Forget about the hot seat – the CFO’s chair is on fire. From spreadsheet hell, to AI and automation woes, finance leaders have a lot to contend with. Here are some of their most common challenges, and how to fix them:

Too much time spent on manual reporting

The frustration: Endless spreadsheets, duplicated work, and version control nightmares. The administrative burden of accounting operations and manual, spreadsheet-heavy tasks can prevent CFOs from focusing on higher-level strategic initiatives. Integrating data and automating workflows are crucial to freeing up CFOs’ time for strategic work, but finding the time for this can be a challenge.

The fix: Invest in automated, real-time reporting tools that integrate with your financial systems, freeing up time for insight, not admin. Most EPM platforms integrate with existing data sources and automate consolidation, allowing reports to be generated in minutes, not days, with consistent, up-to-date figures. EPM also ensures data accuracy with built-in controls, audit trails, and automatic calculations, reducing the risk of errors and rework. With real-time data and dynamic dashboards, EPM gives finance teams instant visibility into current performance and future projections.

Disconnected data across departments

The frustration: Finance, HR, procurement, and operations all speaking different data languages. Disconnected systems across departments make visibility and alignment difficult.

The fix: Implement a single source of truth with integrated platforms and dashboards that align cross-functional data. EPM systems integrate data from multiple departments into one unified platform, eliminating silos and ensuring that everyone works from the same accurate, up-to-date information. Because EPM platforms are often cloud-based, different teams can access, update, and share data in real time, without passing around static spreadsheets or outdated files. When data is connected, leadership can see the full picture, not just isolated snapshots. EPM provides consolidated, visualised insights that support more strategic, informed decisions across the business.

Lack of real-time visibility

The frustration: Constantly making decisions with yesterday’s numbers. Traditional reporting methods often rely on historical snapshots pulled from spreadsheets or fragmented systems, leaving finance and leadership teams with lagging insight.

The fix: Use cloud-based tools that deliver live metrics and predictive analytics, so you’re always one step ahead. EPM platforms pull data from multiple sources into a single, connected system. This gives decision-makers live access to key financial and operational metrics without waiting for month-end closes or manual updates. With EPM, you get interactive dashboards that show live performance trends, variances, and KPIs. Many platforms include alert features, flagging anomalies or threshold breaches as they happen, so you can act fast. Beyond reporting, EPM allows you to run live forecasts and “what-if” scenarios, helping you see how today’s decisions might impact tomorrow’s outcomes — all using the most current data.

Pressure to do more with less

The frustration: Budget cuts, hiring freezes, and rising demands.

The fix: Shift focus from cost-cutting to value creation with smarter resource planning, digital tools, and automation. EPM eliminates the need for manual data collection, consolidation, and reporting, leaving more time for analysis and strategy, and less time spent on spreadsheets. EPM platforms streamline budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning, reducing turnaround times without needing to expand the team. With routine work automated and insights on demand, finance professionals can shift focus from reporting to forward-looking planning, business partnering, and performance advising.

Ever-changing regulatory landscape

The frustration: Keeping up with new laws, deadlines, and compliance demands.

The fix: Work with compliance experts and use regulation-ready platforms that update in real time and reduce audit risk. EPM solutions help CFOs stay ahead of the curve by turning compliance from a reactive burden into a proactive, strategic advantage. EPM platforms consolidate data from across the organisation, providing a single, trusted view of the numbers – essential for accurate and timely regulatory reporting. EPM automates the generation of reports aligned with local and international standards, and with built-in audit trails, version control, and documentation capabilities, EPM ensures compliance processes are fully traceable and defensible. EPM doesn’t just help with reporting. It links compliance data to broader business performance, enabling CFOs to embed regulatory alignment into strategic planning, turning compliance into a catalyst for sustainable growth.

Aligning finance with strategy

The frustration: Being expected to drive strategy while stuck in operational tasks.

The fix: Delegate routine tasks through automation and elevate your role with data-driven decision support and strategic storytelling. A good EPM solution will not only connect operational data to financial impact, it will allow you to model financial plans directly against strategic objectives such as growth targets, ESG commitments, or transformation outcomes. EPM empowers finance teams to run “what-if” scenarios that test the financial impact of strategic choices while dashboards and scorecards monitor progress toward strategic objectives using live data.

Talent shortages and retention

The frustration: Hard-to-find skills, high turnover, and rising expectations from finance teams.

The fix: Upskill your existing team with digital finance capabilities, and offer growth opportunities to retain top talent. EPM empowers lean teams to deliver more, with fewer hands, by automating routine tasks, improving productivity, and enhancing decision-making across the organisation.

Lack of clear KPIs

The frustration: Difficulty measuring what matters, and proving ROI.

The fix: Define finance-aligned KPIs that link directly to business performance, and visualise them in dashboards your board will understand. EPM helps organisations define KPIs that are directly linked to business goals. This ensures you’re measuring what really matters, not just what’s easiest to track. Through dashboards and scorecards, EPM makes KPIs visible and accessible to all relevant stakeholders, also making it easy to review and refine them as conditions change.

Transformation fatigue

The frustration: Every project feels like another uphill battle.

The fix: Prioritise quick wins, communicate the “why”, and partner with solution providers who offer real support, not just tech. While EPM software delivers powerful capabilities, the right EPM partner multiplies that value by bringing strategy, expertise, and implementation know-how. A strong EPM partner goes beyond technical configuration. They align the EPM solution with your organisation’s strategic goals, ensuring it supports real business outcomes, not just process automation.