How Technological Connectivity Has Helped in Integrated Financial Management

The influence of technological connectedness on financial management is examined in this article, with particular attention paid to its acceptance and execution, effects on financial efficacy and efficiency, and related challenges and possibilities.

The way humans work and live has been drastically changed by technology, and money administration is no exception. Technology connectedness has made it possible for financial institutions to run their businesses more successfully and efficiently, which has improved financial results for businesses and people. The integration of financial tools and procedures within a company is referred to as integrated financial management. It includes a variety of tasks, including risk management, bookkeeping, and financial reporting. Financial organizations have been able to achieve greater integration in their financial management processes thanks to the implementation of technological connectedness. Financial organizations can now automate their financial processes, lower manual mistakes, and speed up financial deals thanks to technology (Wang & Su, 2020). Additionally, the merging of financial systems has been made easier by technological connectedness, giving financial organizations a real-time view of their financial situations and allowing them to make wise choices. The potential to provide greater openness and responsibility is one important benefit of technological connectivity in financial management. Financial organizations can give their clients current information about their financial success with real-time access to financial data, facilitating improved decision-making. Because openly listed companies are scrutinized more by authorities and investors, they need to be transparent and accountable in particular.

Furthermore, financial organizations are now better able to control threats thanks to technological connectedness. Financial organizations can spot possible risks early on and take the necessary precautions to mitigate them with real-time access to financial data. This is crucial in a business climate that is getting more complicated and uncertain and where there are more regular and serious financial dangers (Soto-Acosta, 2020). As a result of the adoption of technological connectivity, financial institutions are now better able to handle their financial operations, which has improved financial results for both businesses and people. The objectives of this subject are to examine the function of technological connectedness in integrated financial management, assess its influence on the results of financial management, and pinpoint the opportunities and difficulties involved in its implementation.

 

Objectives

The objectives of the study are:

• To assess the degree of technological connectedness acceptance and execution in financial management.
• To assess how technological connectedness affects the efficacy and productivity of the financial system.
• To determine the issues and possibilities related to finance management’s usage of technological connectivity.

Research question

The study will attempt to answer the following questions

• How has the financial success of financial organizations as a whole been impacted by the implementation of technological connectivity in financial management practises?
• What are the main tools and technologies that financial organizations are using, and what particular uses do they serve, to allow technological connectedness in financial management?
• What are the possible drawbacks and advantages of implementing technological connectivity in financial management, and how can financial organizations reduce drawbacks and take advantage of opportunities?

Knowledge of the issue

The term “technological connectivity in financial management” refers to the use of digital tools and platforms in order to streamline the many processes involved in financial management and increase the flow of information among the many parties involved in financial management, including investors, managers, auditors, and regulators (Dutta et al., 2020). Integrating financial management processes through technological connectedness improves efficiency and efficacy by providing real-time access to financial data, decreasing the likelihood of human mistake, increasing openness and responsibility, and cutting down on wasted time and effort.

Rapid developments in areas like cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency have led to a rise in the use of technological connectedness in financial administration. Accounting, financial reporting, risk management, and accountability are just some of the financial management processes that are benefiting from the implementation of these technologies at various financial organizations (Bhaskar et al., 2020). Data protection worries, hacking threats, and the need to retrain or reskill the workforce are just a few of the difficulties brought up by the widespread usage of technological connectedness in financial management. Therefore, financial organizations must weigh the pros and cons of technological connectedness and implement suitable risk management strategies to protect the confidentiality, availability, and purity of financial data.

Method of Findings

 

Research Strategy

The phenomenology strategy integrates multiple strategies for gathering information. In this method, the perspectives and insights of those who have lived in the same culture or group in the past are given special weight. A more robust theory that encapsulates the essence of the event under study is more likely to be reached using this method (Beck, 2019). This form of study can also be described as “researching the event and its many facets as they manifested in the experience of the scholar.” It was also established as a method of learning through one’s own mindful encounters. In terms of subjective data, the discipline of phenomenology is rich in resources. In addition to giving thorough descriptions of the phenomenon under study, phenomenological analysis. 

Research Choice

Research can be conducted using a single technique, a hybrid of techniques, or a number of different techniques all at once. For this reason, there exists a subset of research called “mono-method research,” which is limited to using just one research strategy. Mono-method research is often more efficient and specific because it employs only one research strategy (Beck, 2019). Qualitative research methods, like rational research, have the potential benefit of investigating an occurrence in its native setting. Insight into the sequence of events’ causes and their surrounding circumstances is gained through this technique. The challenge of generalization is just one of the expenses that must be accounted for. The findings of qualitative research can be extrapolated to the level of concepts, whereas this is not possible with quantitative research. However, their purpose is not to demonstrate a theory or highlight generalizable features of a procedure (Davidson et al., 2018). The researcher runs the risk of breaking several principles of using these methods if he or she chooses a qualitative study because it can be done on extra qualitative data with less effort. So, instead of making educated guesses about how much time each approach will take, one should let the study’s topic lead the way. Because of this, the researcher in this study relied on a single qualitative data collection technique to compile extra qualitative data.

 

Data Analysis

There are a variety of methods that can be used to examine the data. Content analysis, for instance, is generally acknowledged as a crucial method for any qualitative research endeavor. Content analysis is a method that “extensively concentrates on the data of literature to produce numerous common results from the literature,” as its basic concept states. The results effectively and thoroughly explain the study’s primary purposes, ideas, and concepts (Slocum & Rolf, 2021). For the same reason, it aids the scholar in learning the data and writing the report based on the data, both of which are crucial to the development of sound conclusions. Professionals in this research used text analysis to better grasp the study’s objectives.

Analysis and Discussion

 

Adoption and Implementation of Technology in Financial Management

The widespread implementation of digital infrastructures for financial management has resulted in dramatic shifts in the financial sector in recent years. Financial organizations are increasingly turning to digital tools and platforms to boost productivity, cut expenses, reduce risk, and please their clientele (Akpan et al., 2020). To grasp the present status of digital change in the industry, it is necessary to first investigate the scope of acceptance and application of technological connectedness in financial management. Insights into how financial institutions are utilizing technology to improve operations and maintain competitiveness have been gleaned from an analysis of the acceptance and application of technological connectedness in financial management. Different areas and financial organizations may use digital tools and platforms for financial administration to varying degrees, and this finding could shed light on those differences.

In this research, we found that some banks are already heavily utilizing technological connectedness in their financial management procedures. Online banking systems, bookkeeping software, mobile banking applications, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems were just some of the digital tools and platforms that these organizations had been using. Financial activities and reporting times, openness and responsibility, and risk management could all have benefited from the use of these digital tools and networks. Contrarily, the review found that some banks had adopted only limited facets of technological connectedness while others had done so at all (Kouhizadeh et al., 2021). This could be the result of a number of issues, such as insufficient funds, aversion to change, or a dearth of necessary expertise. Findings of this nature have shed light on the difficulties encountered by financial organizations in the process of embracing and applying technological connectedness.

In addition, the research results indicated the kinds of digital tools and systems that are typically used in financial administration. As a result, we have a better grasp of the resources that can best enhance productivity, cut down on expenses, and lessen the impact of potential financial disasters. For instance, financial institutions may be more concerned with enhancing their transactional processes than their customer relationship management if CRM systems are less widely adopted than online banking systems (Hu et al., 2019). As an added bonus, the analysis may show how connected technology helps with budgeting. The results may indicate that financial institutions gained a competitive edge as a result of their usage of digital tools and platforms, which in turn improved client happiness and trust. The availability of mobile banking applications, for instance, may increase customer happiness and trust by making it more convenient for customers to access their accounts and perform transactions. 

Impact of Technological Connectivity on Financial Efficiency and Effectiveness

As financial institutions have been able to streamline many of their processes and provide more tailored services to their clients, the influence of technological connectedness on productivity and efficacy has been significant in recent years. Because of this, the efficiency and reliability of financial operations have increased while the cost of financial administration has decreased. Financial effectiveness has been significantly boosted by the widespread digitization of various financial processes made possible by the widespread availability of high-speed Internet (Bag et al., 2020). Among these is the use of automatic payment handling, which eliminates the need for human involvement by allowing consumers to pay through digital platforms at their convenience. As a consequence, the volume of errors in financial data has decreased and processing deals has become much more efficient.

Furthermore, the accessibility of modern technology has allowed banks to tailor their services to each individual client, resulting in greater happiness and devotion. Many banks, for instance, now provide customer-friendly mobile banking applications, which can be downloaded and used on a variety of mobile devices for account access, bill payment, and other banking needs. Customers are more satisfied with their bank and more likely to stay clients as a result of this improvement in their ability to handle their money on the go (Bag et al., 2020). Financial efficacy has been greatly influenced by the widespread adoption of technological connectedness, which has itself contributed to greater efficiency in the financial sector. By facilitating real-time tracking of financial operations and more precise risk evaluation, for instance, it has helped financial organizations enhance their risk management procedures. Customer faith in financial organizations has grown as a consequence of this measure’s impact on deception and other financial crime prevention.

Access to more precise and fast financial data has helped financial organizations enhance their decision-making processes thanks to technological connectedness. This has improved the efficiency of financial organizations by allowing them to make more educated choices regarding loans, investing, and other financial activities. In addition, client relationship management is a crucial field where technological connectedness has increased financial efficiency (Khayer et al., 2020). Financial organizations have enhanced their connections with clients and gained a deeper understanding of their requirements and tastes as a result of offering more individualized services and improved contact methods. This has led to higher levels of contentment and devotion on the part of the client base, which has been shown to have a beneficial effect on business results.

There has been a substantial influence of technology on financial productivity and success, and this trend is expected to continue. Financial organizations will be able to offer more individualized service to their clientele and systematize more of their procedures as technology continues to progress, resulting in greater productivity and lower operating costs. Financial efficacy and performance as a whole will increase as technology continues to enhance risk management techniques, client relationship management, and decision making (Cao et al., 2021). While the benefits of increased technological connectedness in financial management are undeniable, it is also essential to be aware of the possible risks, such as cyber-attacks and data leaks. That’s why it’s so important for banks to invest heavily in hacking to secure client information and forestall financial scams. This way, they can keep enjoying the perks of digital connectedness while reducing their exposure to potential dangers.

Challenges and Opportunities Associated with The Adoption and Implementation

There are benefits and drawbacks for financial organizations as they embrace electronic connectedness for financial administration. It has helped them become more productive and provide better service to customers, but it has also introduced some new dangers and difficulties that must be addressed. The potential for cyberattacks is one of the main obstacles to widespread use of connected technologies. There is a rising danger of cyber-attacks and data leaks that can jeopardize consumer data and financial information due to the proliferation of online operations and digital platforms (Singh et al., 2020). Customers’ confidential and financial data may be at risk, which is a major concern for both the bank and its clients. Because of this, it is essential for banks to make safety investments and put in place adequate safeguards.

The high initial and ongoing price tags of implementing widespread digital communication are another obstacle to its widespread use. It’s true that investing in a network of interconnected devices can boost productivity and cut down on expenses in the long run, but doing so can be expensive up front. In addition, it can be pricey to perform the regular upkeep and updates that are necessary to keep up with the ever-evolving technological environment (Singh et al., 2020). As a result, financial organizations must weigh the pros and cons of implementing new technologies and formulate a solid plan for putting them into action and keeping them running smoothly. Problems with data administration and privacy are another potential outcome of widespread technological interconnectivity. Because of the rise in digital interactions, financial organizations now gather and store more data than ever before, which can present new difficulties in terms of data administration and security. There are also legal and governmental constraints on how you can and must gather, shop, and use client information. Strong data management policies and practices are essential for banks to safeguard client information and stay in line with industry standards.

Despite these difficulties, financial organizations can gain a lot from the widespread usage of technological connectedness in financial management. Among its many benefits is the enhancement of client happiness and devotion through the provision of individualized service. Financial organizations can better serve their clients by learning more about their needs and wants through the use of data analytics and machine learning technologies. Further, financial institutions can increase productivity and cut expenses by streamlining previously manual processes made possible by widespread digital connectedness (Chang et al., 2020). All of these tasks, from accepting payments to providing customer service to managing administrative tasks, can be simplified and mechanized with the help of digital technologies. Financial organizations can save money and time by decreasing the amount of time workers spend on routine tasks.

Additionally, financial organizations can enhance their risk management procedures through electronic connectedness. Financial organizations can better spot and reduce risks with real-time tracking of financial activities and more precise risk evaluation. Customers’ faith in financial organizations can rise as a result of this measure’s impact on theft and other financial crime risk (Chang et al., 2020). Technology integration also helps financial organizations make better choices. To better influence their investment, financing, and other financial operations, financial organizations need access to more precise and fast financial data. This has the potential to boost the efficiency of financial organizations as a whole, which in turn could improve their financial results. Financial organizations face both risks and rewards as they embrace electronic connectedness in financial administration. While it has the potential to enhance productivity and client service, it also introduces novel threats and difficulties that must be handled. When deciding whether or not to embrace new technologies, financial institutions must weigh the potential benefits against the costs, and they must also implement stringent cybercrime safeguards, data management policies, and regulation compliance procedures (Chang et al., 2020). This way, they can reap the benefits of increased connectedness while limiting any negative impacts it may have.

 

Conclusion

It is clear that the widespread use of Internet-connected devices has had a major effect on the field of money management. It has allowed banks to enhance their productivity and client service, but it has also introduced new difficulties that must be overcome. Evaluating the influence of technological connectedness on financial efficiency and efficacy reveals substantial gains, such as enhanced decision-making, better risk management, and lower costs. However, it has also shown how important it is to have strong protection measures, data management policies, and legal compliance procedures in place to deal with the dangers that come with technological connectedness. Financial organizations are adopting these technologies to enhance operations and services, as evidenced by the investigation into the breadth of acceptance and application of technological connectedness in financial management. Though there has been some progress in the fields of data analytics, AI, and machine learning, there is still room for more widespread application and use.

While there are substantial possibilities for financial institutions, it is important for them to closely evaluate the costs and dangers involved with the implementation of technological connectedness in financial management due to the difficulties that have been uncovered in doing so. Spending money on protection, creating strong data management policies, and adhering to all applicable laws all fall under this category. Financial organizations can now offer individualized service, boost productivity, cut expenses, and strengthen risk management thanks to widespread usage of connected technologies. However, financial organizations must continue investing in the application and administration of these technologies while also tackling the dangers and difficulties involved with doing so.

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Author: Tharindu Attanayake, student LIGS University
Approved by: Dr. Leon Tsvasman, lecturer LIGS University