The majority of procurement and finance leaders say over 25% of indirect spend has no financial oversight

14th October 2025 – LONDON, UK – New survey data reveals that the majority of Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) say more than a quarter of their indirect spend has no financial oversight, and less than a fifth (19%) are ‘fully confident’ that they have an accurate picture of their organisation’s indirect spend.  

• The majority (85%) of CPOs/CFOs say more than a quarter of their indirect spend has no financial oversight 
• Nearly nine in ten (89%) senior leaders believe less than half of indirect spend is addressable 
• IT and software seen as the riskiest categories for unmanaged spend (81%) 
• 93% of CPOs/CFOs say ‘maverick spending’ is a major contributor of cost leakage 

With indirect expenditure representing nearly half of a company’s total spend, this means significant money is being left on the table.

The report by global procurement and supply chain consultancy Efficio explores the challenges of managing indirect spend, highlighting the risks of cost leakage and outlining how procurement and finance professionals plan to tackle this critical area. 

Majority of senior leaders believe most indirect spend leakage is not addressable – but are they wrong? 

The findings reveal nearly nine in ten (89%) senior leaders believe that over half of indirect spend is unaddressable, suggesting a widespread perception that most of this expenditure is simply out of reach. Yet the data shows only 19% of senior leaders have an annual review process in place for indirect expenditures, which alone could save an extra 15% of indirect spend wastage.2 

Indirect spend: a board-level issue?  

This lack of oversight is not going unnoticed.  Ninety-three percent of senior leaders acknowledge that indirect spend is – or agree it should be – a board-level issue. Even among the 11% who don’t yet view it as a board issue, a third (4%) say they plan to raise it at that level. 

Strengthening procurement capability is also seen as critical, with 85% of leaders ranking skills development as a high priority.  

IT and software departments are most susceptible to cost leakage from indirect spend 

When looking at which areas are most at risk from cost leakage, four-fifths of respondents (81%) said IT and software was the riskiest department for cost leakage, followed by professional services (68%). A vast majority (93%) of CPOs and CFOs cite ‘maverick spending’ as a major contributor to this leakage. 

Methodology 

Efficio surveyed 300 CPOs, CFOs, and senior leaders in companies across UK, Germany, Nordics and France with sales of £1bn or more.