UK CFOs say manual spend management lags modernisation

Research published by Corpay shows that 83% of UK chief financial officers say spend management in their organisations is more manual than it should be. It also found that 84% believe their businesses have been too slow to modernise payments.

The findings are based on a survey of 300 CFOs at companies with turnover above £20 million across sectors including retail, wholesale, manufacturing and IT.

The results point to a broad gap between finance leaders' stated priorities and the systems many businesses still use for supplier payments, expenses and invoice administration. While respondents see automated and card-led payment methods as strategically important, many also reported continued reliance on manual or partly manual processes.

That reliance appears to come with a notable labour cost. Some 86% of CFOs said finance staff spend more than six hours a week each on expense, invoice and supplier payment administration, while more than a quarter put the total at between 11 and 15 hours.

Finance leaders said they would use reclaimed time for higher-value work rather than cuts. The three most common responses for how they would use between 25% and 50% of recovered finance time were business partnering, cash flow forecasting and strategic planning.

Competitive pressure

The survey suggests the concern extends beyond efficiency. Some 91% of CFOs said they worry competitors are ahead in adopting automated, card-led payment processes, while 81% view card-led payments as a competitive advantage.

These responses place payment systems closer to mainstream finance strategy than back-office administration. Improving working capital management, strengthening spend controls and increasing real-time visibility were the top priorities cited for the year ahead.

Working capital featured strongly throughout the results. Almost all respondents (99%) said that additional working capital flexibility would be at least somewhat valuable to their organisations.

The findings come as finance teams face pressure to tighten control over outgoings while improving visibility across supplier and employee spending. For larger businesses in particular, there has been increased scrutiny of whether fragmented payment and expense processes are limiting oversight.

Piero Macari, Vice President of Product, Corporate Payments, at Corpay, said payment automation is now a strategic priority, with card-led payments offering a practical path to modernise spend management and improve control.

"The message from UK CFOs is clear. Payment automation is increasingly being viewed as a strategic priority. When so many finance leaders believe competitors are ahead, we can see that there are a competitive few that are setting the pace. Many view card-led payments as one of the most practical ways to begin modernising spend management, improving how spend is controlled and analysed. This reflects the growing importance of more automated and integrated payment infrastructure," said Macari.

The survey reflects growing attention among UK finance leaders on modernising spend and payment processes, as well as stronger interest in methods that can improve visibility over outgoing spend and give businesses greater flexibility in managing working capital.

The research was commissioned by Corpay, a corporate payments company listed in the S&P 500, and covered CFOs aged 25 and over at businesses with annual turnover above £20 million.

Macari also linked the results to the company's wider push into integrated payment tools. 

"We recently launched Corpay Complete to bring accounts payable, domestic and international payments, and corporate card spend into a single digital environment. By reducing reliance on manual processes, strengthening controls and delivering full visibility across transactions, it helps CFOs improve working capital management while lowering risk and administrative burden. For those looking to stay competitive, card-led payments with integrated and automated spend management is now fundamental to financial resilience and growth."