Finance leaders cite limited budget access as growth barrier

Research from spend management provider Soldo highlights concerns amongst UK senior finance leaders regarding restricted employee access to budgets, identifying this as a bottleneck impeding business growth and productivity.

A survey of finance leaders revealed that 88% reported missed growth opportunities over the past year due to employees lacking direct budget access. The study also found significant impacts including financial losses for 39% of leaders, customer losses for 38%, and delays in product launches experienced by another 39%. These findings underscore limiting employee budget access as a substantial barrier to realising growth potential.

The reluctance in granting access stems partly from a perceived lack of employee understanding of finance policies, as cited by 35% of the leaders. Despite 78% of finance leaders indicating trust in employees handling company funds, concerns over policy comprehension have led to more than half of UK employees (54%) admitting to circumventing rules to access funds.

The consequences of these financial restrictions are multifaceted. Nearly half (48%) of employees noted that interactions with finance personnel have led to project slowdowns, with 31% attributing delays to finance's slow response times, and 21% feeling that an overemphasis on cost-cutting hinders growth. Meanwhile, finance teams grapple with management burdens, as one in six leaders report spending over six hours weekly on administrative tasks related to decentralised spending.

Compounded by complex financial processes, 73% of finance leaders pointed out that such intricacies impede their ability to assist employees in exploring new business ventures. This complexity also leads to frequent month-end surprises for 60% of finance teams, shifting focus away from growth strategies.

Brandon Till, Head of Transformation at Soldo, commented, "Everything in a business needs money, and when you don't empower employees by putting it in their hands then, put simply, things don't happen. The cost? Growth. This is demonstrated plain and clear by our findings." Till advocates for empowering employees to make spending decisions and equipping finance leaders with tools to manage decentralised spending efficiently, aiming to enhance operational confidence and efficiency.

Employees and finance leaders both identify potential benefits from improved budget access. Enhanced productivity is anticipated, with 40% of employees believing it would boost their productivity, and 35% of senior leaders predicting increased proactivity and agility. Furthermore, 39% of leaders forecast heightened employee motivation, and 36% see potential job satisfaction improvements.

Improving budget access also promises to strengthen the finance-business relationship, with 36% of financial leaders and 22% of employees expecting better collaboration through accessible funds.

Decentralised company spending, free from central procurement processes, poses challenges such as reduced visibility into expenditures and increased administrative burdens at month-end, raising risks of overspending and financial surprises.

Brandon Till concludes, "After all, controlling costs, increasing productivity and sustaining growth aren't just important, they're critical survival factors. With a progressive approach to spend governance, businesses can spot inefficiencies, eliminate waste and accomplish more."