Control Company Costs
Controlling business spend helps finance leaders to forecast with confidence
Finance leaders are stepping into a more strategic role as their insights now carry greater influence over investment decisions, cost management, and long-term growth planning. To lead effectively, they need immediate access to real-time spend data, clarity on where money is going, and the ability to connect expenditure with business outcomes. When expense, travel, and invoice data are connected and analysed holistically, they become powerful tools for strategic decision-making rather than administrative necessities.
Fabian Calle, managing director, small and medium business, SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand, said, “Organisations that integrate spend management into their wider financial strategy don’t just gain efficiency, they gain control. Finance leaders make faster and more informed decisions when they can see what’s being spent, where it’s going, and how it fits with company goals. That’s critical when change is constant.”
Automation is transforming how finance teams operate. According to SAP Concur, 76 per cent of travel and expense decision-makers said improving efficiency through automation is a priority. (1) Integrated tools that automatically capture receipts, categorise expenses, and streamline approvals help reduce manual work, minimise errors, and improve employee experience. Eighty per cent of businesses using both automated expense and accounts payable tools report improved compliance, and 70 per cent have reduced invoice processing costs. (2)
Automation also lays the foundation for stronger forecasting and greater resilience. With full visibility into current spend, finance leaders can model the impact of cost pressures such as tariffs, currency movements, and supplier changes on cash flow and budgets. In today’s unpredictable economic climate, real-time insights and adaptive forecasting tools are critical for managing uncertainty. Some finance leaders are even using digital twin technologies to test supply chain changes before implementing them. Nearly half (48 per cent) of CFOs are exploring ways to re-engineer supply chains in response to tariff-related disruptions. (3) Scenario-based modelling tools help finance teams simulate different outcomes and strengthen their ability to respond quickly and confidently to shifting conditions.
Fabian Calle said, “Finance teams can’t afford to be reactive. Forecasting used to be a once-a-quarter exercise based on last year’s numbers. Now, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool let organisations model multiple scenarios in real time. This helps them prepare for uncertainty and avoid last-minute decisions that could affect revenue or compliance.”
AI is accelerating the shift from reactive to predictive finance. AI-powered forecasting can model how factors such as inflation or tariffs might influence customer behaviour, supplier costs, and profit margins. This lets finance teams move from manual, bottom-up models to faster and more accurate top-down approaches.
Read the original article on Daily Business Media to learn more about AI-powered forecasting and other finance team activities.
References:
