By Rob Israch, GM Europe at Tipalti

2021 was a year filled with challenges; sustainability moved up the C-suite agenda, new rules and regulations came into force in the aftermath of Brexit, and pandemic uncertainty caused more disruption for many businesses. Unsurprisingly then, 97% of UK CFOs believe their role has become more complex over the last two years, according to latest research Tipalti. However, what did become clear amidst the challenges was that the CFO needed to be the Swiss Army Knife of the business – able to turn their hand to multiple tasks at speed. This trend will continue into 2022 as the role of the CFO continues to become more diverse.

To navigate an increasing set of challenges, finance teams need to be ready to innovate, exploring new ways to maximise efficiency and offset possible employee burnout. Below we explore what finance teams can expect to experience as we look ahead to the rest of the year:

1. The CEO and CFO will have a closer working relationship

As opposed to solely managing financial operations and ensuring compliance, the CFOs relationship with the CEO will intensify in 2022. This shift will see the CFO become increasingly involved in looking at the strategic ways the business can grow and diversify.

Nearly two-fifths (39%) of CFOs have noted a larger demand to collaborate with the c-suite now than two years ago. However, organisations are still slowed down by old ways of working, as nearly a third (29%) of CFOs state they are having to deal with more manual finance operations. As a result, CFOs aren’t afforded time to support the business leader in the way that their job requires.

By innovating financial processes through automation, finance teams can free up time for the strategic tasks that matter most to the business. In fact, UK CEOs believe that the ability to prioritise innovation (25%) and the ability to improve financial and business reporting accuracy and timeliness are the most important qualities for a successful CFO today.

2. The risk of fraud will rise in line with AP complexities

Every year, defending against fraud gets increasingly challenging. As accounts payable complexities rise, finance teams will experience payments fraud at an alarming rate.

Finance teams today are tasked with managing more diverse payment methods, increasing cross-border transactions and dynamic tax compliance and financial reporting. Yet, teams struggle to cope when operations are processed manually. The most common perpetrator of payment fraud is manual processes. They are neither efficient nor airtight enough to ensure optimum financial control. Busy finance teams, escalating complexities in AP and error prone manual processing sets the perfect scene for fraudsters to take advantage.

To mitigate such risk, companies need to leverage people, processes and technology. This means investing in robust technologies such as automation to standardise procedures. Data entry will be minimised, end-to-end payments processing visibility will be optimised and policy compliance becomes automated. Not only does AP automation relieve workflows by minimising manual intervention, but the technology acts as a hub for enforcing strong financial controls as the number of people and systems involved in payment processing is reduced substantially.

In addition, 2022 will see more multi-entity businesses emerge as organisations recognise the value of the ‘work from anywhere’ model. It can be challenging to manage finance functions across these multiple entities, and that is often why different business units in geographical locations run their finances in isolation, with varying processes and approvals being managed in different ways. However, with no central control or oversight, you run the risk of internal fraud.

3. Finance leaders will prioritise sustainable innovation

Following COP26, business leaders are under pressure to set and meet green targets, and many are turning to their CFOs for solutions. In fact, CFOs ranked incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability into the business and its operations as the greatest driver of complexity in their role (27%), above even the global pandemic (22%).

A key reason for this is that ESG ratings have become an important tool for asset managers and investors to evaluate and compare future investment prospects. Currently more than a quarter (28%) of UK business leaders rank international growth as a top priority for the year ahead, so a less than favourable ESG rating is not an option. So far, the challenge for CFOs has been finding the time to work on sustainable initiatives.

4. Six years on: Brexit’s impact rumbles on

It has been over five years since the UK voted for Brexit – but it will most certainly be on the agenda in 2022 as new regulations emerge. There are a number of challenges that Brexit brings, and much uncertainty still remains in place.

In navigating the uncharted waters of Brexit, businesses will encounter new hurdles when looking to fill roles, as the Global Talent Visa makes competition for skilled employees more formidable than ever before. With the visa application deadline passed, some employees may have chosen to move back home contributing to headcount issues for finance teams.

Moreover, the UK is still yet to agree many key trade agreements. Businesses will need to stay vigilant – watching out for any changes at relatively short notice and be ready to adapt.

5. Finance teams will need to put strategies in place to avoid Churn

Along with many other departments, the Great Resignation period has meant finance is experiencing Churn. Whilst the wellbeing of all employees will be a key focus for the c-suite this year, CFOs will need to ensure the work of the finance team is engaging and talent is not wasted on tedious and time-consuming operations. Introducing automation to take care of those manual tasks will free up time to upskill employees, while making them feel valued in their role.

The future office of finance

The year ahead will certainly push finance teams to review the way they operate. Continuing to operate manually is not only tedious for finance teams, impacting wellbeing and motivation, but will hold back the CFO from managing a more demanding set of responsibilities, including driving sustainability, strategy, the increasing risk of fraud and the uncharted waters of Brexit. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that finance teams are working as efficiently as possible. By moving away from fully manual and administrative work and towards new technologies and automation capabilities, CFOs will reserve time for the tasks that matter.