Guide: how to help your Finance Leader prepare for the digital transformation of B2B
The role of a Finance Leader is no longer just about traditional financial management, instead requiring individuals that can lead businesses through growth and digital transformation. But in the fast-evolving world of B2B, 66% of CFOs, Finance Directors and other senior figures do not believe their teams can consistently keep pace with the speed of e-commerce.
We recently published an investigative report that explores this challenge in detail and provides actionable advice for Finance Leaders – but they are not alone in this battle. CEOs, founders, and other senior staff have a pivotal role to play in supporting Finance Leaders as they build functions that are ready for the future of B2B commerce.
This step-by-step guide will help you understand how to empower your Finance Leader to build a tech-enabled, future-proof finance function and make informed decisions about balancing controls, growth, and modern payment strategies in B2B commerce.
1. Help the Finance Leader to overcome the complexity of their role
Your Finance Leader is juggling multiple, often conflicting, priorities: keeping financial controls tight while fueling business growth, managing cash flow while providing flexible payment terms, and ensuring regulatory compliance while driving innovation, to name just a few.
Our research shows that 66% of Finance Leaders in B2B struggle to keep up with the speed of e-commerce, while nearly half (46%) cannot find a way to balance financial controls with strategic growth initiatives. As B2B commerce evolves, it’s vital for you, as a leader and colleague, to understand these challenges and collaborate closely to align business priorities with finance strategies.
Key action: take the time to learn about the challenges and opportunities that the Finance Leader in your business faces. Ask them how you can help them to overcome complexities and work together on common goals.
2. Champion technology to balance financial controls and growth
Finance Leaders often find themselves caught between ensuring solid financial controls and enabling business growth. While robust controls are essential to avoid financial mismanagement and regulatory breaches, growth can be stunted if these controls become too rigid.
To help your Finance Leader strike the right balance, ensure they have access to the right technology. Automation can relieve some of the burden of financial controls by managing repetitive tasks such as data entry, financial reporting, and auditing. This frees up the finance team to focus on strategic, growth-oriented initiatives.
Encourage your Finance Leader to automate tasks such as:
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Data analytics and report generation
- Budget monitoring and forecasting
Key Action: Champion investment in automation tools that will allow your finance team to spend less time on manual processes and more on high-value strategic work.
3. Understand the important relationship between cash flow and payment terms
One of the biggest challenges for Finance Leaders in B2B commerce is managing cash flow while offering competitive payment terms to customers. Two thirds of B2B Finance Leaders cite cash flow unpredictability as their top concern in 2024.
Offering payment terms can foster growth and customer loyalty, but it can also put strain on your business’s cash flow, especially when you consider the risk of late or non-payments. For this reason, many Finance Leaders are hesitant to offer trade credit, fearing the impact of credit and fraud risks. Of course, these concerns are valid, as traditional trade credit management can indeed be risky, as well as time-consuming and complex.
It’s crucial for you to recognise both the risks and the benefits of trade credit, and to work with your Finance Leader to develop a solution that supports both cash flow protection and customer satisfaction.
Key action: You might be convinced of the benefits of offering payment terms to customers, but it’s crucial that your Finance Leader feels heard and understood when they express cash flow concerns. At the end of the day, it’s going to be about balancing risk with reward, and no one knows how to walk that line better than your Finance Leader.
4. Help your Finance Leader understand the benefits of payment terms
Offering flexible payment terms is a key factor in winning and retaining customers in B2B e-commerce. Our research shows that 83% of B2B buyers will abandon a purchase if payment terms aren’t available at the point of need.
So, what can you do to help your Finance Leader understand and harness the benefits of payment terms? Encourage them to explore partnerships with a digital trade credit provider. These partners can offer instant, flexible payment terms to customers while ensuring your business is protected from the risks of non-payment and late payments.
Digital trade credit solutions, such as those provided by companies like Hokodo, encompass the entire credit process, from fraud assessment and credit scoring to financing, payment processing and collections. This allows your Finance Leader to offer flexible payment terms without putting undue pressure on cash flow and manual resources.
In fact, 42% of Finance Leaders we asked said that working with a digital trade credit provider would ease cash flow restrictions, while 46% valued the ability to outsource the management of accounts receivable and credit risk.
By supporting your Finance Leader in integrating payment terms into the broader financial strategy, you can unlock benefits such as improved cash flow, stronger customer relationships and a competitive edge in the market. Offering payment terms not only drives sales but also enhances customer loyalty, helping to grow your business sustainably.
Key Action: Empower your Finance Leader to leverage third-party trade credit providers, ensuring they have the tools and partners they need to offer flexible payment terms while protecting cash flow and reducing risk.
5. Nurture the relationship between finance and other teams
Finance is no longer a siloed function; it intersects with every aspect of the business, from operations and IT to marketing and sales. As your Finance Leader navigates digital transformation, they need the support and cooperation of other departments to ensure smooth, integrated processes.
For instance, integrating financial controls with e-commerce platforms requires collaboration between IT and finance. Offering payment terms seamlessly through digital channels requires coordination with sales and operations teams. To help your Finance Leader succeed, foster a culture of cross-functional collaboration and open communication.
Key Action: Promote regular cross-departmental meetings to ensure alignment on financial goals and operational efficiency across the organisation.
6. Encourage and promote continuous learning and development
As digital transformation evolves, so too must your Finance Leader’s skill set. Encourage your finance team to stay ahead of trends by investing in professional development, attending industry conferences and participating in e-commerce and finance-related associations. Keeping up with emerging technologies and evolving business practices will position your finance team to lead change, not just react to it.
Key Action: Allocate budget for continuous learning and professional development, ensuring that your Finance Leader and their team are equipped with the latest tools and insights to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
Conclusion: Work with your Finance Leader to prepare your business for the future
Your role in supporting your Finance Leader during digital transformation is critical. From investing in automation and technology to enabling flexible payment terms and fostering cross-functional collaboration, you can empower your Finance Leader to build the future-proof finance function that your business needs to succeed in the coming years.
By taking these actions, you’ll not only help your Finance Leader manage risks and optimise controls, but you’ll also drive business growth and enhance the customer experience in the rapidly digitising world of B2B.
Want to learn more about the challenges that Finance Leaders face in preparing for the digital transformation of B2B? Download our investigative report now.
