Ask the Accounting Community

Hello everyone,

In my work with small and mid-sized businesses, I've noticed a recurring challenge: many SMEs want to adopt automation and AI, but their accounting data and workflows aren't standardized enough to support it.

Before tools can add value, the foundation, processes, categorizations, reconciliations, documentation needs consistency.

So I'd like to hear from this group:

➡ What is the most difficult accounting process to standardize in the SMEs in your opinion?

• Chart of accounts?
• Transaction categorization?
• Bank/credit-card reconciliations?
• Month-end close routines?
• Documentation and workflow mapping?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

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Clécio Alder
Accountant/ Controller
Manaus - Am
Brazil
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Hi Clécio,

I completely relate to your observation. I also work closely with SMEs, and the biggest challenge I've seen is documentation and workflow mapping. In many cases, most activities are handled by just one or two people, which leads to inconsistent processes and very limited documentation.

Another major hurdle is getting other departments to adapt to automation. Even when the finance team is ready, a proper segregation of duties (SOD) and cross-department discipline is often missing, which slows down the adoption of automated tools.

Standardizing these foundational elements has been the toughest part in my experience.

Thank You 

Aswin Vijayan 

Analyst - Finance & Accounts 

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Aswin Vijayan
Analyst
Thirunavaya
India
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