Emissions are seeping onto the balance sheet. With regulations tightening, customer and investor expectations rising, and green finance becoming mainstream, finance leaders are perfectly positioned to apply their skills in data, forecasting, and compliance to emissions.

That’s why ESG is a critical topic at the Accounting Summit 2025, where European finance leaders will gather to discuss the future of accounting.

In this blog, we’ll explore

• Why finance teams are critical to carbon accounting
• What are the barriers to successful carbon management
• How spend management companies can support customer carbon goals

Why finance is at the forefront of carbon management

According to McKinsey, carbon management sits “at the intersection of strategy, compliance, finance, and technology”.

This is because the skillset required for financial management mirrors carbon accounting. They both practice decision-making informed by rigorous data, support compliance through verifiable disclosures, identify cost savings from efficiencies, and inspire investor confidence through transparent risk management.

For many companies, carbon reporting often gets stuck in compliance, particularly with regulations, such as the EU CSRD, and other disclosure rules. However, CFOs and their teams are uniquely placed to realise carbon management as a strategic opportunity.

Finance teams that invest in emissions planning and data management can:

• Reduce costs through energy and process efficiency
• Unlock access to green finance and favourable lending terms: for example, large UK government contracts now mandate net zero commitments
• Develop differentiated, green product offerings for customers

Empowering finance teams to manage carbon

The opportunity is already being realised inside finance teams. PwC found that two thirds of organisations now have a sustainability committee, and 63% of those have grown their finance function to support emissions planning and reporting — compared with just 11% without such committees.

The data challenge and the tech stack gap

But the transition isn’t without challenges. Finance leaders consistently cite data gaps as the biggest barrier. For CFOs, carbon is a data chasm that needs to be closed.

Payhawk found that 94% of CFOs expect their future tech stack to help track carbon intensity by revenue. The appetite is there. What’s missing is the infrastructure.

This is where spend management platforms have an unrealised opportunity. By embedding emissions intelligence directly into workflows, platforms can track carbon alongside spend. Only when emissions are incorporated like this into company culture can they drive value creation.

A greener future for finance teams

Successful CFOs balance the short-term operational priorities of finance teams while simultaneously upskilling and equipping for the demands of a net zero organisation. It’s a business imperative.

That’s why industry spend management platforms such as Payhawk, Zoho Expense, and Soldo are integrating Lune’s emissions intelligence. They’re empowering finance teams to support climate compliance, build investor confidence using carbon transparency, and identify green growth opportunities. All alongside spend management.

For the platforms, carbon tracking is a new revenue stream.

Carbon management at the Accounting Summit

The upcoming Accounting Summit will explore the future of finance teams. Carbon management will be as central to discussions as cash flow, and the platforms that enable this transition will be the industry leaders of tomorrow.

To learn how you could unlock a new revenue stream using emissions intelligence, connect with Lune at the Accounting Summit.