INSIGHT

10 signs your finance function is holding you back 

Thomas White • October 9, 2025

Services: Finance Transformation

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Your finance function should drive growth, not obstruct it. When basic financial tasks become bottlenecks and your team struggles to deliver timely insights, the problem often lies within outdated systems and processes rather than talent or effort. 

You likely recognize these frustrations: month-end closes stretch well into the following period, financial reports arrive too late to influence decisions, data accuracy becomes questionable, and strategic planning feels more like educated guessing. These issues waste time and limit your organization’s ability to respond to opportunities and threats. 

Is it time to modernize your finance function? 10 signs to watch for 

Modern businesses need finance functions that accelerate decision-making, provide real-time visibility, and support rapid growth. When your finance operations fall short of these standards, they become a competitive disadvantage rather than a strategic asset. 

As Thomas White, BPM’s Finance Transformation Practice Leader, puts it: “A finance function that’s holding you back isn’t just a finance problem—it’s holding back your entire organization.” 

This article examines ten clear indicators that your finance function needs transformation and what you can do to address them. 

1. Month-end takes too long 

If your month-end process consistently extends beyond the first week of the following month, your finance function lacks the efficiency modern businesses require. Extended closing periods delay critical reporting, frustrate stakeholders, and prevent timely course corrections. 

Leading organizations complete their month-end close within three business days. They achieve this through automated reconciliations, standardized processes, and integrated systems that eliminate manual data manipulation. 

2. Financial reporting lacks timeliness 

When management requests financial updates and receives them days or weeks later, your organization operates on outdated information. This delay creates blind spots in decision-making and reduces your ability to respond to market changes. 

Real-time financial reporting has become standard practice for competitive businesses. Your finance function should deliver current performance data within hours, not days. 

3. Data accuracy remains questionable 

If stakeholders frequently question the accuracy of financial reports or discover discrepancies during reviews, your finance function has fundamental data integrity issues. Unreliable financial information undermines confidence and leads to poor strategic decisions. 

Organizations with strong finance functions maintain data accuracy rates above 95% through automated controls, validation procedures, and integrated systems that eliminate manual errors. 

4. Manual processes dominate workflows 

When your team spends significant time on manual data entry, spreadsheet updates, and repetitive tasks, they cannot focus on analysis and strategic support. Manual processes also introduce errors and create inefficiencies that scale poorly with business growth. 

Advanced finance functions automate routine tasks and redirect human talent toward value-added activities like forecasting, analysis, and strategic planning. 

5. Forecasting feels like guesswork 

If your financial forecasts frequently miss targets by significant margins or your team struggles to create reliable projections, your finance function lacks the tools and processes necessary for accurate planning. 

Effective forecasting combines historical data, market intelligence, and scenario modeling to produce reliable projections that guide strategic decisions and resource allocation. 

6. Compliance becomes crisis management 

When regulatory requirements or audit requests trigger panic and require extensive manual effort to fulfill, your finance function operates reactively rather than proactively. This approach increases compliance risks and consumes valuable resources. 

Strong finance functions maintain audit-ready documentation and comply with regulations through systematic processes rather than crisis responses. 

7. System integration remains fragmented 

If your financial data lives across multiple disconnected systems and requires manual consolidation, your finance function cannot provide the integrated view modern businesses need. Fragmented systems create data silos and limit analytical capabilities. 

Integrated finance platforms connect all relevant data sources and provide unified reporting that eliminates reconciliation headaches. 

8. Scalability challenges emerge with growth 

When business expansion creates disproportionate increases in finance workload or complexity, your finance function lacks the scalability to support organizational growth. This limitation can actually constrain business development. 

Scalable finance functions grow their capabilities in proportion to business needs without requiring linear increases in headcount or resources. 

9. Strategic input remains limited  

If leadership makes major decisions without meaningful input from finance, your finance function operates as a transactional service rather than a strategic partner. This limits the organization’s ability to make financially informed decisions. 

Strategic finance functions provide forward-looking analysis, scenario planning, and recommendations that influence business direction and resource allocation. 

10. Team satisfaction declines 

When finance team members express frustration with their tools, processes, or ability to contribute meaningfully to the business, your finance function faces retention risks and productivity challenges. Talented professionals want to add value, not just process transactions. 

High-performing finance functions engage their teams in strategic work that leverages their skills and provides career development opportunities. 

Transform your finance function with BPM  

These warning signs indicate opportunities for significant improvement in your finance operations. At BPM, our Finance Transformation Practice helps organizations move from operational finance centers to strategic business partners that drive growth and improve decision-making. We focus on process automation, digital integration, data-driven insights, and enhanced compliance to create finance functions that accelerate business value.  

Don’t let an outdated finance function limit your organization’s potential. To discuss how our finance transformation approach can eliminate these bottlenecks and position your finance team as a competitive advantage, contact us.