Report: Company Spend Control and Efficiency Builds Resiliency

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The pandemic has accelerated the need for businesses to digitally transform their operations. As a result, companies are reevaluating how they manage their spending. A recent Aberdeen expense and invoice management survey found that top companies in the U.S. and around the world with fewer than 1,000 employees are automating tedious manual processes, increasing visibility into total spend, and investing in innovative tools to improve flexibility in a remote environment. Research on technological investments in the digital transformation show:

  • 38% of U.S. companies (1 - 1,000 employees) are actively working to automate key components of their expense report management processes, emphasizing the growing need to leverage technology for spend management solutions.
  • Of the U.S. best-in-class, 42% are more likely to have mobile apps for making approvals. Integrated solutions such as those for making approvals, capturing receipts, and submitting invoices, are essential for monitoring cash flow.
  • A top pressure to improve expense management comes from the need to eliminate manual workflows / approvals and paper-based products. A top pressure to improve vendor invoice management includes the need to improve remote capabilities for invoice capture, processing, approval, and payment.

As a result of digital transformation, these best-in-class businesses are seeing a significant increase in efficiency, which has helped them optimize performance and bounce back stronger during the current economic downturn. The unexpected changes from COVID-19 have led 67% of respondents to notice a significant revenue drop. Spend control and productivity need to be a strategic priority for organizations to catch back up.

The journey toward global recovery requires that businesses in all countries work to build flexibility into their processes for managing company spend to fit the needs of the current remote workforce. Greater control of spending can help businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees determine areas to save costs as well as areas to invest in to promote recovery.

Download the Aberdeen Knowledge Brief to read the full report and learn how you can help your business become more resilient.