By Gloria Methri
July 26, 2024
- AI automation
- End-to-End Payments
- Finance Automation
55% of finance professionals are reportedly experiencing burnout, with 58% planning to leave the sector and follow a different career path. With mounting economic uncertainty, finance teams are facing budget cuts, fewer resources and higher burnout, which contribute to these figures. The resulting pressure and stress are adding up, and organizations are scrambling for solutions.
AI and automation are being leveraged across professional industries to lighten the load on employees as well as streamline finance team functions and assist with long term planning.
Most finance professionals (94%) are happy with their organization’s adoption of artificial intelligence, which automates processes and simplifies manual, cumbersome work. Contrary to popular belief, data proves that finance professionals want more automation, not less, with 54% reporting that automation unlocks more time for innovative strategies.
Additional benefits of automation within the finance function include smoother end-to-end payments (40%), quicker turnaround time for invoice payments (39%), more accessible collaboration with external stakeholders and teams (37%), faster payments to suppliers (36%) and the ability for finance teams to close their books earlier (32%).
These new data points, commissioned by Medius, reveal a clear signal from finance professionals to business leaders: investing in automation not only improves business efficiency and function but is also a critical step in retaining high-performing financial teams.
Ahmed Fessi, Chief Transformation and Information Officer for Medius, said, “AI Automation is no longer a forward-facing or nice-to-have strategy for finance teams. Finance teams are crying out for support, burnt out from trying to close big manual gaps without automation. There is a rift emerging between organizations that have invested in automating the finance function and those that have not, with those who have seen lower levels of employee burnout, fewer errors and more efficiency. Organizations must make this investment to stay ahead of the curve and support employees through economic uncertainty and scaling pressures.”
Mary Flynn Barton, Executive Vice President of Medius, added, “Increasing AI automation in the finance function is essential for organizations as they navigate uncertain economic conditions, providing present-moment stability and improving future performance. For business decision-makers, investing in automation is twofold: it improves the effectiveness of the current finance team within an organization. It ensures the future success of the business as demands continue to rise and uncertainty grows.”
With a large portion of the current finance workforce planning to depart, automation may be the key to once again making the profession attractive—removing time-consuming and repetitive tasks.
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