Furlough Fiasco: Why 74% of Finance Teams Are Still Relying on Good Ol’ Excel
As the UK government starts pulling the plug on its furlough scheme, a recent MHR Analytics poll reveals that the majority of finance folks are still navigating this financial roller‑coaster with nothing more than spreadsheets. Yep, that’s a blazing 74% of firms unable to quantify the cost impact of pulling employees back from the “holiday” that is furlough.
What the Numbers Tell Us
- 61% of respondents say they have no escape plan for when the furlough magic ends.
- Only 17% are planning to hop on the analytics train in the next year.
- In contrast, 35% of companies are content, or even hoping, to keep doing business the old‑school way.
From 1 August, the big boss at the Ministry of Finance will start twirling a tapering off of financial support each month, finally waving goodbye at the end of October. Employers will have to shoulder the full weight of National Insurance and pension contributions, with a kicker in September (10% of furloughed wages) and a two‑digit punch in October (20%).
Why People Are Still Paddling in the Sand
Mark White, the clever sparring partner at MHR Analytics, explains that any organization that lacks an analytics platform will have a hard time figuring out how the retirement of a furlough scheme will affect their books. He warns that a large company with thousands of staff is about as efficient as a snail on a treadmill when it has to build quick, “what‑if” scenarios using only spreadsheets.
- Scenario modeling is suddenly a must‑have.
- Employment rules can flip-flop overnight.
And here’s the kicker: only 23% of respondents say they’re simply aspiring to adopt analytics, while 26% are actively hoping to bypass it. That aligns with last year’s findings where a quarter of finance and tech pros reported that senior management’s resistance or a stubborn love of spreadsheets were holding back analytics adoption.
The Power Play of Analytics
Think of analytics as a super‑charged calculator that can spin positive or negative scenarios in seconds. Companies using these tools have been able to adapt in real time to the ever‑shifting landscape of lockdowns and the tremulous world of wage recovery. They can crunch numbers on slashing salaries, tweaking commissions, firing bonuses, revising share schemes—everything with the foresight that you can see “who stays, who leaves, who shifts, and who’s drowning.”
Where CFOs Are Stuck
A recent Generation CFO Research survey found that 47% of firms had a finance transformation strategy, and an additional 52% saw transformation as a priority. Yet the reality is, most haven’t implemented a finance planning analytics platform.
Mark White rolls out the red carpet: “Transformation talk is elegant, but it’s all ink without ink. Finance teams need to invest—yes, money—into analytics to survive the Bermuda Triangle of economic uncertainty. The best catalyst for change? Right now.”
So, if your finance team is still on the spreadsheet treadmill, it might be time to hop on the analytics train before the furlough train pulls out of the station.
