Weekly Business Insights 06/09/2025
Finance and Accounting Needs Tech Acceptance and Change Champions. Overcoming Capacity Constraints to Minimize Accounting Errors. Gartner: Staff Technology Acceptance Reduces Error Rates
Finance and Accounting Needs Tech Acceptance and Change Champions
In the latest episode of the FEI Weekly Podcast, Mallory Barg Bulman—Senior Director and CFO Advisory Leader at Gartner—dives into one of the most pressing challenges in modern finance: not just adopting new technology, but getting finance teams to actually embrace it. She asserts that technology acceptance is now a critical success factor—especially in environments strained by regulatory complexity and capacity constraints. In her words, “tools alone don’t reduce errors—people who believe in those tools do.”
Bulman stresses the need for peer-driven change champions—influencers within the accounting and finance function who can demystify tools, simplify onboarding, and lead by example. She outlines Gartner’s four dimensions of technology acceptance: ease of use, ease of learning, customization, and comprehensive information visibility. These elements, she notes, are directly tied to error reduction—up to 75% fewer accounting errors in organizations that meet these benchmarks.
The conversation also touches on the systemic nature of errors in finance operations. Despite digital progress, many teams still deal with frequent misstatements, reconciliation delays, and approval bottlenecks. For Bulman, the way forward lies in combining modern tech with organizational trust—where leadership not only invests in systems but empowers teams to adapt and grow with them. It’s a call to action for CFOs and finance leaders to view transformation as both a technology and a human journey.
Overcoming Capacity Constraints to Minimize Accounting Errors
In this insightful piece, Mallory Barg Bulman addresses a foundational challenge facing accounting leaders today: persistent financial errors caused by capacity constraints. Despite technology upgrades and process improvements, accounting teams remain vulnerable to mistakes — not because they lack tools, but because they lack time and headroom. Bulman identifies overwork, regulatory overload, and increasing operational complexity as key contributors to the problem. Her message is clear: until capacity is addressed at the human level, error rates will remain unacceptably high.
Rather than pushing change top-down, the controller invited staff to openly share their learning curve challenges. This transparency created a feedback loop that not only reduced user frustration but helped IT teams resolve issues quickly and effectively. For Bulman, this anecdote demonstrates the difference between implementing a system and creating an environment where systems can actually succeed.
The article concludes by reframing capacity as a cultural issue, not just a staffing one. Organizations must invest not only in automation but also in psychological safety, peer mentoring, and adaptive learning structures. According to Bulman, accounting teams will thrive when leaders intentionally design spaces where employees are empowered to learn from mistakes, embrace new tools, and continuously improve how they work — together and individually.
Overcoming Capacity Constraints to Minimize Accounting Errors
Gartner: Staff Technology Acceptance Reduces Error Rates
In this FutureCFO article, Mallory Barg Bulman presents data-backed insight on why technology implementations often under-deliver in finance — not due to poor tools, but due to poor adoption. Drawing from Gartner’s research, she emphasizes the importance of technology acceptance, a framework that goes beyond deployment to measure whether end-users actually trust, understand, and integrate new systems into their day-to-day workflows. According to Bulman, organizations that optimize for acceptance — not just implementation — see up to 75% fewer accounting errors.
The article’s final point is a wake-up call to finance leaders: automation alone won’t reduce error rates if users don’t believe in the value of the tools. Bulman urges CFOs to prioritize a hybrid approach — combining digital capabilities with empathetic leadership and strong communication. In doing so, finance functions not only reduce errors, but also become more agile, resilient, and better aligned to strategic goals.
Gartner: Staff technology acceptance reduces error rates - FutureCFO