New Frontiers in Accounts Payable

Since the pandemic began in 2020, the global economy has been experiencing rapid changes, with shifts in supply chains, changes in consumer behavior, and disruptions caused by geopolitical events such as the war in Ukraine. These market conditions impact how finance leaders approach AP processes. Organizations are facing increased pressure to optimize cash flow, manage costs, and enhance vendor relationships to adapt to these changing market conditions effectively.

Amidst this volatile environment, AP teams have consistently proven themselves to be a critical function, which enables a business to improve their cash position and ensure that it has the resources to meet its obligations and pursue growth opportunities.

In order to provide AP teams with the necessary firepower, finance leaders are leveraging technology to automate and digitize accounts payable processes. The adoption of electronic invoicing, digital payment methods, and automated invoice processing are driving efficiency gains, reducing manual errors, and improving the overall speed and accuracy of accounts payable operations.

SSON Research & Analytics data shows shared services professionals are well aware of the beneficial impact automating processes such as accounts payable process can have. According to “State of Shared Services and Outsourcing Industry Global Market Report 2023”, 87% of shared services practitioners agree that end-to-end process integration is a top goal for 2023, up from 81% the year prior.

However, when looking at end-to-end process digitization, an essential aspect towards integration, shared services and Global Business Services (GBS) are behind. Over half of organizations have not implemented AI into their digitization efforts, thus limiting the rate of scale and detail of their digital processes.

When organizations struggle to deliver end-to-end digital AP processes it impacts the ability to oversee a crucial lever for cash management. Shared services need to adapt to the current market and develop an agile AP team by leveraging AI in tandem with digitization for a seamless process. Not only will an autonomous AP process be more efficient, but it will help finance teams meet many of the goals CFOs are setting today: namely, optimizing cash flow, developing strong vendor relationships, compliance and risk management as well as managing costs.

This past August, SSON Digital published a report titled “Autonomous Accounts Payable: Driving End-to-End Workflows With AI”. The report analyzed how an autonomous AP process is the great differentiator for businesses today by allowing teams to move beyond manual invoice processing to a digitized system that gives them more oversight.

The goal of this report is to continue the conversation and expand beyond end-to-end processing, to discuss new frontiers in AP. This includes exploring the current challenges AP teams are facing, and how new developments in digitization and automation help organizations overcome these challenges and meet their strategic goals.