the accounting office said:
“We used to spend a week every month just processing the statements. Now the machine takes care of everything, and we finally have time to focus on our clients.”

Key Benefits

Conclusion

Automating accounting processes in Microsoft Azure provides an example of how even complex and repetitive processes can be converted into a fully unattended mode.
Thanks to excellent customer-contractor cooperation, we have created a solution that saves time, eliminates errors, and ensures that accounting data is always accurate and up to date.