Introduction: In today's fast-paced business environment, organizations are constantly seeking ways to streamline processes and improve efficiency. One area where automation has proven to be highly beneficial is in the finance function. By automating administrative tasks, finance professionals can save significant amounts of time and focus on more strategic and value-added activities. In this blog post, we will explore the estimated number of hours per week that can be saved through automation of various finance tasks, based on findings from a survey.
Survey Findings: To understand the potential time savings through automation, a survey was conducted among finance professionals. The respondents were asked to estimate the number of hours they believe could be saved per week in their finance function through the automation of specific administrative tasks. The results are summarized in the table below:
|
Task
|
<1 hour
|
1-3 hours
|
3-5 hours
|
5-7 hours
|
7-10 hours
|
10+ hours
|
Total Responses
|
|
New supplier onboarding
|
10
|
13
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
34
|
|
PO generation, approvals, coding
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
34
|
|
Invoice matching, approvals, coding
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
34
|
|
Payment runs and reconciliation
|
7
|
10
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
34
|
|
Managing and reconciling corporate cards
|
12
|
12
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
34
|
|
Totals
|
41
|
50
|
26
|
18
|
16
|
19
|
34
|
Analysis of Results: The survey findings reveal significant potential for time savings in the finance function through automation. Let's examine the results for each task category:
New supplier onboarding and management: The largest percentage of respondents (38.2%) estimated time savings between 1-3 hours per week. However, a considerable number (29.4%) believed that automation could save them less than an hour. This indicates that automation solutions in this area have the potential to provide efficiency gains, albeit at varying levels.
PO generation, approvals, and coding: A similar pattern emerges in this category, with 23.5% of respondents estimating time savings in the range of 1-3 hours per week. The number of respondents estimating higher time savings (3-5 hours) is also significant (23.5%). This suggests that automating purchase order-related tasks can yield substantial benefits.
Invoice matching, approvals, and coding: The findings for this category closely mirror those of PO generation, with 20.6% of respondents estimating time savings between 1-3 hours per week. Again, a significant number (20.6%) believed that automation could save them more than 3 hours. Streamlining invoice processing through automation can be a valuable time-saving strategy.
Payment runs and reconciliation: In this category, 29.4% of respondents estimated time savings between 1-3 hours per week. However, the distribution of responses is more evenly spread across different time-saving brackets, indicating the potential for automation to streamline payment-related tasks across a range of organizations.
Managing and reconciling corporate cards: The highest percentage of respondents (35.3%) estimated time savings in the range of 1-3 hours per week. The even distribution of responses across different time-saving brackets suggests that automation can significantly improve efficiency in managing corporate cards.
Conclusion: Automation presents a tremendous opportunity to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks within the finance function. The survey findings demonstrate that finance professionals believe automation can yield substantial time savings across various areas, including new supplier onboarding, purchase order management, invoice processing, payment runs, and corporate card reconciliation. By implementing automation solutions tailored to these tasks, organizations can unlock the potential for greater productivity, allowing finance teams to focus on more strategic activities and ultimately drive business growth.
