How to win CFO approval for expense management automation

Reducing the cost of expense processing is one way for CFOs to boost profit margins. The Global Business Travel Association found that it costs organisations nearly £43 to process one expense report, and employees spend an average of 20 minutes submitting each report. Additionally, 19% of expense reports contain errors, costing businesses £38 and an average of 18 minutes to correct.

Expense management automation significantly lowers the cost of processing expense reports, turning a financial burden into a source of savings. By streamlining processes, approvals, and reimbursements, plus eliminating costs associated with manually handling expense documents, finance teams can focus on projects that support the CFOs' more strategic visions for their teams.

Expense automation frees finance teams from time-consuming manual processing, allowing them to focus on value-adding activities, such as ensuring vendor contract terms are upheld. Forrester reports that 74% of travel and expense decision-makers view improving T&E processes and tools as critical to reducing costs and improving business efficiency.

Expense management solutions streamline the creation, submission, approval, and reimbursement of expense reports with just a few clicks. Electronic submission triggers workflow and approval processes, with automated emails updating managers and employees on the report's status.

This eliminates the need for employees to spend time filing paper receipts, printing monthly expense reports, or sending expense information to another office. Managers no longer need to reconcile expense information manually, and automation drastically reduces the potential for errors.

One of the most significant benefits of expense automation is enhanced visibility into financial operations. CFOs can gain real-time insights into spending patterns, enabling more informed decision-making and strategic planning. This transparency is crucial for maintaining budget discipline and identifying cost-saving opportunities.

Recognising this fact, as many as 55% of the 500 finance professionals we surveyed in 2023 have already enhanced their expense management function with analytics to inform other financial processes.

Analytics is also ranked as one of the top value-adding spend management features, with 35% of our respondents highlighting the importance of having actionable insights in their current processes.

CFOs have transitioned from financial scorekeepers to growth strategists. To make quick, informed decisions on cash flow and spending, they need instant access to information. Manual expense management processes hinder CFOs and other leaders from accessing the data required for financial forecasting, cost control, compliance, and company-wide spending visibility.

Automated expense management solutions offer real-time, comprehensive reporting and visibility into spend data. This provides CFOs with instant access to actionable insights, enabling them to measure spending against budgets, identify budget overruns, and align spending with evolving business objectives.

These solutions can also identify opportunities for consolidating suppliers and equip sourcing teams with the data they need to negotiate supplier contracts.

According to the Institute of Finance and Management (IOFM), CFOs are prioritising compliance risk mitigation because violations can lead to fines, penalties, and reputational damage that hinder growth.

Expense management automation enhances regulatory compliance by providing transparency into expense spending. And CFOs and controllers are typically responsible for ensuring these controls and tracking procedures are in place.

Automated expense reporting solutions offer instant access to expense data and built-in compliance features. Accountants and managers can set hard and soft travel policies within the system. Employees are alerted when an expense exceeds a policy limit, allowing them to modify or withdraw their reimbursement request. The solution then reviews the expenses and flags or rejects non-compliant items. Automation also enables companies to easily audit travel expenses for each employee, rather than relying on random, largely manual audits.