Conferma said in a statement that with heavy regulation from ASIC and APRA, among others, it is understandable that so many businesses in this sector have apprehensions about unproductive expenses processes.

Conferma chief executive Simon Barker said the financial services industry should, however, be leading the way for expenses efficiency.

"It doesn't come as a surprise that so many leaders in financial services would be concerned about inefficient processes, but it is surprising that many are still using outdated and unproductive systems to manage their corporate expenses," Mr Barker said.

"They are more aware than any other industry of the financial cost, the time lost to manual data entry and risks such as employee expenses fraud and inconsistencies in company records."

The research also found that only 60 per cent of Australian big businesses are looking to mobile payments as a possible solution to current problems, while only 22 per cent of financial services companies use virtual cards to combat the same problems.

The Opinion Matters research was based on a sample of 225 people who work in the finance department of companies with over 250 employees in Australia, and was carried out between 4 and 13 May.