Technology in finance is no longer evolving in waves, it is accelerating in real time. For SMEs across Ireland, the question is no longer whether to transform, but something far more uncomfortable:
Are you moving too slowly, or too fast for your organisation to cope?
Insights from the Harvey Nash / Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report 2025 suggest many organisations are grappling with exactly this tension. Technology is advancing rapidly, but investment, skills and organisational capacity are not keeping pace.
For SME finance leaders, this shows up in very practical ways such as delayed reporting, limited visibility on cash, manual processes that don’t scale, and increasing pressure from leadership for better insights.
AI Is Ready, But Are You?
AI is no longer theoretical. Many organisations are already seeing returns, particularly in areas like forecasting, reconciliations and reporting automation.
But for SMEs, the challenge is not access to technology, it is knowing where to start.
What is the first use case that will genuinely make a difference?
For many, it’s not a full transformation programme, but a targeted intervention:
- Automating part of the month-end close
- Improving cash flow visibility
- Enhancing management reporting
The risk is not just moving too slowly but investing in tools without a clear, practical use case.
It’s Not Just a Skills Gap, It’s a Capacity Crisis
AI may be the number one skills shortage globally, but for SMEs the more immediate issue is simpler:
Who actually has the time to lead transformation?
In many finance teams, the same people responsible for: Month-end, Cash flow, Audit and Compliance, are also expected to “drive transformation”.
In reality, transformation becomes a side-of-desk initiative; delayed, deprioritised, or quietly abandoned.
This is why more SMEs are introducing a dedicated finance operations or transformation role. Not as a luxury, but as a necessity. Without this, transformation risks becoming a part-time initiative with full-time expectations.
As finance embraces technology, it also becomes more interconnected with the wider organisation. Transformation naturally strengthens the relationship between finance and IT but just as importantly, it enhances how finance supports operations through more timely, data-driven insights.
In practice, successful transformation rarely happens within finance alone. It requires close collaboration across functions, aligning systems, data, and objectives. Without that alignment, even well-intentioned initiatives can struggle to gain traction.
When Everything Feels Important, What Comes First?
With tighter budgets and increasing cost pressure, SMEs cannot do everything at once.
Yet the options are expanding:
- Upgrade your ERP
- Implement automation
- Invest in analytics
- Strengthen cyber controls
- Explore AI
So what actually moves the needle?
The most effective organisations are focusing on foundational elements first:
- Clean, reliable data
- Clear processes
- Defined ownership of reporting
Because without these, even the best technology will underdeliver.
Moving Fast, But Are Controls Keeping Up?
As finance becomes more digital, risk increases through additional systems, integrations and access points. Cyber incidents are rising again globally.
Which raises a question many SMEs don’t ask early enough:
Is your control environment evolving at the same pace as your technology? Balancing efficiency with control is no longer optional, it is central to sustainable transformation.
Transformation Is Easy to Start But Hard to Sustain
Many SMEs don’t struggle to start transformation. They struggle to finish it.
Why?
- Leadership priorities shift
- Systems get partially implemented
- Teams revert to old processes
- Ownership becomes unclear
How many “in-progress” finance initiatives are currently sitting unfinished in your organisation?
Sustainable transformation requires more than intent. It requires ownership, structure and continuity, often beyond the capacity of existing teams.
The Conversation We Need to Have
Technology in finance will not slow down. But SMEs cannot absorb everything at once.
So, the real challenge is not just adopting technology, it is making the right decisions at the right time:
- Where should you start?
- What delivers the fastest, most tangible value?
- How do you secure buy-in and budget?
- And how do you create the capacity to deliver change at all?
Because in today’s environment, standing still is not neutral, it’s a decision.
And so is moving too fast.
Finance transformation is no longer a functional initiative it is an organisational one, requiring alignment across finance, technology and operations.