An overwhelming 89% of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are increasingly looking to automate their back-office to engage their employees, not to replace them, according to a new research report by Australia’s first all-in-one expense management platform DiviPay.

Published as businesses recover from the chronic disruption due to the pandemic, the research asked over 500 CFOs worldwide how they approach automation in finance. 

The soft benefits of automation are clearly front of mind for financial leaders. Some of the ways that automation increases their team’s work satisfaction included better work-life balance (32%), being able to spend time on more interesting work (31%), and improving skillsets by learning new digital tools (27%). The advantages of finance automation clearly extend beyond the hard benefits of efficiency and time saving.

CFOs are directly enjoying the soft benefits of automation, too. They are using finance automation to climb the corporate ladder: 54% of CFOs agreed that championing or implementing an automation project has helped them progress in their finance career. And the number one way that automation has increased a CFO’s job satisfaction is by making their finance team happier, leading to a better work environment.

When a CFO needs to build a business case for new finance automation tools, these survey findings show that demonstrating hard benefits like cost and time efficiencies is just one piece of the puzzle.

Articulating the soft benefits alongside the hard is key. Understanding the whole picture will help with buy-in when pitching a new solution to the business, as well as capitalising on a tool’s total impact down the track.

Automation ticks a lot of boxes with multiple benefits for finance; but the tools on the market are many and varied. Finance’s top challenge when automating is locating the right technology to fit their needs. And more than two thirds of survey respondents have to manage pressure from other departments about finance automation.

Daniel Kniaz, CEO of DiviPay states: “There are lots of reasons why businesses choose finance automation, with benefits for both the bottom line and employee wellbeing,”

“But to overcome challenges associated with automation projects, it’s important to find a provider who will walk you through their software and how it’ll work for you,”

“And the very best providers stay up to date with the rest of the market, so they’re ready to refer you on if they know there’s a better solution for your needs elsewhere.”

DiviPay, Australia’s first all-in-one expense management platform, surveyed 500+ CFOs from around the globe about finance automation.

Respondents provided insights on the current state of play, what they plan to automate this year, how it’s helped with career progression, and what finance automation means to the rest of the business.

DiviPay’s new report: ‘Automating Finance: Wins, challenges, and what’s next’ includes these survey findings and first-hand advice from finance and accounting leaders.