How SME finance leaders can make time for growth

For finance leaders, between managing month-end, multi-entity operations, and endless reporting requests, growth-focused activities tend to fall by the wayside. Yet, making time for growth is critical to the future of your company, and your wellbeing. According to Sage, over 80% of finance leaders regularly experience burnout. We’ve explored the top three ways finance leaders lose time, how to get it back, and what it can let you achieve.

Top three time-wasting culprits for finance leaders

Working with hundreds of finance leaders at fast-growing SMEs, we’ve found three common process areas where finance teams spend hours on time-consuming tasks.

The never-ending month-end close

The month-end close is often a marathon of manual processes. This is especially true as your company grows and its volume of transactions grows with it. A long close isn’t just time-consuming; it prevents your team from delivering timely insights for critical decision-making.

Multi-entity management madness

If you manage multiple entities with manual processes, you know the pain of dealing with complex consolidations, international compliance, and volatile currency rates. Each layer of multi-entity management adds more work to your finance team’s already overflowing plate. When multi-entity consolidations are done manually, it’s easy for time-consuming errors to creep in.

Finance reporting gridlock

Providing accurate, detailed, and timely reports to different departments in your company is critical during growth periods. But when financial data is spread across systems and spreadsheets, generating these reports can take hours or even days. What’s more, a report based on outdated information isn’t useful. Finance teams are often on the back-foot with reporting requirements, and it’s difficult to see the path ahead.

Unlocking possibilities with automation

When finance leaders automate core finance tasks, the possibilities for growth are endless. Here’s how you can use that newly reclaimed time:

• Strategic planning: With the right tools in place, like Sage Intacct, finance leaders can shift their focus from putting out fires to driving long-term growth strategies.
• Forecasting and risk management: Imagine having the bandwidth to create real-time, accurate forecasts that allow you to mitigate risks and seize new opportunities.
• Team development: Freeing up time for your team means they can focus on building skills, innovating, and tackling more strategic initiatives that move the needle for your company.

It’s not all about work. If you’re a finance leader you’ll no doubt be familiar with late nights and early mornings spent delivering work that’s essential for the company. Doing this week in, week out without change on the horizon is a recipe for burnout. Moving to growth-ready finance technology now will give you countless hours back in the future.

Are you looking to free up time for other priorities? Read our full guide for practical ways finance leaders can improve manual processes and make time for growth.