How Technology Improves Document Automation Workflows

An audit is a scary thing. The idea of government officials pouring over internal company records, micro-searching for financial incongruencies is enough to keep any business owner up at night. Fingers crossed it never happens to you. But sometimes it does…

According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website, during an audit, officers “closely examine books and records of small and medium-sized businesses to make sure they fulfill their obligations, apply tax laws correctly, and receive any amounts to which they are entitled.” An audit is a stressful process, often involving accountants, lawyers and frantic searches through old records. Ultimately, the goal of any audited party is to resolve the matter quickly and painlessly.

But quickly solving the problem requires corporate records to have been safely stored and updated accordingly. Naturally, the larger and busier a company, the easier it is to push these seemingly minute priorities down the list. Big mistake.

The CRA may ask to see the following records:

1. information available to the CRA (such as tax returns previously filed, credit bureau searches, or property database information);
2. your business records** (such as ledgers, journals, invoices, receipts, contracts, and bank statements);
3. your personal records (such as bank statements, mortgage documents, and credit card statements);
4. the personal or business records of other individuals or entities not being audited (for example, a spouse, family members, corporations, partnerships, or a trust); and
5. adjustments made by your bookkeeper or accountant to arrive at income for tax purposes.

Corporate record books, commonly referred to as “minute books,” contain pertinent information as it relates to the status and well-being of the company. More often than not, minute books are physical binders that sit idly on law firm shelves. The binders contain the articles of incorporation, amendments, by-laws, original copies of share certificates share certificates, corporate ledgers, and other nondescript records.

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The minute book should be updated as necessary, but at the very least once a year. What often happens, however, is that because minute books rarely need immediate updating, they are pervasively out of date.

Certain company resolutions can include the authorization to issue bonuses or dividends to employees or shareholders. For obvious reasons, this is of interest to the CRA. Dividends and income are taxed at different rates. So if an individual declares a dividend payment on their personal taxes, yet the resolution authorizing the corporate dividend payment is missing (because the minute book was not updated), the CRA may issue a tax reassessment.

The truth is that while law firms may charge a nominal amount to regularly update a company’s minute book, it costs thousands less than what a law firm will charge to overhaul and update a minute book in the case CRA audit. To avoid problems later on, here are a few important steps companies can take to alleviate the minute book concern before the Canada Revenue Agency comes calling:

• Make sure you know the location of your minute book. The vast majority of all corporate minute books are kept at the office of the company’s law firm. If it’s not there, try and locate it quickly.
• Ask your law firm whether the minute book is up to date. If necessary, remind them of recent transactions, issued dividends and other corporate matters.
• If possible, use a digital or virtual minute book. Minute books are kept in physical format for no other reason than that’s how they have been traditionally stored. A virtual minute book (whether a scanned version of a physical binder or a series of PDF documents stored on an external server) is equally as valid as the traditional physical minute book under Canadian law. Signatures need not be in pen and ink to be legally binding. New tools allow law firms to store and update minute books on the cloud, so clients can access their up-to-date records and share them instantly. Ensure your law firm uses these new solutions for your minute books.

The truth is that no one plans to be audited by the CRA. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be organized if and when the time comes. Taking a few small steps today with your minute book can bring a little sanity and clarity to an otherwise hectic ordeal.

Modern technology has dramatically changed the legal industry. Today’s legal professionals have more flexibility to undergo discovery, undertake research, commence depositions, and manage minute book records for multiple cases.

The best solutions enable professionals to streamline common workflows and operate more efficiently. Streamlined workflows equate to significant time savings, particularly for paralegals and law clerks whose primary duties revolve around clerical and administrative tasks to support the interests of their respective firms.

What accelerated the adoption of new legal technologies?

One of the accelerants that fueled the adoption of innovative legal technologies was the COVID-19 pandemic. Confined to home environments and locked out of their offices, paralegals were no longer able to conduct their duties in the traditional sense.

According to MinuteBox co-founder Sean Bernstein, in an interview with Canadian Lawyer, the pandemic forced firms to introduce innovative legal technologies to their workflows, because there were no paralegals at the office to get legal talent answers to their clients’ questions.

“In COVID times, that’s the one thing they couldn’t do. And as a result, their clients suffered, their work product was delayed, and they couldn’t deliver what was necessary in order for them to have a good legal practice.”

What purpose does legal technology serve for legal talent?

Legal documentation is one of the most time consuming and repetitive processes in any operating firm. In many cases, clerical and administrative work can actually get in the way of client relations and billable hours. In fact, the average lawyer bills just 2.5 hours in an 8-hour workday, amounting to only 31% of their professional time.

It’s not just law firms that struggle with an abundance of clerical work. According to EY Law and the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, a survey of 2,000 business professionals, 87% of corporate general counsel say their departments spend too much time on clerical duties and legal documentation.

During the pandemic, many professionals acknowledged their need for a unified minute book management process that was more efficient, flexible, and autonomous. According to Sean, this drove firms to consider document automation solutions that functioned within the digital cloud.

“There is now the belief that things not only should change but need to change, and that feeling is coming not just from legal innovators but also from the law firms. They recognize that in every circumstance, service needs to be delivered in different ways. And in many ways, it needs to be delivered in a better way to ensure the client experience.”

How document automation software improves paralegal workflows

So how can document automation software improve paralegal workflows and enable legal departments to function more efficiently? Here are the four main ways that legal departments are becoming more streamlined thanks to document automation solutions.

Reduces laborious time spent on clerical work

The biggest advantage of document automation software is the time savings it delivers to firms. Document automation software is an intuitive innovation, automatically generating structured PDF-style minute book records when new client data is uploaded into the platform.

Instead of combing through individual files to organize the minute book, the software does all the organization for paralegals. Suddenly, a process that once took several hours for each client case file can be fully automated and completed in a matter of minutes.

No code document assembly means no technical expertise required

Sometimes, companies are slow to adopt innovative technologies because they lack the technical expertise to manage those solutions. Law firms and corporate counsel no longer have any need to fear document automation technology since it’s built to serve the non-technical legal professional.

This is a feature that MinuteBox has perfected and that few other document automation solutions can deliver. No-code document generation easily creates and customizes legal documents without the need for a trained developer. The platform is intuitive enough to generate those organized minute book records without human technical assistance. All your paralegals have to do is simply upload the data, and the platform will do the rest.

Built-in automated compliance module helps firms follow the letter of the law

Law firms or in-house general counsel are often tasked with creating a compliance program. The sequences involved in creating a compliance framework are also time consuming, and enforcing the policies requires diligent management by legal professionals.

Using a document automation solution, the platform’s built-in compliance module monitors all entity data for any errors and statutory non-compliance risks. This extends to monitoring organizational charts, calendars, workflows, date-based compliance tasks, and other templates that could derail the effectiveness of a compliance program.

The penalties of non-compliance include stiff financial penalties for the business entity, as well as potential jail time for the executives and directors who permitted non-compliance. Document automation software helps your legal team enforce compliance and protect the business.

Efficient workflows empower paralegals to deliver greater client service

When paralegals are no longer spending up to 70% of their working days on clerical work thanks to document automation software, more time is available to work directly with clients on their case files. Client service is essential to boosting client retention rates and improving Legal Recurring Revenue for a firm.

Since document automation software like MinuteBox is a cloud-based solution, paralegals can also service clients from locations of their choosing. Granting clients access to the digitized documents in the platform allows them to view the records from remote locations. Service is far more convenient when clients aren’t required to visit law offices to discuss their cases.

Banking, financial, and legal industries have traditionally been slow to adopt innovative technologies. As other industries view modern technology as an innovative solution that streamlines workflows, several of these traditionally managed sectors have resisted efforts to modernize their operations.

However, the game is beginning to change. Corporate and transactional practices such as banking, finance, real estate, and litigation have increasingly explored the impact of innovative technologies on their respective practice areas.

Future of banking and finance is digital

As younger consumers demand more flexibility and convenience from banking services, the future of retail and mobile banking is growing more digitized. Insider Intelligence conducted their fourth Mobile Banking Competitive Edge Study, and the insights point to this growing trend towards digitized consumer banking.

In their findings, 45% of respondents say financial institutions that offer mobile app-based banking solutions are at the top of their list of preferred bank providers. Clearly, there’s a growing consumer demand for more innovation in these spaces, but the advantages of modern technology can also improve internal business processes at these institutions.

Banking executives see technology as a means to save costs

In the same report, 39% of banking executives say that incorporating technology into their own internal workflows can help lower costs for their businesses. The right solution can also deliver more autonomy and flexibility to how executives access important business records. Up to 77% of business leaders say they want the freedom to view business data from remote locations, continuing the hybrid workflows adopted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Incorporating methods that innovate and streamline administrative and clerical processes can save valuable time and working capital for banking and financial institutions. Incurred labour costs to finalize important agreements between banks and their clients are dramatically slashed by adopting modern technology.

Why document automation solutions drastically cut costs

Document automation is one such solution designed to innovate industries and reduce operating costs. Document automation refers to the design of systems and workflows that streamline the creation of electronic documents.

Since banking and finance industries conduct daily transactional practices, document automation can make checklists or virtual closing lists more efficient for the institution. Many of the documents involved in these processes are virtually identical, except for specific information about the client in service.

With document automation technology, most of the workflows to create those deals are consistent from client to client. Once the templates are created, they can be cookie-cuttered, duplicated, and customized to each client experience.

How document automation improves B2B client relationships

When documentation is completed more efficiently, the deals attached to those documents can be finalized with more speed and precision. If large deals are being conducted between one large banking institution and another corporate entity, the speed and efficiency delivered through document automation solutions generates more revenue at faster rates for both entities.

As a banking institution, client satisfaction is essential to earning repeat business. Providing clients with faster models to finalize important business documents makes the process more efficient for the end client. Fast precise completion of their business deals means those satisfied clients are far more likely to come back to your institution when they require financing for another important deal.

Entity management platforms automate documentation

When banking and financial institutions are ready to modernize their workflows with automated solutions, it’s important they select the right solution to support their needs. Entity management software is one of the best solutions on the market.

Entity management platforms are cloud-based solutions, which means users can access all information stored within the platform from a location of their own choosing. This flexibility perfectly aligns with what banking executives are looking for in a document automation solution. They can view the records remotely, secure with the knowledge that their documents and business records are protected in the cloud using biometric and hardware key authentications.

Entity management platforms have pre-built document templates. Any legal documents to finalize a major banking transaction can be duplicated and modified in a matter of minutes.

Once an initial template of that document is created, the platform allows users to quickly duplicate those documents. Minor edits and revisions can be implemented to customize the documents from client to client or use case to use case. It’s a much faster process that simplifies everyone’s lives!