Five costly financial missteps your business can’t afford

In today’s economy, unpredictability is the rule, not the exception. From global trade tensions and shifting tax regulations to evolving labor standards and fluctuating consumer sentiment, businesses are navigating a maze of risks. One wrong move — a blind spot in financial planning — can quietly erode profitability and impact the entire enterprise.

Financial missteps are no longer just accounting errors — they’re strategic threats. Avoiding them requires a new level of agility, insight, and connected decision-making.

In a volatile economy, the pressure on corporate finance teams intensifies as global and domestic forces introduce unpredictable headwinds. Each risk category — whether policy-driven or market-influenced — has the potential to significantly derail revenue, profitability, and long-term planning. Here’s how:

1. Over or underestimating the impact of tariffs
Shifting trade policies and tariffs can erode margins, disrupt supply chains, and create compliance risks, leaving companies reacting instead of adapting. Finance leaders need dynamic scenario planning to mitigate these risks before they impact the bottom line.

• Unexpected tariffs: When the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, a global consumer electronics leader faced higher component costs, forcing it to adjust pricing and sourcing strategies.
• Limited sources flexibility: A multinational networking company had to shift manufacturing out of China due to tariff hikes, increasing operational complexity.
• Cost forecasting failures: A top EV manufacturer initially underestimated tariff-related costs on key materials, impacting profitability on some models.
• Regulatory blind spots: Financial services firms with international operations faced compliance challenges due to evolving cross-border tax and trade regulations.
   

2. Misjudging workforce costs and risking compliance failures
Shifting labor laws — wage hikes, work-hour limits, and new worker classifications — are reshaping cost structures and compliance risks. To avoid financial strain and legal exposure, finance and human resources (HR) must collaborate on scenario modeling to stay ahead of these changes.

• Rigid workforce planning: Hospital systems struggled with understaffing when new labor laws limited work hours for nurses and medical staff.
• Underestimating wage increases: Retail giants had to raise wages quickly after minimum wage hikes, impacting margins.
• Failure to address work-life balance: Global investment banks saw record turnover of junior bankers due to work-hour complaints, leading to costly hiring and training efforts.
• Slow adaptation of automation: Financial services firms that didn’t digitize compliance workflows struggled with growing labor costs to meet regulatory requirements.
   

3. Unexpected tax hits due to overlooked policy changes
Evolving tax policies can trigger multimillion-dollar liabilities, impact profitability, and expose companies to regulatory scrutiny, making proactive tax modeling essential to protecting the bottom line.

• Failure to model tax law impacts: A global e-commerce leader had to adapt to new state sales tax laws, impacting pricing and operational costs.
• Inaccurate tax provisioning: A major U.S. financial institution faced penalties for miscalculating tax obligations related to global earnings.
• Missed tax incentives: Healthcare providers failing to leverage R&D tax credits lost millions in potential savings.
• Global tax compliance failures: A top financial services firm paid hefty fines due to missteps in tax compliance for cross-border financial services.
  
  

4. Eroding profits due to missed shifts in consumer behavior
Consumer confidence is volatile, impacting spending habits, pricing strategies, and market share. Businesses that can’t adapt risk revenue shortfalls and margin compression, making real-time data and agile planning critical for staying ahead of sentiment-driven shifts.

• Overestimating demand: An American exercise equipment company misjudged post-pandemic demand, leading to overproduction and financial losses.
• Underestimating price sensitivity: A global streaming entertainment leader’s price hikes led to subscriber losses as customers sought cheaper streaming alternatives.
• Slow response to trends: A top U.S. automaker was slow to transition to electric vehicles compared to its competitors, losing early market share.
• Rigid marketing spend: Retailers struggled due to an inability to rapidly shift marketing efforts to e-commerce.
   

5. Lack of readiness for climate-related and regulations
Environmental regulations, carbon taxes, and investor ESG expectations are reshaping cost structures and business strategies. Companies that fail to adapt face financial penalties, investor backlash, and lost market share, underscoring the need for sustainable investment and proactive compliance planning.

• Overlooking investment risks: Top global banks face financial risks tied to their investments in high-emission meat, dairy, and feed industries.
• Underestimating carbon taxes: Major airlines had to increase fares due to rising carbon offset costs.
• Inability to respond to rising insurance losses: A global reinsurer reported $140 billion in insured losses from natural disasters in 2024, which they attributed to the growing impact of climate change.
• Delaying the shift to renewables: Leading U.S. automakers faced government pressure to accelerate EV production, risking long-term competitive disadvantages. 

Macroeconomic pressures are disrupting core financial metrics. Declining sales and rising costs are compressing cash flow. Market uncertainty is delaying growth initiatives and investment. Slower receivables are tightening working capital, while ongoing pricing pressure is eroding margins.

These challenges are deeply interconnected and demand a coordinated, enterprise-wide response — siloed decision-making is no longer viable, as missteps in one area can ripple across the entire organization.

Inefficient planning: The hidden driver of business failures

The challenges these companies are facing today — whether it’s overestimating, falling behind on ESG expectations, or missing the financial impact of new tax laws — can all be traced back to one common problem: outdated, siloed, spreadsheet-based planning.

Traditional planning methods cost more than they save.

With traditional planning, most finance teams get stuck in reactive mode, relying on outdated tools that weren’t built for today’s complexity. Static models, manual workflows, and siloed data prevent agility and slow down decision-making. Without built-in scenario planning, teams can’t adapt quickly, and disconnected efforts across finance, HR, and operations lead to conflicting goals and missed opportunities.

These limitations show up in real ways: planning cycles drag on, insights arrive too late, plans don’t align with strategy or budget, and decisions are made on outdated assumptions. The result? Delayed action, underperformance, and a business that’s always one step behind.

Make smarter decisions with real-time planning

Anaplan solves these issues by delivering connected, dynamic, and intelligent planning — enabling real-time collaboration across finance, operations, HR, supply chain, and beyond. With Anaplan, companies can break free from the limits of spreadsheets, align decision-makers around shared data and goals, and move from reactive to proactive planning.

In today’s fast-moving, high-stakes environment, the way you plan can be the difference between leading the market — or lagging behind it.

Navigating financial volatility requires agility. Anaplan empowers you to safely navigate economic uncertainty by empowering you to anticipate risks, optimize decisions, and drive resilience across your business. Anaplan transforms financial planning from reactive to proactive by equipping your team with the following capabilities:

• Real-time visibility: Instantly track cash flow, costs, and performance.
• Scenario planning: Model “what-if” scenarios to mitigate risk and seize opportunities.
• Dynamic forecasting: Adapt quickly as market conditions shift.
• Integrated planning: Align finance, sales, HR, and operations on a unified platform.
• AI-powered insights: Detect anomalies, refine forecasts, and uncover trends.

With Anaplan, your finance teams don’t just report on business performance — they shape it.

Resilient organizations run on Anaplan

Resilient organizations aren’t just reacting to change — they’re anticipating, adapting, and thriving in it. Leading companies across industries are using Anaplan to break down silos, gain real-time visibility, and drive confident decisions. From faster forecasting to smarter resource allocation, they’re proving that connected planning isn’t just a competitive edge — it’s a necessity.

• ServiceNow strengthened enterprise resilience by automating financial processes — achieving 98% time savings in weekly data consolidation, streamlining thousands of POs, and embedding business logic into models for strategic visibility and headcount forecasting.
• Deloitte improved agility by cutting planning cycle time by 50%, deploying in 3 months, enabling scenario modeling in 1.5 days, and supporting growth through dynamic financial and capacity planning.
• Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust achieved operational resilience by reducing forecasting time by two-thirds — saving hundreds of days on planning and enabling instant access to updated information for more efficient decision-making.
• Crown Prosecution Service maximized taxpayer value through financial insights, streamlined data consolidation, improved resource allocation, and enhanced scenario planning for fast, accurate financial planning and the ability to adapt to changes.
• LaTrobe Financial fortified financial operations by reducing portfolio and asset-mix report production time by 98%, accelerating trade settlements by 50%, and enabling real-time liquidity and cash flow monitoring.

Ready to future-proof your financial strategy? 

Whether you're optimizing margins, accelerating growth, or adapting to disruption, Anaplan gives you the clarity and agility to stay ahead. Let us show you what’s possible.