Findings emphasize how payments digitization impacts cash flow, working capital, and balance sheets
Corcentric, a leading provider of business spend management and revenue management software and services, in conjunction with PYMNTS.com, a recognized global leader for data, news, and insights on innovation in payments and the platforms powering the connected economy, released today the results of a collaborative research survey of industry CFOs that reveals the critical impact of business payments digitization on balance sheet and fiscal well-being.
The report, titled Business Payments Digitization: A Path to A Better Balance Sheet, explores how CFOs are successfully leveraging payments digitization as part of their strategies for improving and maintaining overall balance sheet health.
This extensive survey, conducted in August and September, 2021, queried 400 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) at organizations generating between $400 million and $2 billion in annual revenue. Industries included retail trade, finance and insurance, industrial/manufacturing, healthcare/medical, and travel and transportation. The study explored how or whether firms have accelerated the use of digital payments since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020, and the ways in which that digitization has impacted their broader payments operations.
“The insights that have come out of this collaboration with PYMNTS.com provide compelling examples of why business payments digitization is far from being a ‘nice to have,’ but has become mandatory for companies across industries to achieve and maintain solid balance sheets,” said Matt Clark, President and COO of Corcentric. “The survey results not only illustrate the practical outcomes that are a direct result of digital payments, but also serve to reinforce what we’ve been hearing from our own customers in this regard. Digitizing payments produces attainable, sustainable, and measurable before-and-after results.”
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While this PYMNTS.com and Corcentric collaboration revealed the overwhelming recognition of business payments digitization benefits and advantages, the survey and analysis showed that there is no single reason behind the drive to fast-track digitization. The key goals cited by CFOs include efficiency, cash flow, and working capital improvement, customer experience and retention, competitive advantage, supplier expectations, data and fraud security, risk management, and overall business improvement.
The survey data highlights from Business Payments Digitization: A Path to a Better Balance Sheet include:
- 71% of CFOs have increased their use of digital payments since the pandemic’s onset
- 84% say payments digitization has improved working capital and the health of their balance sheets, including 74% working at firms with revenues between $1.5 billion and $2 billion — the largest firms in this study
- 71% of financial and insurance firms see digitization as key to improving their balance sheets – more than in any other sector
- 96% believe that AP and AR optimization is “very” or “extremely” important to keeping their balance sheets healthy
According to PYMNTS.com, “The drive to improve organizations’ financial health is fueling a wave of payments digitization across multiple market sectors, with 71 percent of businesses having fast-tracked digitization since the pandemic’s onset. The CFOs from businesses that have invested in more digital payments operations believe these efforts will result in stronger, healthier balance sheets, whether that means having improved in working capital, streamlined AR and AP processes, or improved customer and partner satisfaction.”
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