TechHR
ex
L&D
UNPLUGGED
Sphere
About Us • Contact Us
People Matters ANZ
People Matters Logo
Login / Signup
People Matters Logo
Login / Signup
  • Current
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Research
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Podcast

© Copyright People Matters Media Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

  • HotTopic
    HR Folk Talk FutureProofHR
  • Strategy
    Leadership Csuite StrategicHR EmployeeRelations BigInterview
  • Recruitment
    Employer Branding Appointments Permanent Hiring Recruitment
  • Performance
    Skilling PerformanceMgmt Compensation Benefits L&D Employee Engagement
  • Culture
    Culture Life@Work Diversity Watercooler SheMatters
  • Tech
    Technology HR Technology Funding & Investment Startups Metaverse
  • About Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Become a sponsor
  • Contact Us
  • Feedback
  • Write For Us

Follow us:

Privacy Policy • Terms of Use

© Copyright People Matters Media Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

People Matters Logo
  • Current
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Research
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Podcast
Login / Signup

Categories:

  • HotTopic
    HR Folk Talk FutureProofHR
  • Strategy
    Leadership Csuite StrategicHR EmployeeRelations BigInterview
  • Recruitment
    Employer Branding Appointments Permanent Hiring Recruitment
  • Performance
    Skilling PerformanceMgmt Compensation Benefits L&D Employee Engagement
  • Culture
    Culture Life@Work Diversity Watercooler SheMatters
  • Tech
    Technology HR Technology Funding & Investment Startups Metaverse
'Hard work': CFOs can't escape manual processes with C-Suite too: Survey

Story • 15th Apr 2022 • 2 Min Read

'Hard work': CFOs can't escape manual processes with C-Suite too: Survey

Employee Engagement

Author: Mamta Sharma Mamta Sharma
6.3K Reads
CFOs spend most of their time chasing down data and fixing errors, leading to dissatisfaction with performance and harming their overall quality of life. This constant frustration is creating a detrimental personal impact while preventing businesses from harnessing much-needed talent within the CFOs office, reveals a new survey by DataRails.

As many as 8 in 10 (81%) chief financial officers (CFOs) believe they suffer most from the intensive manual work compared to any other role in the C-Suite on a day-to-day basis. This is severely reducing the time they are spending with family and friends and fuelling boredom and stress at work, a new survey reveals.

Much of the manual pain involves tracking multiple report versions, correcting errors, and chasing data, reveals the survey by DataRails, the financial planning, and analysis solution for Excel users. 

Consequently, nearly half, or 48% of CFOs say manual processes reduce their time spent with family and friends, while 47% find this work impairs their ability to participate in strategic decision-making. Some 37% were ultimately dissatisfied with their overall output as CFO, and nearly one-third (31%) confessed that constant spreadsheet jockeying left them bored.

The survey of 200 CFOs from the US and the UK at businesses of up to 500 employees finds that 41% of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes are manual, translating to 10 hours a week of skilled finance talent spent on spreadsheet work ‒ including many hours of work for the CFOs themselves. This manual routine relates to core FP&A reports including budgets, P&Ls, balance sheets, and month-end reporting. In particular, 41% of CFOs say the regular identification and correction of errors represents the biggest manual challenge.

Excel reigns supreme for 70% of CFOs

The study also finds that 70% of CFOs rely on Excel for financial budgeting and forecasting. Despite the dominance of Excel as their operating system, only 18% of CFOs consider themselves Excel experts, while just 30% call their skills “advanced.”

This is further preventing efficient results in the CFO’s office with many CFOs lacking the advanced skills to work efficiently, the report finds.

More tech, forecasting, and hiring in response to Covid-19

The implementation of new technology has been undertaken by one third (33%) of CFOs representing the biggest CFO response to the Covid-19 pandemic, says the report. In addition, one-fifth of CFOs increased the cadence of their forecasting as well as their employee headcount. In contrast, only 12% of CFOs were forced to let workers go from the finance team as a direct result of the pandemic.

“While CFOs have emerged as a catalyst for change particularly since Covid-19, the reality is that daily processes are preventing finance leaders from achieving their maximum impact. In particular, fixing errors and chasing down data is ever present, leading to dissatisfaction with performance and harming CFOs’ overall quality of life. This constant frustration is creating a detrimental personal impact while preventing businesses from harnessing much-needed talent within the CFOs office,” says Didi Gurfinkel, co-founder and CEO of DataRails.

Read More

Did you find this article helpful?


You Might Also Like

Creating a culture of workplace civility

STORY • 23rd Apr 2025 • 4 Min Read

Creating a culture of workplace civility

Employee Engagement#MentalHealth
Handling bereavement: HR’s role in the human duty

STORY • 2nd Apr 2025 • 3 Min Read

Handling bereavement: HR’s role in the human duty

Employee Engagement
Gen Z and Total Rewards: Preparing for the Future

STORY • 21st Mar 2025 • 6 Min Read

Gen Z and Total Rewards: Preparing for the Future

Employee RelationsEmployee EngagementTalent Management#RedefiningRewards#Future of Work#AdaptableHR
NEXT STORY: Get into the pulse of employees to analyse factors affecting productivity: Nikhil Arora

Trending Stories

  • design-thinking-hr

    Skype is dead: Did Microsoft's leadership let a billion-doll...

  • design-thinking-hr

    From copy-paste to creative spark: mastering generative AI i...

  • design-thinking-hr

    Keeping the C-suite in the C-suite - how do we reduce execut...

  • design-thinking-hr

    Return to office: the legalities

People Matters Logo

Follow us:

Join our mailing list:

By clicking “Subscribe” button above, you are accepting our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Company:

  • About Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Become a sponsor
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Contact:

  • Contact Us
  • Feedback
  • Write For Us

© Copyright People Matters Media Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Get the latest Articles, Insight, News & Trends from the world of Talent & Work. Subscribe now!
People Matters Logo

Welcome Back!

or

Enter your registered email address to login

Not a user yet? Lets get you signed up!

A 5 digit OTP has been sent to your email address.

This is so we know it's you. Haven't received it yet? Resend the email or then change your email ID.

People Matters Logo

Welcome! Let's get you signed up...

Starting with the absolulte basics.

Already a user? Go ahead and login!

A 5 digit OTP has been sent to your email address.

This is so we know it's you. Haven't received it yet? Resend the email or then change your email ID.

Let's get to know you better

We'll never share your details with anyone, pinky swear.

And lastly...

Your official designation and company name.