New research reveals that nearly all financial leaders (90 per cent) in the UK have been impacted by economic uncertainty in 2024, with over two-thirds (70 per cent) choosing to delay or cancel planned investments as they await clarity from the upcoming Autumn Budget.
The research, commissioned by payments solutions provider Equals Money, which surveyed 400 UK financial decision makers, highlighted a clear focus on increasing investment in technology, with 63 per cent of businesses prioritising this area in 2024.
As firms look to keep a closer eye on their spending and cut down unnecessary costs, many have quickly decided to reduce spending on work social events, or just keep them at the same level (63 per cent).
Looking ahead to 2025, employee wellbeing and benefits (14 per cent) and ESG initiatives (14 per cent) were among the lowest priorities for business investment. In fact, ESG initiatives ranked lowest in priority for businesses in finance and insurance (11 per cent), business administration services (11 per cent), technology (10 per cent) and hospitality (six per cent).
Meanwhile, the manufacturing (11 per cent) technology (10 per cent), construction (eight per cent) and hospitality (six per cent) sectors also ranked employee well-being and benefits as the lowest in priority.
Equals Money also revealed the top five priorities for managing business expenses in 2025:
- Improving operational efficiency (26 per cent)
- Controlling costs (25 per cent)
- Leveraging AI (22 per cent)
- Investing in technology and innovation (22 per cent)
- Managing cashflow (21 per cent)
Budget uncertainty disrupting business plans
Steve Paul, deputy CFO at Equals Money, commented: “Managing business spend is complex at the best of times, but when you throw in a new Government and an uncertain market, it only heightens the challenge. However, market uncertainty doesn’t have to prevent businesses from growing. With the right tools in place, such as currency hedging and clear budget oversight, financial leaders can still make smart and safe investments. The research, however, highlights that too few companies are utilising the data available to them to help in this decision-making.”
Despite the fact that data and financial insight are considered either critical for all decisions (30 per cent) or used regularly in company decision-making (58 per cent), only 45 per cent currently use budgeting and forecasting software, and 26 per cent still rely on manual tracking methods.
However, there is a clear shift on the horizon, with 81 per cent of companies planning to either adopt new or upgrade existing financial tools or software to better manage business spending and improve financial visibility.
Steve Paul concluded: “Financial tools don’t just help your accountancy department, they can add value across the entire business. While holding back spending for employee wellbeing or ESG initiatives might offer short-term cash-flow relief, these investments are often key to longer-term goals. By sorting back-office functions and providing better budget clarity, financial leaders can offer more strategic consultancy across company-wide investment decisions.”
