What’s on finance executives’ minds as another new year approaches? There are seven dominant themes, according to a new report based on a survey of 500 leaders. The survey was performed in August by AvidXchange, a provider of accounts payable and payment solutions for middle-market businesses and their suppliers.
1. Finance pros embrace AI, evaluate ROI
About two-thirds (65%) of the respondents said their department is currently using AI. And among those, approximately two-thirds (68%) said the technology is providing “significant” ROI and benefits.
At the same time, however, 71% of those polled said they are concerned about accurately measuring the ROI of their AI tools. AvidXchange also cited a recent finding by McKinsey that most companies are not yet realizing significant earnings gains from their AI investments.
“CFOs should remain patient and look to measure other benefits resulting from AI, like improvements in productivity or customer satisfaction,” AvidXchange advised.
2. Security remains a top concern
More than three-quarters of the surveyed finance leaders said their departments have either fallen victim to or been the target of attempted attacks, such as check fraud, phishing, or deepfakes.
In response, 65% of the participants said their organization has strengthened security measures in 2024. And in a major shift, 46% of finance leaders said cybersecurity and fraud prevention is a new responsibility they’ve taken on just this year.
3. The finance function evolves
Citing the ongoing talent shortage and demand for digital skills, the report noted that an “overwhelming” 87% of finance leaders said they’ve been tasked with new responsibilities over the past two years.
Amid an environment where the number of accounting graduates is falling at an alarming rate, two-thirds (66%) of survey participants said staffing shortages affected their department in 2024.
4. Tech stacks consolidate, cloud adoption expands
The survey found that although 73% of finance leaders are satisfied with their current enterprise resource planning or accounting systems, 64% are likely or extremely likely to switch systems in the next three months.
“Finance leaders are evaluating and consolidating their tech stacks with integrations that centralize their processes with all the information they need in one place,” AvidXchange wrote.
More than three-quarters (76%) of the surveyed leaders said they either actively pursue cloud solutions or see some benefits and are gradually adopting them.
5. Electronic payment adoption grows
AvidXchange is an interested party here, as it’s in the electronic payments business. According to the report, 73% of finance teams have seen an increase in requests from suppliers for real-time payments in 2024; and 44% of organizations have fully adopted this payment method.
6. Finance leaders recognize automation advantages
More than half (55%) of the leaders said automating workflows in the finance department is a high priority, according to the report.
Reasons for automating include increasing efficiency and productivity (60% of respondents), improving compliance and accuracy (52%), enhancing data analysis and reporting (47%), minimizing human errors (47%) and improving customer service and satisfaction (46%).
7. Supplier relationships are paramount
According to the survey, only 37% of finance leaders feel their organization is very effective at collaborating with suppliers to enhance financial processes.
Still, more than half (52%) of those surveyed said collaboration with suppliers is a “key part” of their business strategy for finance.
