Amid crippling cashflow bottlenecks in a volatile geopolitical climate, finance leaders identify automation as an investment priority over the next 12–18 months.

While we have made it to August 2025 in a year where companies have constantly been on the edge, expecting to be paid later, or not at all, 57% of firms anticipated worsening payment behavior, according to Coface’s 2025 report.

With the global geopolitical tensions on-going, no one blames them for being a little cynical. 

But while external risk is growing, most companies are still exposed internally. Summit’ssurvey of financial decision makers in Singapore revealed that only half use a dedicated Accounts Payable (AP) or expense tool, which can aggravate cashflow crunch pains from the delayed payments.

Many still chase invoices across inboxes and Excel sheets, even as supplier pressure mounts and cashflow visibility fades. SMEs are particularly vulnerable here. 

“The real challenge isn’t just about adapting to any specific issue, like tariffs, but it’s a lack of timely and accurate information that makes it difficult to take corrective actions or to plan with confidence,” said Alistair Gurney, Chief Financial Officer, Lucanet.

Mindset shift

But there’s also a shift in mindset that Summit is seeing. Instead of waiting for defaults to hit, more finance leaders are taking proactive steps in protecting themselves by investing in AP automation for real-time cashflow visibility and accurate payments.

The Summit survey shows 65% of companies in Singapore are planning to adopt a solution in the next 12 months, with a majority prepared to spend between S$250 to S$500 a month.

Meanwhile, new data from Lucanet reveals that a lack of automation is now the biggest challenge facing finance leaders today. 

Lucanet’s findings, based on a survey of senior finance and tax professionals at Lucanet World 2025 – Lucanet’s flagship summit – show that 32% cite a lack of automation as their top operational challenge, with one in five (22%) identifying it as their leading investment priority over the next 12–18 months. 

This suggests that in today’s uncertain economic climate, the limitations of manual processes have become increasingly clear – sharpening the focus on automation and AI-driven tools as critical enablers of efficiency, agility, and resilience. 

Despite the clear need for agile digital systems to mitigate the impact of uncertainty, over a quarter of finance and tax teams (28%) still rely heavily on manual processes. Likewise, only 10% are fully confident in the accuracy of their financial data – highlighting the need for precise, real-time visibility to effectively model the impact of shifting tariffs and macroeconomic changes on both top- and bottom-line performance.

As a result, it’s unsurprising that scenario planning and forecasting remains a serious challenge for finance teams, with over a third (34%) citing it as their biggest concern when it comes to financial planning and analysis.

Now a matter of survival

Automation used to be a productivity tool. Now it’s a survival strategy. According to Summit’s CEO Jo-Ann Chung, AI can step in as an ally to protect finance teams from the rough waves of economic turns.4

From automating tedious tasks like bookkeeping and expense management to providing real-time insights for smarter financial planning, AI and automation can streamline workflows, enhance compliance, and optimize financial performance. 

“Outdated systems, fragmented data, and manual-heavy workflows make it extremely challenging for finance teams to provide valuable insights, so the business is left flying blind, or worse, paralyzed by indecision,” said Lucanet CFO Gurney.

“We need to be on the front foot when it comes to scenario planning, and focus on building agility into our strategies now. That means leveraging technology to access timely data and real-time visibility into our operations and macroeconomic dependencies, so we can model the potential impact on performance.”

Looking ahead

Tax and finance professionals overwhelmingly see AI as an opportunity rather than a threat. Over two-thirds (68%) do not believe that AI will replace their roles – compared to just 8% who think it will – suggesting that finance teams see AI as a tool to elevate their function, freeing them from manual tasks and enabling them to play a more strategic role in driving business growth.

Gurney commented: “While corporates are certainly feeling the pressure of ongoing macro uncertainty, the overall mood is pragmatic rather than panicked. Finance leaders recognize that volatility is expected, and we’re seeing firms take sensible, forward-looking steps to build resilience and future-proof their operations.”

The focus on technology investment echoes the findings of Lucanet’s 2025 Finance Leadership Panel Report, which revealed that two-thirds of CFOs are prioritizing digital transformation to futureproofed operations.