Gourica Survey Reveals Finance Industry Operational Realities: Post-DX Personalization and Perception Gaps

Gourica Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kensuke Okamoto), a company working to improve productivity in the Japanese business world under the vision of 'human-centric rationalization for a freer and richer world,' conducted a survey on 'Time Usage and Productivity' targeting business professionals at large Japanese enterprises (1,000+ employees). This specific report focuses on the financial industry to clarify operational realities. The survey results revealed a clear perception gap between management and the frontline regarding 'specialized routine tasks' in the financial sector. 50.5% of finance executives and department heads recognize specialized routine tasks as 'advanced work that can only be handled through experience and internal networks.' Conversely, approximately 70% of finance management responded that 'more than half of specialized routine tasks can be delegated to others in the company.' In contrast, 42.5% of general finance employees answered that it is 'difficult to delegate to others in the company.' In other words, while management tends to view specialized routine tasks as 'advanced but delegable,' the frontline likely feels they are 'personalized tasks that are actually difficult to delegate,' indicating a gap between management perception and frontline reality. Summary of Survey Results 1. Management strongly perceives specialized routine tasks as "advanced specialized work" 50.5% of finance executives and department heads responded that specialized routine tasks are 'advanced specialized work requiring experience and internal networks.' The 21-point difference compared to section and subsection managers was approximately twice the overall difference across managerial levels (about 10 points). 2. Strong frontline feeling of personalization; 42.5% of general finance employees say tasks are "difficult to delegate" Regarding specialized routine tasks, 42.5% of general employees answered they are 'difficult to delegate internally.' The 14-point difference compared to management (28.2%) shows a tendency for stronger feelings of personalization on the frontline. 3. Limited reduction in specialized routine task burden even after DX implementation Regarding changes in burden after introducing DX tools, the most common overall response was 'no change' at 45.8%. 'Increased' (32.7%) surpassed 'decreased' (21.5%). Notably, 45.9% of finance executives and department heads responded that their 'burden increased.' 4. "Hidden burdens" arise with DX implementation, especially prominent in management In the financial sector, common burdens included 'tool learning' (47.3%), 'handling multiple tools' (43.5%), and 'integration with existing systems' (40.1%). These burdens were particularly high among the management layer. The survey makes it clear that significant perception gaps exist between management and frontline workers in the financial industry concerning operational expertise, feelings of personalization, and the perceived effects of DX. The survey categorized tasks into three types: 'Core tasks,' 'Specialized routine tasks,' and 'Routine tasks.' Core Tasks Tasks directly linked to corporate or organizational value creation that should be the primary focus. These require high-level judgment, creativity, and strategy, with outcomes directly impacting business growth and competitiveness. Examples: Planning/new measure consideration, key decision-making like policy direction, customer negotiations, etc. Specialized Routine Tasks Tasks that require a certain level of knowledge, experience, and expertise, but where procedures are somewhat standardized. Although involving judgment and verification, these tasks occur repeatedly. Examples: Verification work in approval/authorization processes, detailed confirmation/progress management with clients/partners, data aggregation/integration across multiple systems, internal coordination (meeting adjustments, departmental confirmations), formatting reports, etc. For finance, this involves deep knowledge of verifying loan assessment documents or creating/collating various notification forms. Routine Tasks Relatively simple tasks that do not require specialized knowledge or advanced judgment and can be completed by following procedures. Examples: Simple data entry, document filing/mailing, administrative processing like expense settlement and time tracking. [1] Finance industry core tasks at 52.8% (+4pt), but non-core tasks remain high at 47.2% Looking at the breakdown of working hours overall, 'core tasks' accounted for only 48.8%, while 'non-core tasks'—the combination of 'specialized routine tasks' (25.7%) and 'routine tasks' (25.5%)—made up the majority at 51.2%. The reality is that more time is spent on standardizable tasks than on the high-value tasks that should be the primary focus.