Company News

AI at the Core: Introducing the FloQast Accounting Transformation Platform

The accounting profession is at a crossroads. 

We’ve all seen the stats, and they’re alarming. 

• 75% of CPAs set to retire in the next 10 years
• Accounting majors from 2021-2022 dropping 18% from the previous decade — and 7.8% year over year
• 55% of CFOs reporting that finding talent with required skills TOP concern

So…why? Accountants are burning out, and that’s obvious. FloQast found that a stunning 63% of accountants weren’t sure they’d stay in the industry at all. A further 60% reported they struggle with imbalance between work and life, doubting they can complete the work they’ve been assigned and, yet, still aspire to take on a more strategic role in their organizations.

To alleviate these concerns, the accounting industry needs to get philosophical. If you’re an accountant, it’s safe to say you’re aware of the stereotypes. But what IS accounting? Accountants are not number crunchers or bean counters. They are the creators and stewards of countless workflows that produce invaluable financial statements.

My co-founder, and FloQast’s chief product officer, Chris Sluty, a fellow former accountant, said something that resonated with me on a recent episode of Blood, Sweat & Balance Sheets where we looked at the accounting profession and how we see AI being able to impact it.

“In an era where doing more with less is essential, accountants must evolve from mere preparers to insightful reviewers,” he said. “By stepping out of the weeds and embracing their role as business historians, accountants can document and narrate the story of the business, making their work infinitely more engaging and impactful.”

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of FloQast’s Accounting Transformation Platform to bring the power of AI to FloQast’s entire suite of solutions, including FloQast Close, FloQast Compliance Management, and FloQast Ops. These new AI workflows are designed to deliver value throughout every step of the accounting journey, including:

1. Optimize the close
   
   • Global Month-End Close: Collaborate, track, and review the close for better speed and accuracy.
   • Balance Sheet Control: Manage the balance sheet from strategy to execution.
   • Anomaly Detection: Instantly identify unorthodox transactions, preventing coding errors, and reclassifications.
   • Accounting & Finance Operations: Workflow and project management for centralized operations (AP/AR, FP&A, M&A, Board Reporting, Tax).
   • Analytical Insight: Understand historical performance, identify bottlenecks, and properly allocate work to drive improvements.
2. Automate the close
   
   • FloHub: A library of integrations to third-party applications, available to customers at no additional cost.
   • Automated Reconciliations: End-to-end automation for predictable reconciliations (Subledgers, Amortization, Depreciation).
   • AI Transaction Matching: Leverage AI to draft customized rules, automating high-volume account reconciliations (Bank, Credit Cards, Intercompany).
   • Journal Entry Automation: Manage and automate the end-to-end journal entry process.
   • Automated Triggers: Automatically capture an action performed in other systems (ERP) within FloQast.
3. Connected Compliance
   
   • Risk & Control Management: Single location to manage business risks and internal controls.
   • Multi-Framework Support: Implement various GRC frameworks, such as SOX, ESG, MAR, ISO, and SOC 2.
   • Integrated Controls: Capture control evidence at the source by linking internal controls into business processes.
   • Embedded Control Testing: Define and execute the internal control testing process within FloQast.
4. Integrated Record-to-Report
   
   • Intercompany: Reconcile, resolve, and eliminate cross-entity transactions.
   • AI Variance Analysis: Automate flux and budget-to-actual analysis, leveraging AI to automate explanations.
   • Consolidation: Integrate consolidation to month-end close to aggregate financial results across multiple entities.
   • Financials: Integrate financial statements to month-end close, providing drill-through capabilities into tasks and reconciliations.

Today’s launch features three new solutions, FloQast Journal Entry Management, FloQast AI Transaction Matching, and FloQast Consolidation – as well as the introduction of FloHub, an all-new, centralized hub for third-party applications. The announcements also include several key updates to existing offerings, creating a more comprehensive platform experience.

“By stepping out of the weeds and embracing their role as business historians, accountants can document and narrate the story of the business, making their work infinitely more engaging and impactful.” — Chris Sluty, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, FloQast

This is a big day for the FloQast team in our journey to uplift the accounting profession, and we’re thrilled to share our plans with the public. As noted above, the launch of our Accounting Transformation Platform also comes with some awesome product announcements that we’ll be taking deep dives into in the next few weeks. 

Michael Whitmire

As CEO and Co-Founder, Mike leads FloQast’s corporate vision, strategy and execution. Prior to founding FloQast, he managed the accounting team at Cornerstone OnDemand, a SaaS company in Los Angeles. He began his career at Ernst & Young in Los Angeles where he performed public company audits, opening balance sheet audits, cash to GAAP restatements, compilation reviews, international reporting, merger and acquisition audits and SOX compliance testing. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Syracuse University.