Over the past year, we’ve seen incredible innovation in the fintech space. From the rising popularity of cryptocurrency and Web3 to advancements in AI and machine learning, it was a year of technological change and transformation. The changes that we saw in 2022 are not only setting the tone for the new year, but they’re also redefining the fintech industry.
In 2023, the fintech industry will use these advancements to create more strategic and streamlined outputs that add more value to organizations. I anticipate three major changes coming this next year: modernization as a mechanism of employee recruitment and retention, a closer alignment between accounting and finance departments, and a renewed focus on financial operational excellence.
Together, these three things will redefine the fintech industry as we know it.
3 Factors Driving Change in Fintech
- Modernization as a mechanism of employee recruitment and retention.
- Closer alignment between accounting and finance departments.
- Renewed focus on financial operational excellence.
Solving Recruitment and Retention Issues with Modernization
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the past year was the impact of burnout on employees. Burnout has become increasingly prevalent in the workforce and, in 2022, we saw rates of employee burnout like never before. According to FloQast’s Controller’s Guidebook survey, 99 percent of finance professionals experience some level of burnout and, even further, the Conference Board’s latest survey also revealed that 77 percent of companies report burnt-out employees, up from 35 percent in September 2020.
Although burnout has many causes, a major one is staffing shortages. Due to a shrinking job market and lack of resources, existing employees have to take on more to make up for missing worker power. Worse, due to these increasingly stressful working conditions, many employees are quitting, further driving up attrition rates for companies. In fact, the predicted attrition rate for 2022 was 20 percent higher than pre-pandemic averages.
This year, we’ll see modernization — and specifically automation — become an important driving force for recruitment and retention in the fintech industry. With automation, employees can dedicate more time to purposeful and strategic tasks, rather than the mundane and repetitive ones that weigh them down. This, ultimately, boosts happiness and satisfaction at work and reduces both burnout and attrition.
2022 was a tough year for workers, but adopting the right tools and technology can have a big, positive impact. As such, we’re sure to see more of this in 2023.
A Better Bridge Between Accounting and Finance
Another key lesson from 2022 was the importance of having a connected team. For accounting and finance teams, a disconnect can slow down key processes, like the close, and reduce accuracy, so it’s especially critical that employees are able to communicate and work together.
Knowing this, we can anticipate closer alignment between accounting and finance teams this year. This will not only speed up the close process, but will also allow teams to collaborate and produce more strategic work that provides useful, actionable information to the entire organization.
In order to build this bridge, finance and accounting teams must hone in on growth initiatives and develop a framework that better aligns departments. For example, implementing standard operational procedures can centralize operations between accounting, finance and other departments to create consistent, compliant, and accessible processes.
If companies want to drive greater operational excellence and build more efficient upstream and downstream processes, we’ll see more collaboration and connectedness within accounting and finance in 2023.
A Focus on Operational Excellence Will Drive Growth
With massive innovation in the fintech space over the past year, 2023 will be the year to capitalize on these developments and drive overarching success. This year, we can expect finance organizations to hone in on growth initiatives and focus on financial operational excellence.
It might seem complicated, but financial operational excellence simply means incorporating solutions that improve financial processes to see overarching company success. For example, by introducing automation to boost productivity and efficiency, companies can modernize the close as a function, create more efficient upstream and downstream processes, and, ultimately, drive success for the company as a whole.
As concerns of a recession continue to bleed into 2023, focusing on financial operational excellence can help companies feel more financially secure and streamlined, ultimately inspiring confidence and driving success. Be on the lookout for this framework more and more as we head into the new year.
The Future of the Fintech Industry
Last year was a momentous year for the fintech space and, while there’s much to celebrate, it’s time to bring these developments into 2023 and drive even greater success.
In light of the changes we’ve seen over the past year, we can anticipate an exciting year that will bring about a more modern, cohesive, and strategic workflow for those in fintech.
