Seventy per cent of UK financial leaders halted investments, awaiting Autumn Budget clarity

New research reveals marked increase in technology investment, while employee wellbeing and ESG initiatives face harshest cuts.

New research reveals that nearly all financial leaders (90%) have been impacted by Budget uncertainty in 2024, and over two-thirds (70%) delayed or cancelled planned investments awaiting clarity from the Autumn Budget.

The research, which surveyed 400 UK financial decision makers, and was commissioned by payments solutions provider Equals Money, highlighted a clear focus on increasing investment in technology, with 63% of businesses prioritising this area in 2024.

Top five priorities for managing business expenses in 2025:

• Improving operational efficiency (26%)

• Controlling costs (25%)

• Leveraging AI (22%)

• Investing in technology & innovation (22%)

• Managing cashflow (21%)

Steve Paul, Deputy CFO at Equals Money, commented, “Managing business spend is complex at the best of times, but when you throw in a new Government and an uncertain market, it only heightens the challenge. With the right tools in place, such as currency hedging, financial leaders can still make smart and safe investments. The research, however, highlights that too few companies are utilising the data available to them to help in this decision-making.”

Despite the fact that data and financial insight are considered either critical for all decisions (30%) or used regularly in company decision making (58%), only 45% currently use budgeting and forecasting software, and 26% still rely on manual tracking methods.

However, there is a clear shift on the horizon, with 81% of companies planning to either adopt new or upgrade existing financial tools or software to better manage business spending and improve financial visibility.

Steve Paul continued, “Financial tools don’t just help your accountancy department, they can add value across the entire business. By sorting back-office functions and providing better budget clarity, financial leaders can offer more strategic consultancy across companywide investment decisions.”