The Process Gap Costing Finance Valuable Hours

When Technology Should Replace Effort

I was working with a CFO at a Mid Market Company who spent 40 hours monthly getting the figures together and summarized for 3 statement reporting. The biggest problem was that there were a lot of instances where they needed to adjust EBITDA for their board members with specific addbacks coming from one-time expenses.

This led to the creation of a file that had about 100 tabs that pieced together the information needed for the 3 statements. This was because of the manual nature they were aggregating and formatting their financial data to be used in their final reporting.

At this stage in a business cycle, manually pulling together your financial data is counterproductive. It will throw you in the vicious cycle of constantly calculating and adjusting numbers all month long. 

Once I started working with them, we aligned with their 3rd party data provider to create a process where the financial data could be regularly delivered in a way that would let us effectively break out regular expenses from ones that need to be adjusted out of EBITDA.

We also made sure that these refreshes would be done with a push of a button in Excel instead of copying and repasting data into the file. We created a model with summaries that automatically updated based on the reporting date and built-in error checks to ensure alignment. 

The reporting process that once took 40 hours a month to complete now only takes about 2-3 hours when considering the time to update the model, critically review the results, and create slides to present to the board.

The Hidden Cost of Manual Processes

We don't fear long hours in finance. We fear spending them on tasks that technology should have eliminated years ago.

According to McKinsey, finance professionals spend more than 75% of their time on activities that could be automated. Yet PwC found that only 34% of finance teams have significantly digitized their processes.

Technology gaps show up in daily finance routines. Manual data extraction consumes countless hours. Teams generate identical reports with minor variations month after month.

Spreadsheet consolidations introduce errors that take more time to fix than prevent.

The real challenge isn't the hours we put in—it's spending those hours on meaningless tasks that shouldn't exist anymore. When we're manually reconciling accounts or rebuilding the same reports repeatedly, we're not demonstrating dedication—we're accepting inefficiency.

Three Steps to Close the Technology Gap

First, audit how your finance team actually spends their time. Document where the hours go, especially for predictable recurring tasks. Measure time spent on data manipulation versus analysis. This assessment typically reveals that 60-70% of finance time goes to activities with little strategic value.

Second, target your highest-impact automation opportunities. Focus on tasks that consume significant time with minimal variability. Prioritize connections between systems that generate manual work. EY reports that companies with high levels of finance automation spend 20% more time on decision support than their peers.

Third, implement solutions iteratively. Begin with tactical automation that delivers immediate time savings. Standardize data structures before implementing new tools. Accenture research shows companies with advanced finance automation report 43% fewer errors and 40% faster closing processes.

Implementation Guidance

Start by selecting one critical process involving many manual touches, following consistent patterns, requiring significant time, and having low data complexity. Most organizations find that connecting data sources delivers the fastest return on investment.

The key is starting with clear, measurable objectives tied to specific processes rather than ambitious transformation projects. Focus on eliminating the most obvious inefficiencies before tackling more complex challenges.

Expected Outcomes

Finance teams that effectively close technology gaps see dramatic improvements. Time spent on routine data manipulation typically falls by half. Month-end close accelerates by 25-35%, with 50-70% fewer errors in reporting.

Most importantly, teams gain 2-3 times more availability for strategic business support. The difference between high-performing finance teams and the rest isn't about willingness to work long hours—it's ensuring those hours drive decisions, not manual processes.

Take Action Today

Track actual time spent on key processes for two weeks. Identify your three most time-consuming manual activities. Research targeted automation solutions and calculate the ROI based on recovered hours.

About the Author

Austin Camacho helps finance leaders at mid-market companies eliminate technology gaps that waste valuable time and prevent finance teams from delivering their full strategic value.