Lack of visibility over legal entities is holding back finance decision-makers

Research reveals just one in 10 UK finance decision-makers (10%) has full visibility of spend across the legal entities of their business leaving the vast majority struggling to see the bigger picture.

The independent research undertaken by award-winning accounting software provider, iplicit, has shown there is a real need for improved visibility – with 42% of UK finance decision-makers saying they would like to have a better sight of spending across their business’ legal entities.

Paul Sparkes, Commercial Director at iplicit, commented on the results, “Ensuring finance decision-makers have real-time visibility of spend across their business’ legal entities empowers them to exercise proper financial oversight, manage risks, allocate resources efficiently, and make informed strategic decisions. What’s more, is that it is a key driver for commercial success.”

As finance teams become increasingly commercially driven, financial visibility is the key component to ensuring the right planning is put in place, risks are factored in and the most appropriate day-to-day decisions are made. It enhances financial control, transparency, and accountability – all are essential for long-term business success and sustainability.”

iplicit’s independent research looked at the perceived barriers to changing accounting software, the experience of changing accounting systems, as well as the current processes and future priorities of 1,000 UK-based finance professionals who use financial accounting software as part of their daily job function.

iplicit customer, Nardiner Uppal, Finance Director of The Recruitment Group, said, “As a complex business, if we had an intercompany transaction, sometimes our accountants would do one side of the transaction and forget to do the other.

And when we were doing a month-end reconciliation, everyone would be scratching their heads. It wasn’t easy to see profit and loss by cost centre, division or department.”

Uppal continued, “The ability to run consolidated accounts at the touch of a button turns a previously daunting task, where normally a lot of data extraction and manipulation is required, into something very straightforward.”

Sparkes adds, “A lack of rapid insight into a business’s financial performance is not only hugely frustrating, but it creates a significant risk which is not something any business should tolerate. I question whether UK finance decision-makers are being held back by their accounting and finance systems and processes.”

In a challenging global economy, businesses need to be more agile and reduce operational risk. Modern, cloud-first systems offer an array of features to deliver those goals and avoid expensive surprises.

Earlier results released from the research revealed that two-thirds of UK finance decision-makers (66%) would be willing to switch accounting software providers in 2023 if they can achieve a return on investment in under 12 months.

“For the vast majority of UK businesses, current accounting software is failing to support their day-to-day operation. Is it any wonder, therefore, that two-thirds of UK finance decision makers would be willing to switch accounting software providers in 2023 if they can achieve a return on investment in under 12 months?” concluded Sparkes.

You can view the full results of the independent market research in the report titled: ‘A study into how to overcome the barriers of moving to a true cloud accounting system’.

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