For most of 2025, finance leaders have faced increasing pressure to do more with less while navigating return-to-office mandates, shifting real estate needs and rapid technological advancements. At the same time, organisations are seeking ways to build agility without compromising compliance or control.
Matt Waters, CPA, Director of Lease Accounting and Sustainability at Visual Lease and CoStar Real Estate Manager, tells Digital Journal about his perspective on the future of finance, the role of AI and automation and how companies can rethink lease management to stay resilient in a period of change.
Digital Journal: Finance leaders are being asked to do more with fewer resources, even amidst a talent shortage. How can automation and AI help finance teams not only improve efficiency but also increase their strategic influence within an organization?
Matt Waters: It’s a challenge we’re all navigating – maintaining high performance with limited resources. Automation and AI can help, but the value goes beyond efficiency. It’s about removing friction entirely: at Visual Lease and CoStar Real Estate Manager, that means reducing manual tasks within lease accounting and reporting so teams can focus on higher-impact work.
Rather than simply speeding up existing workflows, the real advantage comes from eliminating bottlenecks and automating tasks like lease reconciliation, report generation, and data validation. This opens the door for finance teams to shift their energy toward deeper analysis, scenario planning, and strategic guidance.
The opportunity lies in shifting finance from a reactive to a proactive approach. Yet, there’s still a gap: 100% of finance leaders agree that AI will shape the future of their work, but 48% still use manual processes to manage leases, according to data from the Visual Lease Data Institute. To me, that shows how much room there is to grow. When used with care, these solutions do more than speed up processes; they can increase data accuracy, provide insights, and give finance a greater say in company strategy.
DJ: With ongoing RTO mandates, shifting portfolio needs, and the growing use of flexible workspaces, how should companies be rethinking lease management and accounting to stay agile?
Waters: The return-to-office trend pushes companies to rethink how they manage space quickly. While we haven’t returned to pre-pandemic norms, we see a clear shift: organizations are reassessing their real estate footprint, looking closely at underused space, and, in many cases, trying to offload or repurpose what no longer serves the business.
But that’s not a simple task. According to the Visual Lease Data Institute, 56% of real estate executives say increased scrutiny has made managing leases more difficult, and 55% say controlling lease costs is more complicated than ever.
That’s why agility is so critical. Companies need to understand their lease agreements, know where the risks are and how those obligations affect the broader financial picture. It’s not just about having access to the data – it’s about having confidence in it. Leaders need to be able to model different occupancy scenarios, understand the downstream financial impact, and act quickly as conditions change.
One thing is clear: the organizations that invest now in visibility, flexibility, and cross-functional coordination will be much better positioned to adapt to whatever comes next, whether that’s another wave of RTO shifts, regulatory changes, or market disruption.
DJ: There’s a fine line between adopting technology for innovation versus chasing trends. As someone working at the intersection of finance, commercial real estate and proptech, how does your team navigate this?
Waters: The speed of technological change can be overwhelming, and for finance teams, it’s not always easy to separate real innovation from fleeting trends. There’s a lot of pressure to modernize, but chasing every new tool can lead to fragmented systems, duplicated efforts, and teams feeling more frustrated than empowered.
The first step in our strategy is to be clear about what problem we are trying to solve. What do we want to achieve in the long run? What will we use to judge success? Not every technology that claims to change things will be a good fit. If it doesn’t align with the strategy or address a real problem, it will likely slow things down rather than speeding them up.
We get stakeholders involved in the conversation right away. When everyone agrees on the “why,” it’s much easier to look at choices with a critical eye. Real innovation should make things easier, help people make better decisions, and encourage long-term growth. It shouldn’t make things harder just to be new. Using the proper technology means making smart investments in solutions that help us make better decisions, work together better, and have a lasting effect on the organization.
DJ: Finance and real estate teams are expected to deliver real-time insights while maintaining control and compliance. How have you approached building a function that’s both agile and resilient?
Waters: There are two sides to this: speed and control. For me, a robust foundation is the first step toward resilience: clean data, transparent processes, and technology that allow for both flexibility and compliance.
After that, you need to design for flexibility. This means you may run fresh reports, test different occupancy situations, or make changes to comply with new rules without having to start over. It’s simpler to move swiftly without giving up audit preparedness or control if your finance, IT, and operations teams work together more. Being ready is what lets us be both flexible and strong at the same time.
From there, it’s about designing systems that can flex. That means having tools that allow us to model scenarios quickly, adapt to new reporting needs, and respond to shifts in the market without having to start from scratch each time. Just as important is the cross-functional alignment when finance, IT, and operations are working in sync; it’s much easier to move fast without compromising integrity. For me, resilience comes from readiness, not rigidity.
DJ: The Office of Finance isn’t the only function going through an evolution – we’re seeing that with the Office of Real Estate, too. How are organizations redefining that team’s role in driving business strategy, and what should leaders focus on to keep pace with today’s shifting workplace and portfolio demands?
Waters: The Office of Real Estate is no longer just a back-office function; it is now a key part of how the business works. In the past, real estate teams were mostly seen as administrators who handled leases and building decisions. But now, their job is to be at the crossroads of finance, law, and operations. Terminations, impairments, and portfolio restructuring now have a direct impact on the balance sheet, the P&L (Profit and Loss statement), and ultimately, shareholder value.
Three main things have sped up this change: continuous RTO mandates, portfolio downsizing, and the rise of flexible work arrangements. Real estate leaders need to understand how to assess underutilized assets, renegotiate leases, and determine the impact of various situations, including consolidations and subleases, on the company’s finances. Recent talks in the industry suggest that companies are reconsidering the Office of Real Estate in the same way they did the Office of Finance, moving it from a tactical role to a seat at the decision-making table.
To keep up, businesses need to be able to see all of their leases, model changes in occupancy, and work together smoothly across finance, legal, and operations. Technology and automation, such as AI, are crucial for automating tasks that leaders previously had to perform manually, allowing them to focus on higher-value strategies. The best companies will see the Office of Real Estate as a strategic partner, not a cost center. This partner may help the firm save money, be more flexible, and have a measurable effect on the bottom line.
