There’s a consensus – automation is changing the face of finance departments and job descriptions yearly. But we think a more profound question lies behind the digital transformation trend: What are finance departments doing with the data troves they get from automation? Are they leveraging the data to optimize processes and save time and money? Or did they get to the end of a series of automation projects, dust off their hands, and claim, “Mission Accomplished”? According to a recent survey we conducted with finance leaders, it’s the latter.
In our report Finance Trends: How Finance Leaders Can Thrive During a Recession in 2023, we asked 400 finance leaders how they plan to navigate market, talent and process challenges this year, and what role automation plays in meeting those challenges.
The report found that most finance leaders already have automation plans – only 4% of them told us they wouldn’t take on any automation projects in 2023. But automation alone is not enough. How finance leaders optimize their automation efforts will be critical to success. Optimization means moving the whole organization toward full visibility into spend across the organization. To reach nirvana, companies will need to take advantage of advanced analytics to gain the type of insights that drive real business impact. There’s a cascade effect here. Spend visibility is good for operations, and good for data collection. Better data collection, combined with visibility insights, yield yet more insights and more data. That flow, once you get it going, can move the business forward substantially.
Other research in the finance field shows that leaders are looking for creative ways to automate menial tasks for their employees. In a recent Forrester report, more than half (52%) of finance leaders said that their teams spend too much time on routine tasks and too little on strategic thinking. On average their teams spend 15% of their time on low-value, manual work; that number rises to 17% for more complex tasks like financial planning and analysis. Forrester researchers believe that, once you combine menial tasks across many different functions, some employees could spend nearly a third of their time on these tasks. Automation can’t create a substitute for every menial task, but it can significantly relieve the burden.
Efficiencies are both necessary and elusive for finance leaders. Fifty-nine percent in the Forrester report say their teams need more integrated systems and automated tools, while 58% say a fully automated finance platform is crucial for full visibility and insight into spend across their organizations.
The Emburse report goes even further by asking how much finance leaders are improving those systems. Here are several key takeaways from the report:
- 95% of respondents improved automation capabilities last year, but an equally large number admit there’s more to be done.
- There’s a clear relationship between automation and talent retention. Relieving staff of menial tasks helps them stay engaged in their roles and more likely to stay with the company.
- Financial reporting and travel and entertainment expenses (T&E) are the top two processes respondents plan to improve through automation.
Download the full report now to see a roadmap of how your company can move from ad hoc or managed planning to full optimization.