Hidden Inefficiencies are Slowing Your Business — Here’s How to Fix Them

A version of this article first appeared on EideBailly.com.

Inefficient processes are the silent killers of growth. They erode profitability, frustrate your teams, and delay the decisions that move your business forward. Whether it’s disconnected systems, manual handoffs, or a lack of visibility, inefficiency is a cost — and a missed opportunity.

Here’s how operations, finance, and technology leaders can drive efficiency without overhauling everything.

Quick Wins for Improved Operational Efficiency

Internally, inefficient business processes can result in wasted time and resources, reduced productivity, and frustrated employees. Externally, these outcomes can negatively impact the customer experience, ultimately damaging your reputation and your bottom line.

Operational improvements don’t just boost efficiency — they help deliver a smoother, more responsive customer journey that supports long-term growth.

You don’t need to launch a full-scale transformation to see results. Here’s where to start:

• Automate task assignment and resource coordination. Streamlining how work is assigned and tracked reduces delays, improves accountability, and ensures the right resources are focused on the right tasks.
  
  
• Equip teams with real-time information. Whether on-site, remote, or in-office, providing staff with immediate access to the data they need improves responsiveness and decision-making.
  
  
• Improve pricing and quoting accuracy. Automating your quoting or cost estimation process with built-in rules and templates helps ensure consistency, reduce errors, and speed up customer or internal approvals.
  
  
• Connect operational and financial systems. Integrated systems reduce the need for manual reconciliation, eliminate data silos, and enable faster, more accurate reporting.
  
  
• Track performance in real time. Use dashboards and analytics to monitor KPIs across operations and course-correct before small issues become big issues.

Smart Efficiency Moves for Finance Teams

Financial efficiency isn’t about working faster — it’s about working smarter. Cutting waste, reducing rework, and focusing on high-impact activities can lower costs and boost profits for a leaner, more efficient finance function.

Financial efficiency frees up time and resources to focus on what matters most: driving value across the business.

You don’t need to overhaul everything to make a meaningful impact. Small, targeted improvements like these can yield significant results:

• Automate routine transactions. From accounts payable and receivable to expense reporting, automation reduces errors, saves time, and frees staff to focus on higher-value work.
  
  
• Standardize reporting. Eliminate version control chaos and reduce reconciliation time by building consistent reporting frameworks with defined metrics and automated updates.
  
  
• Integrate disconnected systems. When data lives in silos, visibility suffers. Connecting key platforms — like your ERP, payroll, and billing tools — creates a single source of truth for better decision-making.
  
  
• Shorten the close cycle. Establish repeatable processes and accountability to close faster without sacrificing accuracy. A shorter close gives leadership more time to act on current insights.
  
  
• Outsource to fill gaps. Whether it’s a temporary leadership void or ongoing capacity constraints, bringing in outside expertise (such as a fractional CFO) can stabilize operations and accelerate progress.
  
  
• Strengthen internal controls. Efficiency shouldn’t come at the expense of compliance. Well-documented processes and clear responsibilities reduce risk and improve audit readiness.

Efficiency Steps for Tech Leaders

Technology leaders have the unique opportunity to enable innovation and efficiency across numerous business functions. But without a consistent and collaborative management of change (MOC) process, technology initiatives can quickly become fragmented and misaligned.

Here’s how you can implement a prioritization framework in your organization:

• Establish clear prioritization criteria. Evaluate requests based on alignment to business goals, available resources, budget impact, and potential disruption to other initiatives.
  
  
• Separate the process into two phases. Require a MOC for 1) evaluating new software or hardware and 2) implementing a selected solution. This ensures that each stage has the right level of detail and stakeholder input.
  
  
• Include the following in your evaluation MOC:
  • Business challenges prompting the evaluation.
  • High-level functional requirements for the potential solution.
  • How the challenge is currently being addressed (processes, systems, etc.).
  • Existing technologies that may be replaced.
  • Key stakeholders involved in the evaluation.
  • Estimated evaluation costs.
    
    
• Include the following in your implementation MOC:
  • Results of the evaluation.
  • Selected solution and how it meets the functional business requirements.
  • Required integrations with existing systems.
  • Key stakeholders involved in implementation.
  • Investment and resourcing needs.
    
    
• Create a centralized technology initiative dashboard. Provide leadership and other stakeholders with visibility into current projects, timelines, and status updates. This improves transparency, supports better prioritization, and reinforces alignment between IT and business strategy.

As teams across your organization work to improve processes with emerging technology like automation and AI, having a centralized process is critical.

From Insight to Impact

Whether you are rethinking workflows to remove inefficiencies or evaluating AI and automation, we can assist in providing greater clarity and confidence in your next steps.