Growth and Optimization

What would you do with an extra hour? Finance pros weigh in

SAP Concur | 11-03-2025

If you had an extra hour in your day, how would you spend it?

For finance professionals who participated in our recent survey, the answer is clear: investing in career growth, strengthening leadership skills, and staying ahead in AI and finance technology.

Let’s dive into the insights—and maybe even inspire you to think about how you’d make the most of extra time in your day thanks to automated spend management.

Investing in Career Growth

When given the chance, most finance professionals would dedicate extra time to growing their skills and advancing their careers.

  • 60% would take an online professional development course
  • 17% would build relationships with peers outside of finance
  • 16% would take on a stretch project to challenge themselves
  • 7% would seek mentorship and feedback

Ready to level up your career? Explore the latest trends and strategies for finance leaders on our CFO Insights page.

Strengthening Leadership Skills

Finance leaders are always looking for ways to better engage, motivate, and support their teams. While no single leadership priority stood out, the results make one thing clear: technology is key to effective leadership.

  • 45% want to use tech to boost employee engagement and retention
  • 34% want to learn best practices for managing hybrid, remote, and in-office teams
  • 34% want to explore new ways to motivate their team
  • 25% want to use tech to support duty of care

Download our guide on how to attract the next generation of finance talent and for the strategies top CFOs use to bridge the talent gap.

Looking to accelerate your decision-making? Read about the Art of Financial Storytelling.

Making AI Work for Finance

AI is transforming finance, and professionals are eager to understand and apply AI-driven solutions.

  • 50% want to learn how AI is used in finance
  • 39% would attend a webinar on AI innovations
  • 28% want to see how AI improves forecasting
  • 19% want to explore AI’s role in audits and fraud prevention

Where do CFOs see AI making the biggest impact? Forecasting accuracy (67%), risk management (65%), and automating routine tasks (64%).

Want to step up your tech confidence? Download our guides:

How Finance Leaders Prefer to Learn

With packed schedules, finance professionals prefer on-demand learning that fits into their day.

  • 66% prefer attending webinars
  • 43% listen to podcasts
  • 29% read ebooks or tipsheets
  • 21% would watch an AI-focused webinar

Get started today with our on-demand webinars:

Prefer to listen? Stay up to date with our SAP Concur Conversations podcast series.

Get more done with SAP Concur

Reality check: Although finance professionals are ready to invest in themselves, the time lost each day to manual spend management processes makes professional growth a “someday” endeavour for many.

If that sounds all too familiar, it’s time to take a closer look at how AI-driven automation with SAP Concur solutions can help bring out your best.

Reach out to us today.
Growth and Optimization
Start Your Digital Transformation Journey with Finance Automation
Your organization may already have implemented some digital tools that are helping you run better. But to make the most of those investments, you need a long-term digital strategy that will allow you
Keep reading
Growth and Optimization
Get Around Your Workarounds. Let’s Automate That.
You've likely seen quite a few finance hacks over the years manual spend management workarounds that employees use to bridge disconnected business systems. As you can imagine we have ...
Keep reading
Growth and Optimization
There’s No Spend to Waste: Why It’s Time to Fully Digitize Your Spend Management
In  May Oxford Economics and the SAP Concur organization surveyed more than senior business leaders spanning seven countries about their economic recovery strategies Respondents re...
Keep reading