European finance teams boost automation to tackle compliance

New research across Europe has found that finance teams are turning to automation as they seek to address regulatory and compliance pressures.

A survey of 1,000 senior finance leaders in the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands found that 81% of European finance teams increased their automation usage over the past year, with around a third reporting significant growth in this area.

The research, commissioned by Equals Money, highlights how growing operational pressures are leading finance departments to move beyond traditional number-crunching and take on a more strategic business role.

According to the survey results, 31% of European finance teams identify compliance and regulatory complexity as their most significant operational inefficiency, signalling a widespread sense that manual processes are no longer sufficient to handle increasing requirements in these areas.

Automation is being employed not only for efficiency gains but also as a key tool to improve compliance procedures and reduce risk. Of those surveyed, 72% believe that automation helps reduce fraud and errors, while 37% say it significantly enhances both accuracy and fraud prevention measures.

A range of automated tools are being utilised to address operational weaknesses. Respondents noted that solutions capable of detecting duplicate payments (37%), eliminating manual input (36%), and flagging unusual activity in real-time (35%) are now viewed as essential safeguards within finance operations.

"Finance teams aren't just crunching numbers anymore – they're defending the business. Automation gives them the clarity and control to do that faster and smarter. It's gone from being a cost-saving tool to a critical line of defence and a catalyst for growth," Matthijs Boon, Chief Operations Officer at Equals Money, said.

The report found that, beyond compliance and error reduction, automation is also allowing finance teams to take on a more strategic role within their organisations. Time saving remains a primary advantage, with 49% of respondents listing it as the top benefit of automation within their finance functions. Nearly all adopters (99%) who have introduced automation into their operations say it has enabled their teams to spend more time on high-value, strategic work.

Over the last year, 50% of businesses have automated their billing and payroll processes, 45% have incorporated subscription automation, and 40% are now using digital wallets as part of their financial management strategies.

Finance leaders are also considering future investments in more sophisticated and interconnected systems. Priorities identified include APIs for embedded finance (36%), AI-powered credit decisioning tools (35%), cash flow forecasting (35%), spend management platforms (34%), and cross-border payment automation (33%).

To support businesses in identifying inefficiencies caused by outdated manual financial processes, Equals Money has developed an Efficiency Calculator. The online tool aims to provide companies with estimates of time and money that could be saved by automating finance tasks.

The Censuswide survey, commissioned for this research, was conducted in mid-2025 and involved senior financial decision-makers from businesses across four European countries.