New research reveals that 60% of finance professionals feel undervalued by their organisation, with over half (53%) saying they don’t get the same respect as colleagues working in other disciplines.
The research – conducted by webexpenses with 500 finance professionals from across the UK – also found that 60% of finance professionals who feel undervalued believe that their work often gets forgotten about as they are seen as ‘behind the scenes’ support. What’s more, over half (53%) feel that they are rarely seen as a strategic part of the business and 51% believe that people don’t realise the influence their work has on an organisation.
Revealing the gripes of financial professionals, the research found that their biggest annoyance – reported by 28% of those surveyed – is having to deal with finance problems that could have been avoided by following common sense or company protocol. This is closely followed by staff putting finance tasks at the bottom of their list of priorities (27%).
Processing expense claims can be another source of grievance, with over one in five (23%) of those surveyed reporting that their biggest expense annoyances are people not providing receipts or the right information on expense claims.
The research shows that placing more value on finance professionals and giving them more freedom could reap rewards for businesses, as 76% of those surveyed said they think they could save their company money if they were given more autonomy over company finances. Of these people, 40% believe they could save over £10,000 a year.
Michael Richards, Chairman of webexpenses, said:
“It’s clear from our research that many of the UK’s finance professionals feel undervalued and are often frustrated by certain aspects of their job. Too many businesses still view finance as a function. They are missing out on the benefits that could be reaped if finance professionals are given the time, autonomy and respect that will enable them to play a more strategic role.
“One of the ways to solve this problem is by allowing finance teams to invest in technologies that will free up their time and give staff more responsibility for handling tasks that they can do themselves. This is one of the principles behind webexpenses – our software reduces the time burden on finance teams when it comes to processing expense claims, giving them more capacity to add value to their organisation in other areas. In addition to this saving in time, webexpenses drives adherence to policy, which can save up to 20% on the cost of travel & entertainment.”
Despite the issues many finance professionals face, the survey highlighted some of the things they love about their job. Coming top of the list was interaction with people from different departments (reported by 49%) and solving complex financial problems for colleagues (47%). 45% said they enjoy seeing the tangible business results their role can bring about.
For more information about webexpenses and how it can save businesses time and money visit: www.webexpenses.com
