News: Two-thirds of businesses lack defined spend policies despite growth potential

This article first appeared as a Press release.

The news

New research by Payhawk uncovers:

• 85% of finance leaders recognize the importance of spend culture, yet only 31% have a formalized policy in place.
• 41% of organizations are currently defining their spend culture, with 25% planning to do so within the next 12 months.
• CFOs identify key barriers to implementation, including a lack of suitable tools, inefficient approval workflows, and resistance to change.
• Companies with defined spend culture frameworks report significant benefits, including improved financial controls (49%), profitability (41%), and accountability (38%).
• Just 4% of CFOs have no plans to develop a spend culture, underscoring the growing momentum behind this business priority.

Bridging the spend culture gaps: Why CFOs are struggling to balance autonomy and control

A robust spend culture is key to unlocking business growth, with 61% of CFOs highlighting its importance, yet few have struck the right balance between autonomy and control, new research from Payhawk reveals.

The research, conducted by independent research house Coleman Parkes, surveyed 1,000 finance leaders in large organizations across the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Spain. It sheds light on the growing gap between awareness and action when it comes to creating an efficient spend culture.

While 41% of businesses are actively defining their spend culture — a clear indicator of its strategic importance — only 31% report having a formalized policy in place. This disconnect highlights the tension between desired autonomy and control, with CFOs citing fraud concerns (51%) and trust issues (44%) as barriers to implementing effective frameworks. The findings underline the need for robust spend culture frameworks that empower teams without compromising security.

What is spend culture?

Spend culture refers to the set of attitudes, behaviors and practices that shape how an organization approaches spending. In practice, this can look like flexibility within a framework. For example, some companies empower employees to use corporate cards within set budgets and limits, a model followed by 28% of respondents, promoting autonomy while retaining oversight. Others adopt clear, enforceable limits with few exceptions, used by 18% of organizations, reflecting a highly controlled spend culture.

How spend culture drives business success

Although 85% of finance leaders understand the importance of spend culture, a significant majority still lack clear policies to guide financial decision-making. CFOs cite several further barriers to defining and implementing spend culture within their organizations, including:

• A lack of suitable tools to support real-time visibility and control over spending.
• Inefficient approval workflows leading to delays and data inaccuracies.
• Resistance to change within organizational structures.

Just 4% of CFOs have no plans to develop a spend culture in the near future – 31% have a defined framework, 41% are in the process, and 25% intend to make this a focus in the next 12 months. Among those that have established policies, 49% reported improved financial controls, as well as improvement in profitability (41%) and an increase in accountability (38%).

Many CFOs are turning to technology, such as comprehensive spend management solutions, to gain real-time insights, save time with automated approval processes, and improve visibility and accountability across teams to give employees autonomy and build trust while reducing fraud. By leveraging advanced tools alongside well-defined spend culture policies, organizations can bridge operational gaps, unlock financial potential, save time, and drive sustainable, long-term growth.

The challenge isn't just defining spending policies on paper – it's bringing them to life through automation and real-time controls," said Hristo Borisov, CEO of Payhawk. "When properly executed through technology, spend culture becomes an enabler of growth rather than a barrier to efficiency.

Visit the spend culture page for insights and strategies tailored to your business.