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Manual Tax costing UK finance teams a working day every week, Corpay finds
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 — 16:15:56 (UTC)
The Manual Tax is costing UK finance teams a working day every week, Corpay research finds
86% of finance teams spend six or more hours per person, per week on manual administration across expenses, invoices and supplier payments
83% of CFOs say spend management is still more manual than it should be, while 85% say current processes increase the risk of error, fraud or off-policy spend
CFOs say reclaimed time would go to business partnering, cash flow forecasting and strategic planning Card-led payments cited as a practical first step, with 81% of finance leaders already viewing them as a competitive advantage
London, UK – 12th May 2026 – Research commissioned by global S&P500 corporate payments company, Corpay, today reveals that UK finance teams are collectively paying a hidden cost in lost productivity every week.
The research, conducted among 300 UK CFOs ahead of Accountex 2026 at ExCeL London, found that 86% of finance teams spend six or more hours per person, per week on administration across expenses, invoices and supplier payments. That is the equivalent of almost a full working day, every week, for every member of the team, a cost that appears on no budget line but is paid regardless.
The finding matters because that time has a salary cost. Skilled finance professionals, hired for their ability to forecast, analyse and partner with the business, are spending a significant proportion of their working week on manual reconciliation, data re-entry and approval processes that modern payment tools could handle instead.
The research comes at a moment when cost discipline is firmly back at the top of the agenda. Deloitte’s April 2026 UK CFO Survey shows finance leaders increasing their focus on operational efficiency against a backdrop of sustained geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Most scrutiny lands on visible costs but the Manual Tax is not visible and that is precisely what makes it significant.
The scale of the operational burden is significant. 83% of CFOs say spend processes are still more manual than they should be, 84% believe their organisation has been slow to modernise and 85% say current payment processes increase the risk of error, fraud or off-policy spend. Nine in ten CFOs (91%) are also concerned that competitors are ahead in adopting automated payment processes. For many organisations, the question is no longer whether to act, but exactly where to begin.
The research points to a clear first step, with 81% of finance leaders viewing card-led payments as a competitive advantage, citing improvements in control, visibility and efficiency. Card-based payments capture structured spend data at the point of transaction, reducing the need for downstream reconciliation and manual intervention across expenses and supplier payments.
The strategic benefit is equally clear. When asked how they would redeploy time if administrative workload were reduced by 25 to 50%, CFOs consistently prioritised business partnering, cash flow forecasting and strategic planning: the high-value activities that finance functions are increasingly expected to lead.
Piero Macari, VP Product Corporate Payments at Corpay, said: "The Manual Tax is a cost that most finance leaders know exists but have never been able to name. Our research gives it a name and, more importantly, a number. Six hours per person, per week is not a rounding error. Across a finance team, across a year, it represents a significant and measurable drag on both productivity and strategic capacity.”
He added: "The good news is that this is a solvable problem and organisations do not need to wait for a full finance transformation to start reducing it. Corpay Complete is designed to give finance teams a practical starting point: structuring spend at the point of payment, capturing data automatically and freeing up time for the strategic work that actually moves the business forward. For CFOs looking to close the gap between where their finance function is and where it needs to be, that is where the journey begins."
Corpay Complete will be exhibiting at Accountex 2026 at ExCeL London on 13 and 14 May, where the research and findings will be available to discuss with the team on the stand.
For more information, visit: The Card-First Approach to Spend Modernisation
ENDS
Notes to editor: The research was conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 300 UK CFOs (aged 25+) with annual turnover of £20m+ The Manual Tax press release accompanies the Corpay Complete Finance Confidence Series, launching ahead of Accountex 2026 (13–14 May, ExCeL London) Deloitte UK CFO Survey, April 2026: www.deloitte.com/uk/en/about/press-room/uk-finance-leaders-confidence-drops-as-geopolitical-risk-dominat-april-2026.html
About Corpay Corpay (NYSE: CPAY) is a global S&P500 corporate payments company that helps businesses and consumers pay expenses in a simple, controlled manner. Corpay’s suite of modern payment solutions help its customers better manage vehicle-related expenses (like fuelling and parking), travel expenses (like hotel bookings) and payables (like paying vendors). This results in our customers saving time and ultimately spending less. Corpay – Payments made easy. 'Corpay' and 'Corpay Complete' are trading names of the Corpay Group of companies. Payment services provided by Allstar Business Solutions, Canberra House, Lydiard Fields, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 8UB, Registration Number 2631112 GB. Authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the (Register reference 1018326) for the provision of payment services. International payment solutions are provided in the United Kingdom through Cambridge Mercantile Corp. (UK) Ltd. Authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (Register reference 900702).
To learn more visit www.corpay.com
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Source: Company press release. 
Categories: Reports and research
