Smarter, faster, stronger: Why finance teams are embracing automation

Finance teams are being asked to do more than ever. Close the books faster, maintain compliance and deliver real-time insights that drive business decisions. But legacy systems and manual processes make it hard to keep up. They slow operations, introduce risk and limit Finance's ability to play a strategic role in the business.

That's why more companies are turning to finance automation. By eliminating inefficiencies, organizations are accelerating the financial close, ensuring data integrity and creating more resilient finance operations. But automation isn't just about working faster — it's about transforming finance into a smarter, more agile function that can scale with the business.

Let's explore why automation adoption is accelerating outcomes, how finance leaders are overcoming key challenges and what's driving real-world success.

Finance automation is gaining momentum 🚀

Organizations across industries are fundamentally reshaping their finance functions with automation.

Across industries, organizations are seeing measurable impact:

• Energy Transfer reclaimed 45,000 hours annually by automating journal entries and reconciliations, allowing its finance team to focus on analysis instead of manual data processing.
• FORVIA streamlined journal entries, eliminating silos across international finance teams.
• Jabil reclaimed 240,000 hours annually by automating its financial close process.

These organizations aren't just improving efficiency but building a more agile, resilient finance function.

💡 Explore real-world success stories and learn how automation can elevate your finance operations.

What's driving finance leaders to act now 📈

Finance leaders recognize that automation is essential. Antiquated accounting tools and manual processes significantly limit finance teams, especially during high-stress periods like tax season. At the same time, finance faces a growing talent shortage, intensifying the need to automate to sustain productivity and retain critical skills.

Caitlin Steel, MBA, CPA , former CFO and now VP of Product Management for Finance Automation at Redwood Software , emphasizes that accounting's technology challenges go deeper than many realize, making automation an urgent priority.

💡 Learn why 81% of finance leaders consider automation critical for their R2R processes in this exclusive report.

Overcoming real-world R2R challenges with automation 🏆

The record-to-report (R2R) process is critical yet complex, often hindered by inefficiencies and compliance challenges due to reliance on manual workflows and disconnected systems.

Automation offers an effective solution by streamlining reconciliations, journal entries and compliance processes. Organizations that automate R2R significantly reduce close times, increase accuracy and empower finance teams to focus on strategic insights.

💡 See how leading companies are solving real-world R2R challenges through automation and how your team can do the same.

Scaling automation for long-term success 📊

To realize the full benefits of finance automation, organizations must implement it strategically — beyond isolated tasks. The greatest impacts occur when automation aligns with overall business strategy, has strong executive sponsorship and integrates seamlessly across finance functions.

Yet, only 33% of organizations have strong executive sponsorship for automation initiatives. Without leadership support, automation efforts often remain fragmented, limiting their overall impact. Integration is equally critical. When automation is implemented holistically, the results are more significant, measurable and sustainable.

For finance teams ready to scale automation effectively, SSON Research & Analytics recently published an R2R Automation Playbook that provides a clear roadmap. It offers practical guidance on aligning leadership, streamlining system integration and ensuring automation delivers long-term value.

💡 Discover how your finance team can use automation to future-proof and achieve measurable results in the exclusive research report.

The time for finance automation is now⚡

As finance continues to evolve, automation becomes essential for maintaining a competitive edge and strategizing. Companies investing in automation today set themselves up to drive efficiency, maintain compliance and deliver significant strategic value across their organization.

As finance continues to evolve, automation becomes essential — not only for competitiveness but also for strategic financial management. Organizations acting now will lead their industries, while those delaying risk falling behind.

👉 Learn how Finance Automation by Redwood can empower your team to automate confidently.