6 Ways Top Finance Leaders Are Staying Ahead of Spend in 2026
According to SAP Concur research, finance teams in 2026 face ongoing volatility, with 35% of CFOs citing poor cost management as a top internal threat. Leading organizations are shifting from reactive to proactive spend management, integrating travel, expense, and accounts payable, and leveraging automation and AI for efficiency. Adopting SAP Concur can reduce business travel and expense costs by 23%, increase policy compliance by 28%, and enhance forecasting confidence.
Impact and considerations
Corporate travel and expense management is shifting from reactive reimbursement to proactive, integrated platforms; finance leaders must prioritize data visibility and automation to navigate uncertainty.
Key points
- 35% of CFOs cite poor cost management as a top internal threat
- 61% of CFOs cite inaccurate forecasting as the top cost control challenge
- 82% of CFOs believe complex manual processes limit finance effectiveness
- Automation can reduce travel and expense costs by 23% and increase policy compliance by 28%
- 73% of CFOs say AI has positively impacted cost reduction
- Finance teams need to integrate travel, expense, and accounts payable data
Sources and time
- Primary source
- SAP Concur
- Other sources
- 0
- First source publication
- 9 Feb 2026, 17:09
- Page published
- 12 Aug 2026, 14:30
- Last updated
- 9 Feb 2026, 17:09
- Original links
- SAP Concur Blog：6 Ways Top Finance Leaders Are Staying Ahead of Spend in 2026 (opens in a new tab)Primary source · en · Published 9 Feb 2026, 17:09