ATLANTA (March 2, 2023) – Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for SMBs, today released a new report examining the challenges finance leaders are currently facing and how they are adapting to drive growth and efficiencies. The report, titled “Managing Modern Finance in a Time of Unprecedented Change,” found that 81% of financial leaders in the U.S. feel the time they spend on manual processes for accounting, compliance, and the financial close inhibits their work on strategic projects.
Commissioned by Sage and published in partnership with Foundry MarketPulse and CIO.com, the report surveyed more than 400 US financial and accounting leaders at small and midsize businesses. The results paint a picture of busy finance teams frustrated by time-consuming manual processes. The report found many leaders struggle to have a holistic view across the organization and are stymied by the patch work of siloed systems and databases. On average, 39% of the tasks associated with the financial close take place outside of the company’s core financial/accounting applications.
“Businesses and their finance teams are challenged by the current economic fluctuations,” said Dan Miller, Sage’s EVP of Sage Intacct. “These obstacles heighten the need for responsiveness and automation. Businesses we speak with on a regular basis are learning that they must streamline accounting processes and gain insights through analytics to stay nimble and drive growth.”
Prioritizing Efficiency and Insights
Financial teams are under increased pressure to become more agile and responsive to market trends. More than one-third of respondents (77%) say company leadership is requesting financial information in real-time to better understand company performance. As such, respondents are prioritizing initiatives designed to increase efficiencies and reporting capabilities. The top four priorities for finance and accounting leadership, include:
Improving the accuracy of data for real-time decision making – 47%
Conversely, while financial leaders are eager to work on strategic projects including providing real-time financial reporting, they are frustrated by time-consuming manual processes. The survey found that a third of financial leaders acknowledged keeping up with technology updates was the most frustrating part of closing the books, while 30% found it difficult to stay current with compliance and security requirements. Other frustrations of the financial close process include:
Building an Agile Future
To help drive efficiencies and greater real-time visibility across a company’s operations, the report identified several technologies that can significantly reduce time spent on manual processes, including:
“Business leaders today are trying to do more with less—less people, less resources, and less time. Their customers still want excellent service and trying to keep up using outdated processes and scattered data is ineffective,” adds Miller. “Businesses need information faster than ever, with seamless integration across a SaaS platform. Having access to data that plugs into all facets of the business, such as operations, finance, and data security offers critical insight into how to make needed change.”
Note to editor: The survey was conducted by Foundry MarketPulse and CIO.com between December 16, 2022 – January 5, 2023. Click here to download the full report.
Mara Maddox
PR Manager, US
[email protected]
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR, and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitizing business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology, and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality, and the climate crisis. Learn more at www.sage.com/en-us/.