In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Brian Veloso, Managing Director for Canada at SAP Concur, shares his expert perspective on the evolving financial landscape for Canadian businesses in 2025. Drawing from over two decades of industry experience, Brian highlights how finance leaders are adapting to emerging risks like geopolitical instability, while advancing the adoption of automation and AI to overcome persistent inefficiencies. He also emphasizes the growing importance of collaboration between finance and IT teams to address cybersecurity challenges effectively. With practical advice tailored for small and medium-sized businesses, Brian outlines a clear path forward to foster resilience, optimize operations, and seize growth opportunities in today’s complex economic environment.
Brian Veloso has worked with SAP Concur for over 16 years, beginning as the company’s first Regional Sales Executive and moving up consecutively within the organization. Now serving as Managing Director for Canada, Brian is a seasoned sales professional with an unmatched combination of business acumen, sales savviness and product knowledge accumulated over the past 23 years through his experience at ADP and Gelco Expense Management. At SAP Concur, Brian leads high performing teams and is focused on delivering cloud-based solutions that deliver an effortless experience for employees and total transparency into spending, helping organizations of all sizes run better.
Outside of work, Brian enjoys spending time with his dogs and family at the cottage. He is also passionate about raising awareness and funds for Make-A-Wish Canada and the SickKids Foundation.
The SAP Concur CFO Insights Survey highlights a shift: Canadian finance leaders are increasingly concerned about geopolitical tensions, while climate regulation worries have dropped. What does this change reveal about the evolving priorities and risk landscape for Canadian businesses in 2025?
Canadian businesses are navigating a rapidly shifting risk landscape, and CFOs are increasingly stepping up as strategic navigators—not just stewards of the balance sheet.
Geopolitical tensions and global trade dynamics are reshaping external risks, forcing finance leaders to constantly reprioritize their agendas. The 2025 CFO Insights Survey reflects this shift: concern over geopolitical instability has doubled year-over-year (from 15% to 30%), while worsening economic conditions remain the top worry for half of CFOs surveyed.
At the same time, the decline in concern over climate regulations likely signals a maturing response—many organizations have already embedded ESG compliance into their operations, and the domestic regulatory environment feels more stable, at least for now.In short, CFOs are recalibrating their focus—balancing long-term sustainability with the immediate demands of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Despite significant adoption of AI automation, manual processes remain a top internal challenge for over a third of finance leaders. Why do you think these inefficiencies persist, and what steps can SMBs take to overcome them?
While many businesses are embracing AI and automation, internal inefficiencies, particularly manual processes, continue to be a significant drag on finance departments. The survey highlights this paradox, showing manual processes are still a top challenge for 43% of finance leaders, even with 63% automating office tasks. This persistence is often due to underlying barriers that prevent automation from being fully effective, such as poor data visibility (53%), limited ease-of-use and user adoption (43%), and underdeveloped reporting (47%).
To truly overcome these inefficiencies, SMBs need integrated technology solutions. Platforms that provide end-to-end automation of processes like expense and invoice management, leverage AI-driven analytics to provide data visibility that can drive efficiency and smarter decisions.
The report identifies lack of data visibility and limited reporting as major barriers for more than half of Canadian finance leaders. How do these issues directly impact an organization’s ability to navigate uncertainty and pursue growth, especially in volatile economic times?
In today’s changing economic climate, operating without clear and comprehensive financial data severely cripples an organization’s ability to react and plan effectively. The survey underscores this challenge, with 53% of finance leaders citing lack of data visibility and 47% pointing to limited reporting capabilities as major hurdles. This data blindness directly impacts critical functions; leaders struggle to accurately assess financial health, identify risks, or confidently pursue strategic priorities like cost optimization (80%) or AI investments (70%).
Without insight, pivoting quickly or making informed decisions about resource allocation becomes difficult, hindering resilience and growth pursuits. Solutions that enhance data visibility by automating processes and providing the real-time insights can help CFOs with for robust reporting and give them the confidence to navigate financial decisions during uncertainty.
The survey indicates a split in the C-suite over who should lead cybersecurity efforts, with finance and IT not always aligned. Why is cross-functional collaboration between Finance and IT so crucial for effective cybersecurity, and how can organizations foster this partnership?
Effective cybersecurity in the modern business landscape demands a unified approach, recognizing that it’s a critical business risk with significant financial consequences, not just a technical issue. The survey reveals a disconnect here, with a split view on leadership (53% favouring joint vs. 47% IT only) and low planned collaboration (17%). This gap is problematic because Finance understands the budget needs, potential financial impact of breaches, and ROI of security investments (reflected in 63% planning budget increases), while IT holds the technical keys.
Fostering this crucial partnership requires establishing shared cybersecurity goals, creating regular joint planning sessions, and ensuring mutual understanding of how cyber threats impact both infrastructure and financial health, especially as 47% are adapting growth plans due to cyber threats. Integrated financial and operational systems, like those managing expenses and invoices, support this by providing shared data insights vital for informed risk management across departments.
As we look ahead, what final advice would you offer to Canadian small and medium-sized business leaders striving to achieve growth and resilience in a rapidly changing business environment?
Navigating today’s dynamic business environment successfully requires SMBs to strategically focus on both efficiency and informed decision-making. The survey insights point towards increasing investment in automation and AI as key drivers for finance leaders, indicating a clear path to overcoming challenges and seizing growth opportunities. My core advice is to lean into these investments, prioritizing technologies that optimize costs and enhance visibility.However, technology must be paired with strong internal alignment; fostering cross-functional collaboration and shared responsibility for growth is vital for achieving true resilience. Implementing integrated tools that streamline everyday tasks like expense and invoice management, while simultaneously providing leaders with a clearer, connected picture of the business’s financial health, is crucial. This combination of smart technology adoption and collaborative insight enables SMBs to remain agile and resilient against future uncertainties.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. This content is provided for informational purposes only, with the aim of supporting Canada’s small and medium-sized business community through shared insights and experiences.
