Embracing Adaptability for Maximum Business Success

By The Center Team on December 23, 2024

Mid-sized businesses fuel today’s economy, but their success brings complexity. Growth means adapting fast to market shifts and economic pressures. The most successful companies turn to technology—not just to stay competitive, but to get ahead. Real-time data and insights remove the guesswork from growth decisions. The proof? Recent studies show that businesses powered by data-driven insights were 8.5 times more likely to report at least 20% revenue growth.

Smart technology investments don’t just help businesses adapt. They help them thrive.


Challenges Facing Finance Teams in Small to Mid-Sized Businesses

As mid-sized companies grow, their finance teams face new hurdles. Success creates pressure points, especially in financial operations. Here’s what we see:

  • Managing Growth: Fast scaling exposes inefficiencies. More teams mean more expenses to track, more complex workflows, and longer approval chains. Maintaining visibility across departments or regions gets harder every day.
  • Budget Constraints: Growth demands more from finance teams while budgets stay tight. They need to streamline expenses and maintain compliance without breaking the bank.
  • Complexity of Needs: Basic accounting software that worked yesterday won’t cut it tomorrow. Upgrading financial systems while keeping operations running takes careful planning.
  • Talent Retention: Manual workflows burn teams out. Managers and employees spend hours on repetitive tasks, drowning in data and policy updates. 


The Characteristics of Adaptable Finance Teams 

So what does it take to build a finance team that can thrive as your business grows? Here are the key traits of an adaptable finance team:

  • Anticipating Growth Complexities: Scaling isn’t about doing more; it’s about managing increased complexity as efficiently as possible. As your business expands, so do your financial processes, policies, and team dynamics. An adaptable finance team will build capacity for handling additional layers of expense management, compliance, and decision-making.
  • Tech-Enabled Efficiency:  Manual approvals, reporting, and reconciliation slow teams down. Scalable, integrated tools streamline these processes. Look for all-in-one solutions that connect travel management and expense tracking in one place. 
  • Empowering Teams Through Simplicity: Adaptable teams use intuitive tools that make life easier, not harder. Automation handles routine tasks so your team can focus on strategic planning and growth.


Technology as a Driver of Adaptability

Technology isn’t a bell or a whistle — it’s the catalyst for making your business more adaptable. Here’s how the right tech solutions can help you stay ahead:

  • Right-Sized Solutions for Mid-Sized Companies: Yesterday’s tools might not fit today’s needs. Choose solutions that scale smoothly from basic approvals to detailed analytics, handling both simple and complex accounting with ease.
  • Real-Time Insights for Smarter Decisions: When it comes to expense management, real-time visibility is crucial. Instant access to expense data allows finance teams to make smarter, more informed decisions on budget adjustments, reallocation, or strategic forecasting. For example, a company that sees a surge in product development costs can adjust their budget on the fly, reallocating funds to meet the increased demand.
  • Automation for Efficiency and Compliance: Automating tasks like expense approvals and policy enforcement doesn’t just make operations smoother‌ — ‌it ensures compliance without adding headcount. This reduces the risk of errors, late submissions, and policy violations, making the finance team’s life that much easier.


Practical Steps for Building Adaptability

Building adaptability within your finance team doesn’t happen by accident. It starts with a commitment to building processes that scale with technology that scales alongside them. To help your business become more adaptable, start with these actionable steps:

  1. Audit Current Processes: Identify inefficiencies in expense reporting, reconciliation, or spend policies. Pinpointing pain points like delayed reporting or missed policy violations can help you spot areas for improvement.
  2. Invest in Scalable Tools: Look for platforms that can grow with your business. Find solutions that meet you where you are and scale as you grow. Prioritize intuitive tools that meet your evolving needs.
  3. Empower Teams: Equip your finance team with the training and resources they need to adopt new tools and embrace change, helping them work smarter, not harder.
  4. Build Strong Policies: Create flexible yet clear policies that can adapt to changes in business priorities or economic conditions.


Adapt to Grow

Adaptable finance teams drive growth. The right technology helps mid-sized businesses build financial resilience and scalability‌ — ‌even in challenging times.

With Center, finance teams can transform manual tasks into strategic opportunities. An integrated corporate card and expense solution delivers real-time visibility and control where teams work.

Ready to modernize how your team works? Request a demo.