Are you interested in streamlining your accounting tasks? How about looking for expanded data analysis or quick financial statement generation? If so, using Python might be the solution you’re looking for. Although about 44.6% of Python users are software developers, the programming and coding capabilities extend into other industries, including accounting.
In this article, we’ll cover how you can implement Python into your day-to-day tasks, helping you unlock greater efficiency and accuracy. If you still have questions about how to integrate Python into your tasks, check out our Python Bootcamp for Accounting and Finance.
What is Python?
Python was first released by Guido van Rossum in February 1991, getting its name from a comedy sketch series called Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Over the past few decades, Python has been refined by programmers, testers, software developers, and users, contributing to its widespread growth. Since its inception, Python has held true to its core goals of providing an easy and intuitive coding language that works on an open source.
The infrastructure of Python gives accountants the ability to create complex calculations, develop data visualizations, manipulate data, and build machine learning algorithms. For example, Python can help you calculate a client’s upcoming tax liability without having to prepare all of the return components and forms. Instead of spending hours getting one number, you might only spend a few minutes. All of these features can be leveraged through the beginner-friendly syntax and straightforward learning path that Python provides.
The Accounting Use Cases of Python
Python has a variety of use cases in the accounting field. Let’s explore some of these items in more detail, giving you ideas on how you can implement this resource into your daily tasks.
Automation
One of the primary functions of Python is automating repetitive tasks. This might include generating monthly reports, entering data transactions, or adding other information to software programs. By automating mundane and repetitive tasks, you have the ability to focus on other value-added areas, such as front-facing client meetings or high-level analysis.
Data Analysis
Python is a programming language that is widely used in the development space. This means that it has the backend capabilities to analyze complex data. This could be breaking down big data into digestible pieces, comparing financial and tax data between periods, or generating data visualizations to enhance client understanding.
Financial Reporting
Accountants create financial reports on a regular basis. From monthly internal report generation to year-end compilations and reviews, financial reporting is one of the primary roles of an accountant. Python assists accountants with this task by automating the report generation process. For example, Python might extract account information from a software program and compile it into an Excel or PDF format.
Data Cleansing
It’s not uncommon for data to contain unstructured or incomplete items. Python cleans the data, allowing you to easily work with it. For example, let’s say a client sends you a scanned sheet of financial information. Because of the format, you might not be able to easily convert the data to Excel without spending hours cleaning up the line items. Python can do this task for you, saving you time and improving accuracy.
Financial Modeling
Accountants produce financial models and forecasts for their clients. This could be projecting an upcoming tax liability or preparing a five-year growth projection to plan resources. Python can identify trends and patterns in data to help you generate accurate projections. For example, Python might uncover that sales have grown at an average rate of 3% instead of the 5% you initially projected. This infuses accuracy into your financial models.
The Advantages of Python
Applying the Python use cases to your accounting role unlocks different advantages. Let’s go through a few benefits of utilizing Python.
Streamlines Accounting Tasks
Python streamlines many of the accounting tasks you complete on a regular basis, including automating repetitive tasks, analyzing big data, and creating financial reports and projections. By streamlining accounting tasks, you can easily meet deadlines. For example, many business owners want financial reports shortly after the month closes. With Python automatically pulling data and compiling financial reports, you have the ability to meet these client expectations with little to no work on your end.
Reduces the Need for Extensive Coding Knowledge
One of the main advantages of using Python is that you don’t need extensive coding knowledge. Python was created to help the average user with a straightforward syntax. This makes it easy to learn and read. Similarly, Python infuses flexibility into rules, forgiving common errors. With an extensive community of Python users and a standard library with pre-written code tasks, Python is great for accountants looking to offload a portion of their work burden without having to learn complex coding.
Integrates Into Other Programs
Another advantage of using Python is the wide variety of integrations. Python connects with data science and machine learning systems, operating systems, cloud platforms, embedded systems, databases, and web development platforms to seamlessly work in the background. Integration capabilities eliminate the need to transfer data, infusing efficiency into your workflow.
Leverages English Keywords
Unlike other resources that use punctuation, Python uses English keywords in its syntax. This makes it more readable and accessible, especially for accountants who are new to programming. For example, Python identify operators include “is” and “is not,” while Java uses variables like “==.” By using English keywords, Python users are able to form code without having to spend hours learning how the intricacies of coding.
On That Note:
Integrating Python into your organization and daily to-do list doesn’t have to be daunting. In fact, Python can be a game-changer when it comes to automating tasks, analyzing data, creating financial reports, cleansing data, and modeling scenarios.
With an English keyword format, you don’t have to spend hours learning how to code or learn the intricacies of the software. You can simply download the source code and get started overhauling inefficient and outdated procedures in your accounting role!