Remote work challenges for UK finance leaders, hindering timely bill processing, according to Yooz’s State of Automation in Finance research.
According to independent research commissioned by Yooz, a provider of purchase-to-payment solutions and accounts payable automation, 97% of UK firms use remote or hybrid working methods.
However, according to Yooz’s third annual State of Automation in Finance research, nearly half of UK finance leaders (48%) claim that remote and hybrid working has substantially hampered their capacity to process bills on time.
Finance departments have tactical issues related to data protection, management, training, and confidentiality. Finance executives are generally adjusting to a new work environment, and with rare exceptions, it appears that the trend towards remote and hybrid working is here to stay.
Remote work (38%) and flexible working (49%) emerged as the top two strategies used by finance decision makers to draw and keep employees, well ahead of higher pay bands, which came in fourth at 21%, just behind providing access to better or more efficient technology (23%) in this category.
“We have experienced the biggest shift in working practises in decades, and we shouldn’t underestimate the impact it will have on businesses,” stated Yooz CEO Laurent Charpentier. Finance departments must ensure that remote workers have access to up-to-date information if they are to function in a hybrid work environment.
According to the research, time is money, and more than one-third of finance decision-makers (34%) stated that their accounts payable department processes invoices for an average of more than 20 hours per month, which is the same as dedicating nearly three working days to the task.
Making Use of Automation
Finance executives in the modern day now understand that automation is a critical tool for streamlining and managing the various demands of their jobs. Moreover for financial executives, more productivity (36%), better data accuracy (35%), and more flexible use of personnel (25%), are the top three benefits of AP automation.
In conclusion, Charpentier states that while businesses are realising they can utilise technology to transform their operations, just 25% of finance executives view accounts payable automation as a means of enabling their staff to work more freely and developing new skills.
“Using cutting edge accounts payable software to support a new way of working should be viewed as an opportunity to persuade the other business leaders of the benefits that accounts payable automation can deliver, given the skills shortage in finance and accounting and challenges with talent acquisition.”
