Survey: 71% of CFOs believe travel and expense management consumes too much time and effort
A survey commissioned by TravelBank and conducted by CFO Dive reveals that 71% of financial executives believe travel and expense management consumes too much time and effort, yet only 21% think this area most requires automation. The survey also found that 88% of financial executives believe fintech will become a significant growth driver in the next five years, and 73% worry that issues of employees violating travel policies will intensify as companies grow.
SAN FRANCISCO— A new study commissioned by TravelBank reveals that chief financial officers (CFOs) are actively seeking to modernize the technology stack of core finance departments, with more than half of respondents stating that their departments have adopted automation for accounts payable and accounts receivable (56%) and reporting and analytics (53%).
The study is included in a new report generated from a survey of 150 finance executives conducted by CFO Dive. The report also reveals that CFOs may be overlooking other areas where process modernization could reduce manual burdens on their teams.
For example, only 21% of finance executives believe travel and expense management most needs increased automation—despite 71% of respondents agreeing that travel and expense management consumes too much time and effort from finance teams.
TravelBank, a company providing integrated, technology-driven expense and travel management solutions, commissioned this research and released the report to explore CFOs' priorities in 2023 and the current state of digital transformation in finance functions. Key findings include:
- Nine in ten (88%) finance executives agree that fintech will become a significant driver of business growth in the next five years.
- Finance executives say their top priorities for 2023 are adopting new technology or replacing legacy systems in the finance department (42%) and maximizing productivity and improving efficiency (41%).
- 73% of finance executives agree that as companies grow over the next five years, issues with employees violating travel and/or expense policies will become more severe.
"Companies are advancing digital transformation in finance, but our research shows that 45% are still in the early stages," said Duke Chung, founder and CEO of TravelBank. "CFOs should consider looking beyond core areas like accounting and reporting to adjacent areas—such as travel and expense management—which are error-prone and time-consuming, where they can pilot automation and measure its impact."
Ultimately, investing in automation in finance is delivering tangible improvements—66% of finance executives say they have made technology investments to apply automation and, after measuring the impact, found improvements. Expanding automation to areas like travel and expense can create new benefits.
"Embracing automation in travel and expense management can significantly reduce the administrative cost of error correction while providing greater accuracy and real-time visibility into expenses and reimbursements," said Chung.
As detailed in TravelBank's new report, CFOs who have not yet invested in transforming travel and expense management are missing out on improvements ranging from cost reduction to enhanced employee experience. To access the full report,click here。
Methodology
The findings are based on an online survey of 150 finance executives conducted by CFO Dive, with respondents from companies with more than 100 employees and annual revenue of at least $500,000.
