Working capital has become increasingly important in times of economic uncertainty and market disruption. Starting in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to confront an increase in day sales outstanding (DSO) as customers faced their own financial hardships. And, although 2021 brought a sense of recovery and stabilisation, economic uncertainty triggered by rising inflation saw business-to-business (B2B) payments slow down throughout 2023. Data from Atradius showed that in 2023, late payments were a continued challenge for organisations. Companies that were polled saw a 7% average increase in overdue B2B invoices in 2023.
This rollercoaster ride over the past three years demonstrates the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) circumstances many finance departments, and specifically accounts receivable teams, are forced to navigate today. This summer, Tom Cruise performed in the latest installment of the “Mission Impossible” series. And it’s safe to say that AR teams are currently tasked with solving an impossible mission of their own. How can they keep cash flowing against all odds?
This report will explain why AR teams must embrace AI and automation solutions to improve their forecasting and cash flow management capabilities. Our evaluation will not only explore how AI can make your AR team stronger. It will also include a guide to creating an accurate cash forecast, and a case study which demonstrates the benefits a recruitment company realised by introducing automation into their AR process.
By reading this report, you should take away the following:
- To deliver accurate, visible, and frequent cash flow forecasts, businesses must address the challenges of lack of resources, inaccurate data, and siloed communications.
- The accuracy of a cash flow forecast depends on the quality of the data that is used, the forecasting method, the frequency of updates, and correctly calculating DSO.
- AI transforms AR processes by minimising errors, extracting insights, and enhancing customer interactions.