# Finance teams have been left in the dark on the real cost of working from home Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2021-01-20 Category: FINANCE Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance Meta Title: 2020 Financial Challenges: Impact of Remote Working on Meta Description: Discover how finance teams can navigate the challenges of remote working and adapt to the changing economic landscape in the post-pandemic world. URL: https://financedigest.com/finance-teams-have-been-left-in-the-dark-on-the-real-cost-of-working-from-homehtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/img5780-1368-scaled-1736838637595-compressed.jpg) _By **Carlo Gualandri,** Founder and CEO of Soldo_ 2020 has been one of the toughest years for finance teams on record. Although the end is seemingly in sight, the coronavirus pandemic has shaken businesses across the globe to the core. Regardless of the success of mass vaccinations, it’s clear that the consequences of the crisis will be felt for many [years to come](https://www.financedigest.com/mild-sourness-products-is-expected-to-fuel-growth-of-sour-sugar-market-in-coming-years.html "Mild Sourness Products Is Expected To Fuel Growth Of Sour Sugar Market In Coming Years"). As the first lockdowns came into effect, [businesses suddenly found themselves having to adapt to an unprecedented level of disruption and were forced to completely overhaul their operational models](https://www.financedigest.com/apis-open-banking-and-new-business-models.html "APIs, Open Banking and New Business Models"). Organisations up and down the country swiftly found they didn’t have the [necessary systems](https://www.financedigest.com/french-president-macron-reaffirms-that-pensions-system-reform-is-necessary.html "French President Macron reaffirms that pensions system reform is necessary") and resources in place to facilitate working from home, creating an urgent rush of employees, managers and business leaders flocking to procure any working from home equipment they could get their hands on. It was a rapid transformation – according to [ONS figures](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/coronavirusandhomeworkingintheuk/april2020), by April, almost half of the working population were working from home in some form. And while that transformation has led to a number of advantages – primarily that [remote working](https://www.financedigest.com/helping-employees-recover-from-remote-workings-mental-health-implications.html "Helping employees recover from remote working’s mental health implications") en-masse, can in fact, work, there are also many challenges. We regularly hear about [concerns](http://hrnews.co.uk/working-remotely-communication-motivation-productivity/) that remote working has a negative effect on communication, productivity, wellbeing, motivation, coordination and creativity. While these apply across departments, finance teams have been particularly hard hit  – and here’s why. ![Carlo Gualandri](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/carloa3902-bw-450x450-1736838637110-compressed.jpg) Carlo Gualandri Remote working has meant a significant change in [companies’ spending](https://www.financedigest.com/analysis-u-s-companies-spend-billions-on-stay-at-home-tech-boding-ill-for-office-properties.html "Analysis-U.S. companies spend billions on stay-at-home tech, boding ill for office properties") patterns. There’s been a huge shift in the spending habits of businesses, with exponential growth in ecommerce, [digital services](https://www.financedigest.com/major-myths-and-questions-holding-banking-and-financial-services-back-from-full-digital-id-adoption.html "Major myths and questions holding banking and financial services back from full digital ID adoption") and online advertising. Meanwhile, there has been a significant reduction in employee expenses such as travel and entertainment. Without line of sight access, how do [finance teams](https://www.financedigest.com/finance-teams-using-ai-outperform-peers-as-demand-for-skills-grows.html "Finance Teams Using AI Outperform Peers as Demand for Skills Grows") manage operations effectively to cope with such a significant swing in company spending? [Remote working](https://www.financedigest.com/remote-working-during-covid-a-successful-social-experiment.html "Remote working during COVID: a successful social experiment") is exacerbating the challenges finance professionals already faced when managing business spending. Research by Soldo reveals that over [72% of British finance directors](https://www.soldo.com/gb/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/2020_11_25_Soldo-brand-and-research-launch-UK_FINAL.pdf) say that their teams are “unprepared to cope in a complete or partial virtual working environment”. There has been a failure to adapt to digital workflows, resulting in over [58% of UK businesses](https://www.soldo.com/gb/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/2020_11_25_Soldo-brand-and-research-launch-UK_FINAL.pdf) being unsure of their current level of working capital. While the pandemic has meant that the strategic value of the finance focus is emerging from the shadows, [64% of finance professionals](https://www.soldo.com/gb/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/2020_11_25_Soldo-brand-and-research-launch-UK_FINAL.pdf) say that the unnecessary stress of everyday tasks such as reconciliations prevents a true focus on strategic matters. Indeed, these reconciliations aren’t trivial matters, with over [half of finance directors (54%)](https://www.soldo.com/gb/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/11/2020_11_25_Soldo-brand-and-research-launch-UK_FINAL.pdf) saying that their working capital is so low that lost VAT receipts “threaten business stability”. Finance teams have thus found themselves in the dark. It’s clear that they need to find new ways of [working that are better suited to the changing economic](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-minister-says-government-will-work-with-obr-on-economic-forecasts.html "UK minister says government will work with OBR on economic forecasts") landscape. They need greater clarity, visibility and control of their [finances to be able to pivot quickly to thrive – or even survive](https://www.financedigest.com/sas-bridge-financing-keeps-survival-hopes-airborne-shares-climb.html "SAS bridge financing keeps survival hopes airborne, shares climb"). Fortunately, we live in an era where the tools to address the new challenges of remote working are readily available – whether this be Zoom and similar platforms for meetings, Slack to ensure continued [effective collaboration across teams or Soldo to stay on top of employee spend](https://www.financedigest.com/dutch-to-spend-16-billion-to-cushion-effects-of-inflation-media.html "Dutch to spend billion to cushion effects of inflation -media"). These have quickly become a vital boon as we move to a more permanent remote [working culture](https://www.financedigest.com/smart-working-versus-presenteeism-enabling-productivity-in-a-post-pandemic-hybrid-work-culture.html "Smart Working Versus Presenteeism: Enabling Productivity in a Post-Pandemic Hybrid Work Culture"). [Research](https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/workplace-transformation-in-the-wake-of-covid-19) from Future Forum shows that the majority of knowledge workers never want to go back to the old way of working. Only 12% want to [return to full-time office work](https://www.financedigest.com/are-businesses-using-cybersecurity-as-a-scapegoat-for-a-desperate-return-to-office-working.html "Are Businesses Using Cybersecurity As A Scapegoat For A Desperate Return To Office Working?"), and 72% want a hybrid remote-office model moving forward. Businesses that wish to prosper must accept that [remote working is here to stay](https://www.financedigest.com/remote-and-hybrid-work-are-here-to-stay-as-cyberattacks-escalate.html "Remote and Hybrid Work are Here to Stay as Cyberattacks Escalate") for the long-term. They [must therefore adapt their financial practices](https://www.financedigest.com/developmental-best-practices-must-change-to-ensure-the-post-pandemic-recovery-of-financial-services.html "Developmental best practices must change to ensure the post-pandemic recovery of financial services") to effectively manage this new normal to keep on top of their expenditure in an increasingly tumultuous climate. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---