New OneStream Research Finds Economic Disruption Poses Largest Threat to Business in 2022

Almost three-quarters of CFOs expect inflation and supply chain challenges to continue into 2023

May 25, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ROCHESTER, Mich. – OneStream, a leader in corporate performance management (CPM) solutions for the world’s leading enterprises, today announced the results of its “Enterprise Financial Decision-Makers Outlook – May 2022” survey. The study, conducted by Hanover Research, targeted finance leaders across North America and identified the key factors impacting their budgets, planning and technology adoption for 2022 and into 2023.

The impact of ongoing global disruption, such as with supply chains, inflation, the war on talent and the Great Resignation, still pose significant challenges. As finance leaders forecast and plan for the future amid this new reality, they must remain agile. Almost three-quarters of finance leaders expect inflation and supply chain disruption to extend into 2023, with more than half needing to increase prices to offset the impact on their business.

As they continue to navigate the uncertainty of the current economic landscape, 30 percent of finance leaders identified economic disruption as the largest threat to business in 2022. When asked about current business drivers and plans for the coming 12-18 months, CFOs and other financial leaders were heavily focused on economic disruption and other key factors:

Economic Disruption Surpasses Cybersecurity as Largest Threat to Business in 2022

The current financial climate has CFOs and finance leaders predicting inflation and supply chain challenges will extend through mid-2023, forcing organizations to implement new practices to manage the impact on business. About half of respondents polled noted they are increasing prices (51 percent), leveraging new sales initiatives and campaigns (48 percent, a 13 percent increase from the Fall 2021 survey), and expanding their supplier network (47 percent, a 12 percent increase from the Fall 2021 survey) as a result.

Tax reform and planning is on the radar of almost all finance decision-makers as potential new U.S. global tax policies are on the horizon that may impose a minimum tax rate. Half of the organizations polled will need to update their 2022 strategies, including tax planning and provisioning processes (64 percent), and 45 percent said tax changes would significantly alter their 2022 forecasts.

Organizations are Prioritizing DEI Initiatives and ESG Investments

Investments in ESG and DEI remain a priority, with the findings aligning closely to the Spring 2021 survey, as 60 percent commit to investing more in DEI and ESG initiatives this year. While two-thirds of respondents report uncertainty around planning for ESG rulings, almost all (95 percent) are preparing for this change either by implementing new ESG/sustainability policies, engaging consultants or investing in software to capture and report ESG data.

CFOs Target Investment in Talent to Combat Great Resignation

The Great Resignation and war on talent continues to support an employees’ market, challenging organizations to revisit their approach to talent acquisition and retention and expand recruitment practices to remain competitive. In the quest for talent, finance leaders are investing in training and employee development (56 percent), improving internal and external workspaces (52 percent) and building company culture (47 percent), among other efforts. When asked if they plan to make a career change of their own this year, almost half confirmed yes, but within their existing organization.

Finance Leaders Increase Investments in Predictive Technology, Especially Machine Learning (ML)

With almost half (47 percent) of organizations planning to increase investment in ML this year, and the majority (63 percent) already seeing a return on their investment, its clear this technology is serving finance leaders and their teams well. In fact, 87 percent of respondents have either adopted, or are in the process of adopting, an AutoML solution to support intelligent process automation, data center optimization, customer service and sales/marketing optimizations, among other benefits.

Cloud-based solutions and predictive analytics are also popular among the majority of finance leaders, with one-third saying they use the technology regularly. These solutions will receive increased investment in 2022 than in previous years, with 22 percent of respondents planning to invest more in cloud-based software and 21 percent investing more in predictive analytics. When asked about roadblocks to technology investment this year, 42 percent responded that cost was a factor, in addition to cybersecurity concerns (38 percent) and the technical skill gap of employees (38 percent).

“We are in an economic landscape where the ability to be agile and pivot quickly is still as much a necessity as it was at the start of the pandemic,” said Bill Koefoed, Chief Financial Officer, OneStream. “These findings reflect what is top of mind for CFOs and finance leaders across industries as they work to make informed business decisions in a time of disruption. Leveraging data and automating processes to support this agility and business resilience is something OneStream is passionate about delivering to our customers. We will continue to be the partner our customers need as they work to adapt and achieve their business goals.”

About the Survey

The commissioned study, conducted by Hanover Research in May of 2022, sourced insights from 257 finance decision makers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. All individuals hold a management position (C-level executive (CFO), VP, Director, Controller) in finance. Respondents work at companies across numerous industries and varying revenues, with 26 percent employed by companies with over $1 billion in annual revenue.

For the full findings of the research, please visit https://www.onestream.com/resources/global-lp-cn-ar-enterprise-financial-decision-making-2022/?resource_form_id=AR22EnterpriseFinancialDecisionMaking2022#hs-form-section

About OneStream
OneStream provides a market-leading intelligent finance platform that reduces the complexity of financial operations. OneStream unleashes the power of finance by unifying corporate performance management (CPM) processes such as planning, financial close and consolidation, reporting and analytics through a single, extensible solution. We empower the enterprise with financial and operational insights to support faster and more informed decision-making. All in a cloud platform designed to continually evolve and scale with your organization.

OneStream is an independent software company with over 950 customers, 230 partners and 1100 employees, our primary mission is to deliver 100% customer success. To learn more visit www.onestream.com.