When it comes to cashflow visibility, under 4% of the 1,483 business leaders and finance and accounting executives from different countries report complete confidence, said BlackLine recently.
This suggests that many global organisations could make decisions without an accurate, up-to-date view of company liquidity, the firm pointed out.
This comes despite findings that suggest that visibility over cash flow and other financial metrics could be the key to businesses weathering the growing global economic storm, the firm added.
Among respondents from Singapore, 57% indicate that they are concerned that prospects or customers will have less income to spend, which could impact sales/ revenue, according to survey results.
In addition, 51% are worried that their organisation will face higher costs, while 48% are worried that they will need to look for new ways to optimise working capital without borrowing funds, BlackLine observed.
Singapore: survey highlights
- 61% of Singapore respondents agree that cashflow visibility in real time is going to become more important for their company in the face of economic uncertainty.
- But nearly all respondents (96%) said they could be more confident in cashflow visibility they currently have over cash flow.
- Of those who believe cashflow visibility could be improved, 56% are worried their company is making decisions based on inaccurate or out-of-date information and 50% say the lack of visibility over cash flow makes them less confident that their organisation can remain competitive over the next 12 months.
- With external pressures that are hard to predict, real-time visibility over financial data, processes and working capital will be key to survival, leading to greater pressure on CFOs and those who report into them, according to the research.
- 54% of C-suite and finance and accounting professionals predict that their companies’ financial reporting will come under increased scrutiny over the next year.
- Half of these respondents (50%) believe that financing will be harder to secure, and a similar number (55%) expect the ability to view their companies’ financial data in real time will be a “must-have” for business survival over the next 12 months.
- Against this backdrop, over two-thirds of (68%) CFOs in Singapore said that they were responsible for ensuring their company’s wellbeing during an economic downturn, compared to less than a third (30%) who said that this was the responsibility of their CEO.
The biggest pain points
When asked about the biggest current pain points in finance and accounting, identifying manual/human errors during the month-end close process was a pressing issue for more than a third (37%) of Singapore respondents, BlackLine said.
Similarly, 37% said they faced overdue and unsettled intercompany balances, while 36% said they do not have enough automated controls for the volume of data, the firm noted.
According to survey results, C-suite and finance and accounting respondents see that the three biggest challenges facing them in the coming year are:
- Reduced budget for their department
- Increasing regulations and scrutiny
- Being able to provide accurate data quickly enough to help the organisation respond to market changes
Looking internally to optimise working capital and processes
As financial pressure keeps increasing, responses collected from the survey suggest that organisations now need to look internally for ways to optimise working capital and processes, according to BlackLine.
While 51% of Singapore respondents said that they will invest more in digital transformation initiatives, 49% want to implement or scale automation solutions to help optimise and increase working capital within the next year, the firm added.
