Survey Highlights Financial Industry Reliance on Manual Processes, Urges Modernization in 2025

PayEm released a new survey today that underscores the financial industry’s lag in adopting modern technologies.

The findings reveal that 86% of financial professionals still rely on Excel for budgeting and forecasting, while 75% rely on manual reviews and approvals instead of leveraging AI or automated solutions. These insights highlight a pressing need to modernize spend management and financial operations in 2025.

“Comparing the rate of technological adoption in other industries and seeing the discrepancy in the financial industry is uncovering a tremendous opportunity for growth and expansion in the financial sector,” said Itamar Jobani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PayEm. “The industry will benefit tremendously from AI and automation since the technology provides efficiency and transparency across businesses that is just not possible without them.”

Survey Overview and Key Findings

PayEm’s survey included 270 finance professionals from diverse roles, industries, and organizational sizes, ranging from accounting managers to CFOs. Participants represented 25 industries, including banking, healthcare, and manufacturing, with organizations ranging from small businesses to large enterprises.

Key challenges identified in the survey include:

• Manual and inefficient processes: Cited by 55% of respondents as a significant hurdle in managing spend.
• Budgetary challenges: 35% of respondents highlighted issues such as breaking budgets or poor budget performance.

The reliance on outdated tools, such as Excel, exacerbates these challenges by limiting access to real-time insights and making it difficult to track expenditures accurately, enforce budgets, and make informed financial decisions.

This lack of transparency can result in overspending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities for cost optimization.

Barriers to Technology Adoption

The survey also highlighted critical factors influencing the adoption of new technologies:

• Cost effectiveness: 80% of executives cited cost as the most important factor when considering the implementation of new technologies.
• Ease of integration: 78% of respondents emphasized the need for seamless integration with existing systems.

“Many organizations hesitate to adopt new solutions, fearing substantial initial investments and intricate integration processes,” said Jobani. “However, these challenges are often overstated, especially with the availability of scalable, subscription-based SaaS solutions.”

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