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Our pros, About Titeca
'Digital accounting is more than a technological evolution. It makes everything more personal.'
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TITECA PRO ACCOUNTANTS & EXPERTS CEO FABIAN
This is a series about embracing change. Making ourselves as agile as the world around us. And making an impact.
To go into the future strong. For our customers and our colleagues.
Many companies knew it before the current crisis: agility is essential for success. Technological developments, changing customer expectations and smarter data-driven decision making challenge entrepreneurs to react faster. So in times of uncertainty, your success rate increasingly depends on your ability to proactively respond to change with your business. And as an organization striving to #grow together, we want to provide our clients with all the necessary tools to do so.
One way we do this is by being ultra-focused on our customer, something that has always been in our DNA. 'What does the customer need? How can we deliver on that? Is there anything we're not doing right now?' We always take a critical look at our existing processes in order to further unburden the entrepreneur. Now also with the digital story, because it is our job to keep investing in the future. To help improve the digital thinking and ability of our customers. And to offer them even more insight, faster decision-making and thus more agility through this approach. So that they can respond with knowledge to the evolving world around them. So that they can continue to #impact. So that they can #realize dreams.
Or entrepreneurship in the 21e century is an innovative challenge? That's an understatement. Our century is still only in its young twenties, but has been chasing the lure of digital change since its very beginning, unleashing internal transformation processes for just about every business. And as if that wasn't exciting enough, business is also becoming more challenging than ever in a world where energy prices keep breaking new records, resources are becoming scarce and our climate is transforming. But it can also bring opportunity and success. The key to that? Agility and resilience. And in that, digital accounting plays an essential role. Business partner & associate Marc De Moor and IT manager Katrien Naert explain the importance of digitalization.
How does digital accounting make a difference in a changing world?
Marc: "In a society that is evolving at lightning speed, you can only keep up if you are equally flexible. You can achieve this agility as a company when you have enough information to make decisions quickly, proactively respond to trends, be hyper-focused on customer needs and scrutinize processes. For all that, you need up-to-date figures at all times.
And this is where digitization comes into the picture. Because we build in the necessary speed by using automation and digitalization in the pure booking process. The great advantage is, on the one hand, arming companies and supporting their competitiveness by providing them with real-time information and insights, but on the other hand, we are also offering an answer to the labor shortage, the aging population and the growing complexity of our world.
Technology takes over where it is appropriate. So there is more time to focus as humans on what a computer can't do: create insight for the customer, bring a vision to life together and help realize dreams. One cannot exist without the other. So digital accounting is not only an opportunity from a technological standpoint, but it is a process that makes accountancy much more personal.'
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"We create time as humans to focus on what a computer cannot do."
Why is Titeca investing so heavily in digitization?
Specifically, what does digitization look like within the accounting industry?
Katrine: 'Every day we research how we can enter data and documents such as invoices, credit notes, bank statements and payroll entries even faster, better and more error-free. Meanwhile, more than 50% is already running automatically. Because we have been collecting data digitally for some time, we now have enough data to connect and analyze it on a large scale. We are still in the early stages, but in the future we will be able to use this mountain of data to automatically identify trends and observations per sector. For example, we can compare the impact of rising energy costs on different sectors. Within those particular sectors, we can then start making recommendations about solar panels and immediately include what the installation of solar panels has already yielded for other companies in the sector. We also have insight into which electric cars entrepreneurs in certain industries prefer and what cost-increasing and -reducing factors such a car entails. All that is just the beginning of our knowledge. But before that, of course, all that info has to be available digitally.'
Marc: 'Our job is to make customers aware of the many advantages of digital accounting. One customer described it beautifully: 'Your James portal is like my iPhone. In the beginning I was a bit hesitant about it, but I heard such praise and then bought one myself. Now I can't live without it.' That's exactly how it is with digital accounting.
It takes a certain reflex to immediately upload every invoice that comes in, but it is also a huge time saver. Everyone knows the rat race of the month or quarter, when you scramble to pull documents together and look for those certain untraceable invoices. And that search often means a bite out of your workday, client contact or remaining free time. By immediately processing your documents digitally, you can use the freed up time for your business or just for yourself. Plus, you also gain additional insight. When you can more quickly compare your current state with previous years or quarters and have a real-time overview of costs, suppliers, outstanding customers and revenue, you can manage your processes and financial management more precisely. It makes you agile again.'
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"It takes a certain reflex to immediately upload every invoice that comes in, but it's also a huge time saver."
Katrine: 'What's next? We are preparing for the European PEPPOL invoice, with coding that can be used across all countries. This way of invoicing is not yet common and mandatory, but we are already ready to process such documents and include them in our accounts. Furthermore, we are also immersing ourselves in blockchain technology that prevents invoice fraud.'
How does this wave of innovation manifest itself in the workplace?
Marc: 'Making our company agile is something we take literally. Our digital mindset and focus on the broader needs of the customer allows us to work even more personally and deeply. At Titeca, we have a completely new perspective on our employees' job responsibilities. In our agile organizational structure, which we are currently developing, we start from basic roles that we further complement with growth and talent roles according to everyone's interests, talents and strengths.
So the job of Accountant is not strictly as it used to be, but we now see it more as a duo job. So you have the Accountant-Data Analyst, who in his or her basic role gets energy from laying numerical foundations through efficient and correct data processing. And then there is the Accountant-Copilot, who will analyze and discuss tax returns based on the processed figures. And who will closely inform, advise and inspire clients. Together, these profiles will form a complementary team to achieve an even more impactful service. It is also an opportunity for colleagues to develop even further in what they enjoy doing and what they are good at. By learning new competencies and paying attention to talents, you will increase the employability of employees. Not only in your company, but also on the labor market.'
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"By teaching employees skills that society needs, we are helping to create a sustainable society."
Katrine: 'In doing so, we take them fully into the digital story, give all colleagues the opportunity to hone their skills and teach them skills on the shop floor itself. There, too, we are agile and tailor training to what our employees need at that moment.'
Marc: 'In times of intense change, it is important as a company to define your vision, mission and values very tightly. And that is exactly what we have done. We are productive, proactively and professional. But above all personal. Thanks in part to our digital mindset. Because our identity and goals are clear to every employee, we all know very well who we are, what drives us and where we want to go as an agile organization. This allows us to make an even better sense of how we all personally want to make an impact. For ourselves, our customers, our organization and the world around us. Because by supporting businesses and teaching our employees the skills that society needs, we are helping to create a prosperous and sustainable society.'
Do you also enjoy learning new skills?
Share your dreams with us. At Titeca you can really aim high. We are there as a warm team to give you the necessary push. Discover our vacancies page full of exciting opportunities.
