Thanks to the document management capabilities of an ECM like OpenText Extended ECM, we can streamline the management of the Finance Department by automating processes, improving collaboration and coordination between departments, and eliminating duplication of effort.
And, above all, we can avoid:
Automation of the approval process through workflows
Extended ECM allows you to define powerful approval workflows with different levels depending on the criteria required.
In the case of the financial department where it is crucial to have the approval of the right people, it is most common to take into account data such as the amount, the department or the rank of the approver. The ability to have a workflow that makes the action happen only and exclusively for the right person reduces administrative staff stress, processing time and therefore departmental cost. Thanks to intelligent ECM managers, we can parameterize notifications so that the workflow is executed in real time, making the process one more task in the employee’s day-to-day life.
Integrated electronic signature
The integration of the electronic signature in the document manager further speeds up the approval process for new investments, acquisitions, contracts, etc., since the signature can be completed without having to leave the document manager.
If the approval requires a signature, it is possible to request it through the manager, which will put the employee in front of a true self-service system. The system will automatically take the information from the signatories and send it to them by e-mail so that they can complete it. Once the signatures are completed, it will be automatically updated in the system without the need for a user to manually upload it.
In addition, if the signature module used is the one developed by Brait, this signature has legal validity, since the signature will be issued by one of the platforms validated and certified by eIDAS.
All documentation in one place
Once these processes are completed, the department’s administrative team does not have to worry about archiving them because it is the system itself knows where the document should be stored once it is approved or signedwithout worrying about where to store it, what permissions it should have or what lifecycle rules to apply.
In Extended ECM this archiving is done in the workspace, which is the equivalent of a file but in digital format. For each of these contracts, investments or procurements, there will be a delimited area where there will only be documentation of the same procedure. Each new workspace generated will have a folder structure previously defined according to the company’s needs and each type of document will be automatically saved in the corresponding folder.
In addition, you can restrict the display of documents accordingly thanks to permissions management. In this way, each user of the system will only be able to see the documentation that corresponds to him/her.
Full audit
Throughout the entire flow it will be possible to check the stage of the approval or signature process. Approvers will be able to see all the information that the person requesting the investment entered, who the previous approvers were, as well as all the comments that were made during the process.
Once the flow is completed, it is possible to retrieve this information, thus having a complete audit of the approval process.
In addition, all actions performed once the workspace has been generated will also be recorded, so it will be possible to know who made a certain modification and when it was made.
If you think that all these features could help you to improve your company’s financial processes, do not hesitate to contact us and our consultants will be able to guide you on which product best suits your needs and the best way to implement it.
