Bottomline Technologies, a leading provider of financial technology that makes business payments simple, smart, and secure, today released the findings of a survey of more than 200 CFOs conducted with Industry Dive. The results are available in the report Data, Vision and Technology: CFOs Find A Recipe For Success. The report found chief financial officers are largely satisfied with their view across cash and liquidity but thirsty for improvement as they look to connect to new technologies and partners that can solve specific pain points.

The survey results are notable for four themes among the CFOs surveyed:

• View across cash is critical: Nine out of ten CFOs (90%) rate their companies’ current view across cash as either excellent or good. Four out of five CFOs say dynamic functions across cash are highly integrated within their businesses.
• The wish list: Despite reporting these high numbers, CFOs also list two main functional needs that drive their requirements in 2022 and beyond, the first being a continuous improvement on the integration they’ve been able to achieve. Second, 80% say they need better access to real-time payment data, analytics and insights. 
• Mind the gap: CFOs are also aware of the gaps they must fix to become fully transparent, connected business ecosystems. That’s why more than half of CFOs say they have plans to increase visibility in AP (74%), AR (68%) and treasury (51%). CFOs agree there are many advantages to a unified financial office versus working with siloed departments, including fostering collaboration among teams (49%) and streamlining operations and support (46%).
• Cloud priorities: There is also almost universal agreement among finance leaders that technology like SaaS and cloud-based options play an important role in strengthening the clarity of the whole cash picture at their companies, with 51% strongly agreeing and 45% agreeing.

Commenting on the report, Bottomline’s Global Head of Platform and Transformation, Colin Swain, said: “It’s really about that depth of integration and how they’re using that technology and why they think there’s strength in it as far as integration goes. Anecdotally, one client has suggested that CFOs are patchworking technology—taking different pieces of multiple tools—to get their best pictures. So, what emerges from the survey report is the question of just how well they are using technology and SaaS-based services to create the broadest, deepest view of cash flow and visibility.”

The full report is available for download here. Members of the media can request a copy of the full report from the communications team at [email protected].