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This won¡¯t come as a surprise to anyone, but effectively controlling spending is key to boosting performance and efficiency. The surprise, perhaps, is how CFOs are doing it.

Or maybe we should say ¨C how they¡¯re doing it differently.

Oxford Economics, along with SAP, conducted a global survey of 1,500 finance executives to see what separates the leaders from the followers. The findings were collated into a research report, Oxford Economics Research: Effective Spending Management Boosts Performance.

The report revealed that the best finance leaders usually have some, or all, of these six traits:

1. They have strong influence beyond the finance function.
2. They drive strategic growth initiatives.
3. They improve efficiency with automation.
4. They are very effective at core finance processes.
5. They collaborate regularly with business units across the entire company.
6. They work closely with governance and are well-equipped to handle regulatory change.

While all six traits are invaluable, automation seemed to stand out.

¡°Automation takes dreary, repetitive work away from staff, and the shareholder benefits because the organisation is more efficient," said David Craig, CFO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

But you can¡¯t have automation without embracing technology, and again, that¡¯s what top CFOs are doing in earnest.?In fact, 95% of CFOs consider cloud-based applications as critically or very important to successful financial performance.

So, if you¡¯re still relying on legacy or paper-based systems, now is the time to make some changes to become a true finance leader.

Download the full report?to learn more.