Creditsafe Research Finds Sales & Finance Are Aligned in Regret Over Risky Deals

61% of Finance Leaders and 77% of Sales Leaders See Shared Credit Risk Data as the Fix

ALLENTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Creditsafe, the global expert in credit monitoring and risk management, released its Breaking Risk Silos research study, which sheds light on the misalignment between sales and finance, their differing views about credit risk, late payment trends, lessons to be learned from past risky deals and much more.

Key Research Findings:

• Deal rejections increased in 2025. Nearly half (49%) of sales leaders reported an increase in deal rejections in 2025, compared to the previous year.
• When credit scores drop, sales and finance don’t see the same storm. Nearly half (48%) of sales leaders said their teams are very likely to pursue a deal with a company that has a low credit score. Yet, 41% of finance leaders said their teams are very likely to reject a sales deal for that exact reason.
• Risky deals unite sales and finance – in regret. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of finance leaders regretted approving risky deals in 2025, while 40% of sales leaders regretted asking finance to approve risky deals.
• Shared credit risk data: Fewer surprises, fewer apologies. In fact, 61% of finance leaders and 77% of sales leaders believe fewer deals would be rejected if the sales team had access to credit risk data directly within their CRM platform.

Key Takeaway:

Creditsafe’s Breaking Risk Silos study shows that sales and finance teams are often at odds with each other, driven primarily by their fundamentally different objectives, metrics and perspectives on risk. While sales and finance teams often disagree during the deal process, both are aligned in their regret over risky deals. Both teams believe sharing credit risk data earlier in the sales cycle would reduce deal rejections and protect cash flow.

“When sales and finance operate from different risk data, both sides lose,” explains Steve Carpenter, Chief Operating Officer for North America at Creditsafe. “As economic uncertainty and late payments increase for businesses, misalignment between sales and finance teams can lead to higher bad debt, lost revenue, damaged customer relationships and strained cash flow. Sharing credit risk data earlier in the sales process is the fastest way to reduce regret, deal friction and cash flow strain.”

Why Creditsafe’s Research Matters:

• Businesses can reduce overall risk exposure and cash flow strain by making sure sales and finance are working from the same risk data.
• Businesses can collect payments faster and reduce their Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
• Businesses can position themselves for long-term revenue growth by avoiding customers who have a low business credit score and high late payment rate.

Download Creditsafe’s Breaking Risk Silos research study to learn how shared credit risk data can reduce deal rejections, late payments and cash flow strain.

Survey Methodology & Objectives:

• Creditsafe surveyed over 100 finance leaders and 115 sales leaders in the United States in November 2025.
• The objective was to understand each team’s respective perspectives on risk, how data is used in their respective lead qualification and deal approval processes as well as how shared credit risk data could reduce deal rejections and protect cash flow.

Useful Resources:

• View additional Creditsafe research studies on credit risk, late payments and more.
• View Creditsafe guidebooks for finance leaders.
• Read Creditsafe blogs covering risk management, financial automation and more.

How to Reduce Deal Rejections and Protect Cash Flow with Creditsafe Integrations:

• Learn about the features and benefits of Creditsafe integrations/API
• Speak to a credit risk expert to integrate Creditsafe data across all workflows and apps – so both sales and finance are working from the same data sources.

ABOUT CREDITSAFE

Creditsafe, the global expert in credit monitoring and risk management, is the world’s most used provider of business reports. Today, over 120,000 customers globally depend on Creditsafe to make critical business decisions. Using real-time data from over 9,000 sources across over 200 countries and territories, Creditsafe’s mission is to help businesses mitigate financial, legal and compliance risks, while also empowering them to make more informed decisions. To learn more, visit our website.