17% have had to reorganise in their own organisation due to economically challenging times
Amsterdam, 9 May 2023 – As many as 25% of finance professionals have more customers who are unable to pay their bills on time due to the tough economic times. This is according to the FinTech Barometer, Onguard’s survey on the financial status at Dutch companies, which was conducted for the sixth time this year. In it, 311 CFOs, financial managers and finance staff were surveyed. It is also reported that 17% state customer demand is decreasing, ultimately leading to less business.
The fact that customers find it more difficult to pay their bills is also reflected in the number of days an account remains outstanding. Just under half of organisations (41%) wait on average more than 30 days for a payment. For 4%, the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is even more than 40 days. Finance professionals do not believe this time frame will improve much next year. In fact, 21% think their DSO will only increase this year. The survey further reveals that 17% have no idea what the uncertain economic times will do to their DSO. In any case, it is an important topic of conversation among organisations: a quarter (25%) are focusing more heavily on the DSO than before. The same percentage does not currently do so yet, but does intend to put more focus on it.
Solutions for payment issues
Finance professionals do have ideas on how to ensure their customers pay faster. For example, 28% take a personal approach and look at what they need for each customer to make a payment. A quarter (25%) are expanding their standard range of payment options to prevent payment problems and 24% are using specialised software for dunning and collections. Should this not help, 14% say they engage a collections agency immediately after issuing a reminder.
Cuts within own organisations
Finance professionals are also seeing changes within their own organisations due to the uncertain economy. For instance, 19% have had to cut their budgets and another 17% have had to reorganise in order to cut costs.
Adriaan Kom, Managing Director of Onguard: “Finance professionals are often the first people to see the consequences when we are in tough economic times. Bills are paid just a little later, reminders have to be sent more often and sometimes it even ends up in a collection process. In all this, it is important for finance professionals not to lose sight of the human touch. That’s why I am thrilled to see that a significant proportion of surveyors report looking at each situation individually to see what can be done to still get those bills paid. That’s where a finance professional can make a difference. Technology can ensure that many financial processes are automated, giving finance professionals room to set up their payment processes properly and keep a finger on the pulse of organisations that are suffering from the economic downturn.”
This press release was also published on financeel-management.nl and accountantweek.nl.
