Podcast: How to Achieve Touchless Batch Input Processing in SAP®

In this episode from our series of SAP-focused finance podcasts, we look at how to relieve some pain points for finance and IT around batch processing in SAP. And we discuss how automation can help tackle those problems.

In the podcast, technology writer and editor Andy McCue talks to finance transformation expert Adrian Li, who has more than 20 years’ experience designing, building and running SAP ERP in both large and small organizations and across many industry sectors. Topics covered include:

• What the batch input process involves
• The problem with validation errors and why there is a lack of transparency and visibility around batch input processing in SAP
• The impact of these problems on staff and the month-end close
• How finance automation can reduce manual effort and errors and help make the batch input process touchless

In the podcast, Li explains that the lack of pre-validation checks is one of the biggest sources of trouble with manual batch input processing of things such as journal entries, budget updates and forecasts or a transfer of assets.

He says: “There’s very little validation when you are creating a file and it’s not until you pass that file of data to SAP that validation checks are then performed. You could do all this great work in Excel, for example, create the file of data and then have SAP reject the entire thing… In time-critical situations like month-end, it’s not ideal to have to rely on getting a red flag or a green flag at the end of a ‘black box’ process from SAP.”

Find out how automation can relieve your SAP finance pains. Listen to the Redwood Finance Podcast now.