If there’s one takeaway we’ve learnt from the last couple of years, it’s the value of staying agile. Unfortunately, we’ve seen many businesses close from their inability to adapt to the changes in their environment.
As finance teams begin to make plans for their year ahead, what should they look out for? We’ve identified five must-know trends for organisations.
It’s a great thing when finance teams are able to carry out high-level planning for the company. However, many finance personnel are stuck dealing with routine and unnecessary manual work, leaving little time for such tasks.
High functioning finance teams are already scouting for the latest innovations that can help them eliminate bottlenecks and do better in the upcoming year. These trends centre around digitisation and automation of finance processes.
Cashless and contactless transactions will rule
There’s no denying that we now live in a cashless and contactless society. As a result, finance teams that are still using petty cash in their expense management are losing out big time.
The use of contactless cards is not just preferred; it’s necessary. The pandemic has forced many businesses to go cashless for the health and safety of their consumers and staff. According to a study by Square Australia, one in three Aussie businesses went cashless between January and June 2020.
This trend will only continue to grow, and companies that do not supply employees with cashless payment methods, such as pre-loaded cards, will fall behind.
Increase in remote work for finance teams
Remote working rose significantly in 2021, and it’ll only continue to grow in the coming years. A study by Gartner shows that 74 per cent of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Finance leaders are planning to shift their finance teams to remote work permanently.
What does this trend mean for businesses? This change towards remote work has seen many collaboration tools become more popular, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. However, little emphasis is placed on tools that can help finance teams manage expenses remotely.
How does finance personnel manage petty cash out of the office? How would an employee submit receipts and claims remotely? These are processes that can be solved using expense management software, which is why it’ll be a big trend in the coming years.
Farewell to periodic reporting
With improved technological advancements and artificial intelligence in the finance space, companies now have better access to real-time reporting. Gartner calls it on-demand reporting, in which organisations no longer look at financial statements every quarterly or yearly.
Traditional methods of periodic reporting will soon become irrelevant. Reporting is still as important as ever, and finance teams will still have to pacify auditors and stakeholders with financial data. But information will be given as and when needed, and budgeting will also be done in a quicker cycle - giving companies more agility and flexibility.
To support this, finance teams must be equipped with the software and digital skills to work in an on-demand environment.
No more paper
Most finance personnel can agree that handling receipts, invoices, claims, and other paper-based documents is a major hassle. It’s highly prone to errors and difficult to manage with so many employees in a company.
More importantly, it’s prone to fraud. Most paper-based expense management processes cannot flag out-of-policy expenses, which costs companies thousands of dollars a year.
Many organisations are reducing paper, but what is the best alternative for this? Fortunately, automation has changed the finance industry, which means there’s a more efficient way to go paperless than simply switching to a corporate credit card.
Automation is king
Finance automation is undoubtedly a huge trend in the future, as almost half of CFO’s are making shifts towards automation.
Automation enables an organisation to smoothly transition into going cashless, paperless, and gaining access to real-time visibility and reporting, which we know is becoming increasingly important in the future of finance. According to McKinsey, around 40 per cent of finance functions can be automated.
Automating your finance function may seem like a complicated process for an SME, but it doesn’t have to be. At Budgetly, we help organisations reduce manual time by up to 30 hours a week by automating their expense management process.
To learn more about Budgetly, download our eBook, Managing Expenses with Budgetly. Alternatively, schedule a demo with us today to find out how we can work with your organisation.
