Tale of two finance departments infographic: Concur surveyed members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) about their use of financial technology. Based on the results, it seems that there are two kinds of finance departments in the UK: those who are leading the financial technology charge and others who are struggling to keep up.

1. A Tale Of Two
Finance Departments
WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?
WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?
Employees submit and managers
approve expenses electronically,
receipts are captured and stored
online, and exceptions are
caught through automation.
Of those companies who have
not automated their employee
expenses process
45%
Not a top priority
30%
Not enough resources
to make the change
20%Couldn’t get senior
management buy-in
15%
Too expensive
10%
Solution was missing
key functionality
43% 13% 13%43% 30%
47%32%29% 47%41%
Of the 48% who had considered expenses automation but didn’t
end up taking a solution on board, what held them back?
While you might think cost was one of the top reasons, culture
and change were even bigger issues. Here’s what these financial
leaders said were the reasons they have so far not implemented
an automated expenses management solution:
Doesn’t let employees
manage expenses
on a mobile
Doesn’t give us enough
data into spend
Is time consuming
and complex
Not linked to our travel
management system
Too expensive and
not cost-effective
Despite the various reasons companies can’t reach a
solution on automation, finance departments are
struggling with the status quo.
HOW CAN EXPENSES
AUTOMATION HELP?
For the companies who have automated,
here are some of the features they say are the most
common, and the ones you should be looking out for if
you are considering expenses automation.
Accounts Payable
automation
Mobile apps
and capabilities
Ability to book
travel
Reporting and
business intelligence
Automated controls for
travel and/or expense policy
compliance or auditing
Concur thank the finance professionals
who shared their views in this survey,
and were pleased to support the
Chartered Accountants Benevolent
Association (CABA) with a donation for
each survey completed.
Employees use a a spread-
sheet or similar paper form for
submission and approvals,
with paper receipts attached.
42%
have considered
doing it.
48%
haven’t been able
to give it a thought.
45%
Our employee expenses
process is handled entirely
ON PAPER
44%
Our employee expenses
process is entirely or mostly
AUTOMATED
THE CURRENT
EXPENSES PROCESS...
Leading the
technology charge
If you’re struggling to keep up,
you’re not alone. Learn more
about how Concur Travel & Ex-
pense has helped more than 30%
of the FTSE100 companies lead
the technology charge at:
concur.co.uk
To the question of "Would you describe your
company's current expenses process as being
entirely on paper or entirely automated?"
the results were split right down the middle.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
Concur surveyed members
of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England and
Wales (ICAEW) about their
use of financial technology.
Based on the results, it
seems that there are two
kinds of finance depart-
ments in the UK: those who
are leading the financial
technology charge and
others who are struggling to
keep up.
Struggling to keep up
*Statistics based on 44 respondents.
* Statistics based on 77 respondents.
*Statistics based on 20 respondents. Multiple responses possible.
*Statistics based on 23 respondents. Multiple responses possible.
*Statistics based on 34 respondents. Multiple responses possible.