The Accrual Challenge: Solving Finance Bottlenecks with Automation
Financial teams face constant pressure to close books faster, improve reporting accuracy, and optimize cash flow—but manual T&E accrual processes create unnecessary delays and errors. Finance teams spend hours tracking outstanding expenses, estimating accruals, and reconciling reports across disconnected systems. Cornerstone eliminates these inefficiencies, providing seamless integration between Concur Expense and ERP platforms.
The Problem: Manual Accruals Create Financial Blind Spots
Despite advancements in financial automation, many companies still handle T&E accruals manually. A survey by Business Travel News found that 43% of companies rely on spreadsheets or homegrown systems to manage T&E costs. This outdated approach leads to:
- Slow Close Processes – Manually tracking outstanding expenses delays financial reporting and forecasting.
- High Error Rates – Manual entry increases the risk of missing or miscategorizing expenses, leading to financial discrepancies.
- Limited Visibility – Unsubmitted expenses and corporate card transactions are not reflected in real-time, impacting cash flow accuracy.
- Resource Strain – Finance teams spend excessive time reconciling accruals instead of focusing on strategic initiatives.
Without real-time data syncing between T&E platforms and ERP systems, finance teams must rely on estimates, increasing the risk of overstated liabilities and inaccurate financial statements.
The Solution: Automating T&E Accruals for Accuracy and Efficiency
By integrating Concur Expense with ERP systems like SAP, Workday, Oracle, and NetSuite, organizations can automate accruals and eliminate manual work. Cornerstone automates the entire process, ensuring:
- Real-Time Expense Recognition – Unsubmitted, pending, and approved expenses are automatically recorded in the ERP.
- Seamless Data Flow – Expense data syncs instantly across systems, eliminating manual reconciliation.
- Faster Month-End Close – Finance teams no longer rely on estimates, reducing delays in finalizing reports.
- Improved Forecasting & Budgeting – Accurate, real-time accruals lead to better financial planning and cash flow management.
The Results: Quantifiable Benefits of Automating Accruals
Organizations that transition to real-time T&E accrual automation experience measurable improvements:
- 70% Faster Processing Time – Automated systems significantly reduce the time spent on accrual adjustments.
- 50% Fewer Errors – Eliminating manual data entry reduces financial discrepancies.
- 30% Cost Reduction in Finance Operations – Less manual effort leads to lower overhead and operational costs.
- Reduced Balance Sheet Liabilities – Ensuring expenses are recorded accurately prevents overstatement of financial obligations.
How Cornerstone Eliminates Manual Accrual Work
Cornerstone seamlessly integrates Concur Expense with leading ERP platforms, ensuring all T&E data flows in real-time across systems. With Cornerstone:
- Finance teams eliminate manual data entry, reducing reconciliation workloads.
- Expense transactions sync automatically, providing instant visibility into outstanding accruals.
- Accurate expense tracking improves forecasting, reducing the risk of financial misstatements.
- Companies scale without increasing headcount, as automation handles growing transaction volumes effortlessly.
The Future of Accruals is Automation
Organizations that continue to rely on manual accrual processes will face increasing inefficiencies, compliance risks, and inaccurate financial forecasting. By automating T&E accruals and syncing Concur Expense with ERP systems, finance teams can eliminate manual work, improve accuracy, and streamline their financial close process.
With Cornerstone, businesses gain real-time visibility into expenses, enabling them to make data-driven financial decisions with confidence.
Ready to automate your T&E accruals? Let’s talk about how Cornerstone can help.
