Five places finance time disappears & five ways to take back control

Where finance time is really lost, and how to get it back

Finance teams are being asked to play a more significant role in the business.    In conversations that I have with CFOs and finance leaders one theme comes through again and again: finance is expected to forecast more accurately, manage risk, advise the business, support growth, and turn financial data into better business decisions. 

That is a positive shift. It reflects the growing strategic value of the finance function. But it also creates a very real tension.     Finance cannot become a value engine if too much of its time is still being absorbed by manual admin. That was one of the clearest themes from our recent CIMA webinar: finance leaders want to move from Cost Centre to Value Engine. But that shift depends on having enough time, visibility and control to focus on the work that really matters.     “The ambition for finance has changed. The question now is whether teams have the time, tools and visibility to deliver on that ambition.” 

Corpay research found that 86% of finance teams spend six or more hours per person, per week on administration across expenses, invoices and supplier payments¹. And 83% say spend management is still more manual than it should be¹.  

This is the Manual Tax in action. Not one major issue, but the cumulative cost of small, repetitive tasks that quietly absorb finance capacity every week. So where does that time go? 

Five places where time disappears in finance

1. Invoice handling  Manual checks, duplicate data, and chasing down missing information all add friction before finance teams can even move a transaction forward.  

2. Approval chasing  Time lost waiting for decisions, following up with budget holders and managing exceptions when spend falls outside agreed processes.  

3. Reconciliation  Matching spend, payments, invoices and records at month-end remains one of the most persistent drains on finance time.  

4. Exceptions and investigations  Off-policy spend, incorrect coding, mismatched data, and risky transactions all require extra checks, investigation, and rework.  

5. Supplier payment admin and visibility  Fragmented payments, supplier queries and limited visibility across spend make it harder for finance teams to understand what is happening, where money is going and where value may be leaking.  

The issue is not simply that these tasks take time. It is that they stop finance teams from using their time where it can have the greatest impact.     Every hour spent chasing approvals or reconciling fragmented spend is an hour not spent forecasting, planning, advising the business or supporting strategic decisions.  

Five ways to take control of finance

Reducing that workload does not require a large transformation programme. It can start by tackling those drains at their source. 

1. Capture spend earlier  The earlier spend enters a controlled workflow, the easier it is to manage. Capturing spend before it becomes admin, helps reduce manual intervention later.  

2. Apply controls before payment happens  Policy, limits and approval rules can help prevent avoidable exceptions, rather than leaving finance teams to find and fix issues afterwards.  

3. Automate repeatable tasks  Manual checking, routing and reconciliation all consume time. Automating repeatable work helps finance teams focus attention where human judgement adds more value. 

4. Surface answers faster  Finance teams should not have to dig through reports, dashboards or spreadsheets to find the information they need. AI-supported prompts can help surface spend, approval, and transaction insights more quickly. 

5. Connect spend, payments and visibility  When spend, payments and data are disconnected, finance loses time and confidence. Connecting those workflows gives teams a clearer view across suppliers, categories, individuals and transactions.  

Making time better spent 

At Corpay, this is the problem we are focused on helping finance teams solve: not transformation for its own sake, but practical improvements that reduce manual work, improve control, and make finance time more valuable. 

For teams already using Corpay, there is now an even easier way to get answers from their spend data. The Corpay AI Virtual Assistant is built into Corpay solutions, including Corporate and Virtual Cards. 

Using simple prompts, finance teams can ask questions about spend by supplier, category or individual; review and run approvals through the Virtual Assistant; identify bottlenecks; check for exceptions; and surface risky transactions more quickly, without digging through reports, dashboards or spreadsheets. 

For teams still exploring how to reduce manual finance work, it shows how connected tools can help turn everyday spend into clearer insight, faster approvals and better control. 

The real value is not just faster processing. It is what finance can do with the time back. 

More time to forecast.  More time to advise.  More time to challenge assumptions.  More time to support better strategic business decisions. 

That’s time well spent. Talk to Corpay to find out how we can help you gain time back. 

¹ Censuswide survey, February 2026, of 300 UK CFOs in businesses with £20m+ turnover.https://www.corpay.com/resources/whitepapers/the-card-first-approach-to-spend-modernisation 

‘Corpay' and 'Corpay Complete' are trading names of the Corpay Group of companies. Payment services provided by Allstar Business Solutions, Canberra House, Lydiard Fields, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 8UB, Registration Number 2631112 GB. Authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the (Register reference 1018326) for the provision of payment services. 

VP Product