The majority (95%) of UK senior finance leaders in retail have reported missed growth opportunities over the past year because employees lack direct access to their own budgets, according to new data from the spend management provider, Soldo.
Despite 77% of senior finance leaders saying they’d trust employees with company funds, many are still hesitant to grant direct access, resulting in a productivity bottleneck. One of the primary reasons for this is a perceived lack of employee understanding around finance policies (43%), resulting in nearly three quarters (72%) admitting to bending the rules to gain access to company funds.
Impact on business growth
The research, conducted amongst employees and finance leaders in retail, highlights the critical impact that restricting budget access can have on hindering growth potential:
- Missed revenue opportunities: Of the 95% of senior finance leaders that reported missed opportunities in the past 12 months, many note substantial financial consequences, including financial losses (37%), loss of existing customers (42%), and delayed product or service launches (47%).
- Project delays and frustration: Nearly half of employees (45%) say interactions with finance have slowed projects, with 34% pointing to slow response times from finance, and 22% noting a focus on cost-cutting at the expense of growth.
- High administrative burden: Half of finance leaders spend six or more hours a week managing admin related to decentralised spending, with 55% admitting that adjusting budgets as business priorities shift remains a significant challenge.
Meanwhile, 80% of finance leaders report that overly complex financial processes slow down or prevent them helping employees in the pursuit of new business opportunities once a month or more. They additionally revealed that finance teams are frequently facing surprises at month-end (40%), which pull focus from growth strategies.
In retail, speed and agility are everything, whether it’s restocking inventory, launching promotions or adapting to shifting consumer demand. But when employees can’t access the budgets they need, operations stall, innovation slows and ultimately, growth suffers. Particularly when there are multiple stores to manage and dealing with a high variation in seasonal spending, having greater flexibility of company finances enables retailers to adapt to shifting demands and streamline expense tracking.
By empowering employees with responsible budget access and equipping finance teams with smarter tools to manage decentralised spending, retailers can navigate financial complexity more effectively, reduce inefficiencies and drive sustainable growth.
– Brandon Till, Head of Business Solutions, Soldo
A path forward – productivity boost with budget access
Empowering employees by improving their access to company funds could reshape retail business growth strategies through increased productivity. According to employees and finance leaders, primary benefits included:
When company spend is decentralised – i.e. not funnelled through a centralised procurement process – finance teams lack timely and real-time visibility into what spending has occurred and must deal with increased administrative burdens for the entire finance team at month-end, as well as a higher risk of overspending or financial surprises.
In retail, controlling costs, increasing productivity and sustaining growth aren’t just important, they’re critical survival factors in what is a very competitive market. With unpredictable consumer demand and tight margins, retailers need to be able to make quick decisions and can’t afford financial bottlenecks. A progressive approach to spend governance allows them to spot inefficiencies, eliminate waste and accomplish more.
– Brandon Till, Head of Business Solutions, Soldo
