How AP automation can accelerate your AI transformation

New technologies are driving how chief financial officers build agile, future-ready organizations.

With business dynamics shifting, the role of chief financial officer (CFO) has been evolving from a financial steward to strategic business partner. As a result, the responsibilities of the CFO are more diverse than ever. Now, many are charged with ensuring operational efficiency and complying with an increasing number of regulatory requirements.

Unfortunately, their tech infrastructures haven’t been meeting the challenge. A 2023 study found that 47% of CFOs say invoice approvals take too long, 45% struggle with a high percentage of exceptions, and 23% face challenges with late supplier payments. This is often because financial teams are still relying on fragmented, legacy technology that requires manual processes and piecing together data from disparate sources. 

“Finance teams get stuck with tools that are really not purpose-built for them,” says Jason Kurtz, CEO of Basware, a global leader in accounts payable (AP) automation and e-invoicing that serves businesses in more than 175 countries worldwide. “If they don’t have the right tools in place, they won’t grow as fast; they won’t be as profitable; they won’t be as agile. And where is that going to leave them in three, five, or ten years?” 

Fortunately, the realm of AP is going through a significant transformation. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies have emerged as increasingly critical technologies needed to meet the evolving needs of CFOs. In fact, a 2023 study found CFOs have plans to reach a state of autonomous finance within the next three to six years as they harness the power of bots, machine learning, and AI algorithms.

“AP functions need to be touchless from an end-to-end perspective,” says Kurtz. “By cutting out low-value tasks through automation, CFOs can ensure their teams free up valuable time that they can dedicate to other areas of the business. It allows the office of the CFO to really focus on being great advisors and partners to the executive team, which will strengthen the finance function as a whole.”

So how can AP automation be the driving force for CFOs to build future-ready organizations?

Establish solid data and technology foundations

Traditional invoice processing can be time-consuming, error-prone, and costly. AI-powered accounts payable technology is making intelligent invoice processing possible. AI algorithms can automatically extract relevant data from invoices, such as vendor details, invoice numbers, dates, and amounts, with minimal human intervention. Machine learning then enables the system to improve its accuracy over time by learning from past processing experiences. 

“An invoice can be a really rich source of data for a lot of companies,” says Kurtz. “But a lot of the outdated systems today can’t extract the critical data from an invoice, whereas we are able to do that. We’re adding new capabilities that center around the invoice document, whether that’s audit recovery or fraud detection, all in the vein of reducing cost.”

Basware’s SmartPDF, for example, uses an intelligent algorithm and AI technology to extract high-quality data with more than 97% accuracy, and converts the data into a real e-invoice. Then SmartPDF delivers the e-invoice to a company’s AP or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, providing better data input and higher automation as well as continuous improvement to AP processes.

Unlock unprecedented levels of productivity

AI has also ushered in a new era of automation and efficiency. This technology enables teams to fully automate complex, labor-intensive invoice processes. This allows finance teams to speed up tasks and eliminate data errors at every point in the process—from invoice receipt and routing to automated matching and coding.

On average, a full-time AP employee processes a few thousand invoices per month. With Basware, that number jumps to the tens of thousands per employee by making it possible to process an invoice in a matter of minutes rather than the almost 11-day industry average.

Beyond being the fastest, most accurate, and most transparent way to automate invoice processing and payables, this technology also frees teams up from repetitive work so they can focus on strategic, value-driven projects, leaving them feeling empowered and well-equipped for new challenges. Not to mention, it also gives AP teams access to insights around employee workload across units and regions so they can balance work and improve processes.

“You can also better attract talent, because people entering the workforce want to work with great technology that helps them do their jobs better,” says Kurtz.

Leveraging the value of automation

Investing in AP automation now can drive business value in the future. The technology helps enterprises free up capital, allowing companies to reallocate cash to drive business growth, generate faster return on investment (ROI), and realize opportunities to drive cost savings.  

Additionally, as electronic invoicing becomes the norm, AP automation can help organizations navigate the changing regulatory landscape. There are more than 25 e-invoicing mandates and compliance rules that will launch over the next five years.  

Basware’s global footprint and almost 40 years of expertise allows companies to expand into new geographies or cover all existing geographies, all while knowing their AP and invoicing processes scale in a compliant manner.  

“There is no better time for finance organizations to build a strong automation foundation,” says Kurtz. “This technology will be critical for driving growth and fueling the success of CFOs, finance teams, and enterprises overall.”

For more insights on AP automation and e-invoicing, visit Basware.com.