The writing’s on the wall. Finance teams that don’t modernise now will be left behind by 2026. Ok, well everyone else writes these kind of sensational open liners…
The best CFOs/ FDs aren’t just keeping the lights on anymore, they’re becoming strategic powerhouses that drive growth. But getting there requires a complete rethink of what finance actually does. For me, my daily finance interactions are full of innovation, waaaay less starch and waaay more forward thinking.
Here’s the reality: whilst most finance leaders talk a good game about automation, the execution is patchy at best. The gap between ambition and reality is costing businesses millions in efficiency gains.
What’s Actually Working
The standout performers are getting four things right:
1. Proper automation (not just spreadsheet shuffling)
Stop pretending Excel is a strategy. The top teams have automated their low-value grunt work and redirected talent toward analysis that actually matters.
Invoice processing, bank reconciliations, expense approvals—these shouldn’t require human brainpower in 2025. Yet many UK businesses still rely heavily on spreadsheets for core processes that could be automated. At Hark, we’ve changed our tooling to counter these, each change has felt like a level up. The most notable – nobody whinges about submitting expenses, submission and approval is pretty seamless.
The principle is clear: finance professionals should spend minimal time shuffling data and maximum time on analysis that drives business decisions.
Start small.
Pick three repetitive tasks.
Automate them.
Measure the time saved.
Use those wins to fund bigger automation projects.
2. Tech and AI that actually does something useful
Forget the hype, AI adoption in finance is accelerating because it delivers tangible results. The smart money is on tools that can handle complex rule-based decisions, not just fancy dashboards.
The best use cases right now in my opinion:
- Expense policy enforcement (catching unusual claims before they hit the books)
- Invoice matching and anomaly detection
- Month-end close acceleration
- Cash flow forecasting with real scenario planning
Reducing month-end close from 12 days to 4 using AI-powered reconciliation tools is a great target to aim for. The ROI would be evident within the first quarter.
3. Talent strategy that acknowledges reality
The talent shortage is real. Finding quality accounting and finance professionals has become increasingly challenging, and experienced finance professionals are harder to find than hen’s teeth. Plus, if you’re a start up, there are few things more odd than chalk meeting cheese (or an agile move fast and break things personality meeting a glacier in a suit). Perhaps an over use of journalistic license there?
The solution isn’t just paying more—it’s making your finance function more attractive to strategic thinkers. That means embracing technology, offering genuine development opportunities, and outsourcing the mundane stuff.
Progressive finance teams are partnering with specialist providers for routine work whilst building internal capabilities around data analysis, business partnering, and strategic planning.
4. Cost control with actual bite
Cost optimisation remains critical, especially with economic uncertainty and potential policy changes affecting UK businesses. But it’s evolved beyond basic expense cutting.
The sophisticated approach involves:
- Real-time spend monitoring with automated alerts
- Software licence optimisation (most businesses waste 30% of their SaaS spend)
- Vendor consolidation and payment term improvements
- Proactive cash flow management
Save thousands annually just by auditing software subscriptions and consolidating vendors. The finance team now reviews spend patterns monthly rather than annually.
The Four-Week Action Plan
Week 1: Audit your current state
- List every manual process that takes more than 30 minutes weekly
- Review your software stack for overlaps and unused licences
- Survey your team on their biggest time-wasters
Week 2: Pick your first automation target
- Choose one high-volume, low-complexity process
- Research three potential solutions
- Set up a pilot with clear success metrics
Week 3: Plan your talent strategy
- Identify which roles actually need human expertise
- Map development paths for existing team members
- Consider outsourcing options for routine work
Week 4: Implement cost monitoring
- Set up real-time spend tracking for major categories
- Schedule quarterly vendor reviews
- Create approval workflows for new expenditure
The Bottom Line
The finance teams winning today aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that have fundamentally reimagined their role.
They’ve moved from scorekeeping to strategic partnership.
From manual processing to intelligent automation.
From reactive cost-cutting to proactive business optimisation.
The technology exists. The business case is clear. The only question is whether you’ll lead the change or get dragged along by it.
Looking for help modernising your finance function? Get in touch for a no-obligation assessment of your current processes and technology stack.
