AMEX conducted its second annual “Global Business & Spending Monitor” survey to see how the priorities of senior finance executives from five regions across the globe are changing as they adapt to today’s unprecedented economic conditions. The responses aren’t exactly heartening, but wiredFINANCE found some bright spots in the AMEX results that otherwise reflect an overall dampened outlook for the global economy.

For example, the AMEX study found that 70 percent of the senior finance executives expect the recession to continue into 2010. Yet, wiredFINANCE found it encouraging that many respondents intend to continue spending in key areas, especially technology and R&D, even as they aggressively cut costs.

Another research panel, this one sponsored by Emptoris, a spend management technology provider, came up with “Five Strategies to Impact Working Capital.” These strategies, too, will have an impact on technology spending as CFOs implement them.

The reason companies are opting to maintain rather than cut technology spending, according to Wendy Prewitt, VP of global business development at AMEX, is that it allows companies to reduce costs elsewhere, generate more revenue, and attract customers. For example, investments in Internet and Web applications can attract new customers and new revenue to the company. Organizations also can use technology to automate processes like payments or customer service to reduce costs.

Of particular interest to CFOs may be the change in attitude toward some classic financial functions reflected in the survey responses. The AMEX report notes that established processes for planning, forecasting, and budgeting provide little value and indeed may be counterproductive during times when yesterday’s assumptions are discarded as circumstances change. Nearly 8 out of 10 respondents are re-examining and revising their forecasting methods in an attempt to reflect the new reality.

As for IT spending, 69 percent of the respondents say that it is important to them to maintain IT spending going forward. In another question, nearly half of all respondents report their company will spend the same amount or more over the next 12 months on computer hardware (48 percent) and enterprise-level IT systems (50 percent).

In the Emptoris “Five Strategies” report, a panel of experts came up with five strategies to impact working capital. The strategies are:

1. Securing and preserving cash by leveraging often overlooked opportunities in accounts payable and inventory management;

2. Getting costs down through achieving procurement excellence to reduce costs in a sustainable manner;

3. Reducing risks by developing and managing key risk indicators (KRIs);

4. Improving visibility into corporate spending through business performance management and business intelligence tools; and

5. Stopping financial leaks through a commitment to active compliance, which can impact the bottom line (and not just get auditors off your case).

Information technology plays a significant role in helping an organization effectively pursue all of these strategies. That alone may be enough of a reason to maintain or even expand your technology spending. ###