FINANCE SALES & MARKETING HR SOLUTIONS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Despite 78 % of senior finance leaders saying they ’ d trust employees with company funds , many are still hesitant to grant direct access , resulting in a productivity bottleneck . One of the primary reasons for this is a perceived lack of employee understanding around finance policies ( 35 %), resulting in over half of UK employees ( 54 %) admitting to bending the rules to gain access to company funds .

Impact on business growth

The research , conducted among employees and finance leaders , highlights the critical impact that restricting budget access can have on hindering growth potential :

• Missed revenue opportunities : Of the 88 % of senior finance leaders that reported missed opportunities in the past 12 months , many note substantial financial consequences , including financial losses ( 39 %), loss of existing customers ( 38 %) and delayed product or service launches ( 39 %)

• Project delays and frustration : Nearly half of employees ( 48 %) say interactions with finance have slowed projects , with 31 % pointing to slow response times from finance , and 21 % noting a focus on cost-cutting at the expense of growth

• High administrative burden : One in six finance leaders spend six or more hours a week managing admin related to decentralised spending , with 59 % admitting that adjusting budgets as business priorities shift remains a significant challenge

Meanwhile , almost three-quarters ( 73 %) of finance leaders report that overly complex financial processes slow down or prevent them helping employees in the pursuit of new business opportunities . They additionally revealed that finance teams are frequently facing surprises at month-end ( 60 %), which pull focus from growth strategies .

Brandon Till , Head of Transformation at Soldo , said : “ 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 .

“ By empowering employees to make responsible decisions with their own budgets and freeing up financial leaders with the tools to proactively manage decentralised spending , organisations can quickly operate with greater efficiency and confidence .”

A path forward – productivity boost with budget access

Empowering employees by improving their access to company funds could reshape business growth strategies through increased productivity . According to employees and finance leaders , primary benefits included :

• Increased employee motivation and proactivity : 39 % of senior leaders say motivation would improve , while 35 % predict a rise in proactivity and agility and 36 % believe it would increase job satisfaction for employees

• Enhanced productivity : 40 % of employees believe their productivity would increase with easier budget access

• Strengthened finance-business relationship : Greater budget flexibility could bridge gaps in finance collaboration with the wider business , with 36 % of finance leaders and 22 % of employees predicting relationship improvements through better access . x

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