It used to be when people whispered about the “double dip” at cocktail parties, the main concern was avoiding eating something that was now germ laden because someone had thoughtlessly taken a bite of their chip, bread stick, vegetable, etc. and dipped it back into the community dish. Today the whispers are directed at a totally different kind of double dip, one that has greater implications beyond sharing germs and getting a cold.

As fears of a double dip recession grow and the likelihood of it actually happening increases, whispers have turned into conversations about how will companies respond to yet another downturn. Will there be more layoffs? Will spending thaw or stay frozen? And for procurement and finance professionals, the question becomes how do I protect company profits in these trying times? How can I continue to cut costs and deliver savings? After all, you just had to make cuts and reduce resources to stay afloat during the first recession.

There is no easy answer. Economists will tell you to spend, spend, spend; only by aggressively pumping money into the system will the economy return to prosperity. Financial advisors will tell you to spend prudently, hold onto as much cash as possible in order to outlast the storm. The truth is, you need to do a little bit of both – spend in strategic areas that will put you in a leadership position when this whole mess is over. And you need to do it in a measured, controlled way.

I’ve talked to several CPOs and CFOs over the last few weeks, and for the majority managing spend isn’t about slashing budgets or cutting costs and resources – those really are last resort options. Executives know spend is necessary to run a successful business, but that spend needs to be visible and it needs to be controlled. Executives need to know how funds are being distributed and have the mechanisms to take real-time action to reign in spend. Now is the time to put these systems, controls, and measures in place. Re-evaluate your process, find areas for improvement, take action and get everyone committed to smarter spending and saving.

So no matter if we end up in the depths of a double dip recession or finally see the recovery we have all been promised, you will be poised for success – and still have interesting conversation for those cocktail parties.

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Learn more about how CFOs and CPOs are leveraging Coupa to achieve greater spend visibility and control:

• Watch the video, or ;
• Attend our panel discussion at CFO Rising West in October