[Editor’s Note: Ardent Partners recently published its Accounts Payable-themed report, “Accounts Payable 2024: BIG Trends and Predictions”. Over the next few weeks, this site will feature articles highlighting the key discussion points from the report.
In 2024, the fifth year of the new decade, the accounts payable (AP) landscape continues to undergo broad, sweeping changes, driven by the events of recent years marked particularly by the global pandemic, unprecedented inflation and rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions, and lingering economic uncertainty. As finance and other business leaders forge ahead into 2024, it is evident that these market events drove a major shift in perceptions regarding the accounts payable process, greatly aided by the resilience of the many AP teams who ensured stability and delivered a real financial impact. In the wake of recent events, businesses have come to a resounding realization — a robust AP operation can be a strategic powerhouse capable of delivering tangible value, enhancing bottom-line performance, and optimizing overall operations. The evolving landscape underscores the imperative for organizations to recognize and leverage the strategic potential embedded within their AP functions.
Over the next two weeks, we’ll feature the BIG trends in accounts payable followed by equally BIG predictions for 2024 that will help AP, P2P, and finance professionals understand the key issues at hand and better prepare them for the year ahead.
Prediction #1 – The Global Economy Stays Strong, Some Countries May Experience a Soft Landing
Multiple surveys published at the end of 2022 showed that 100% of the responding economists predicted that there would be a recession in 2023. While economists exist largely to make weather professionals (and now weather apps) look more insightful and accurate, this was a huge miss. A year later, the economy looks much stronger to the so-called “experts” because it is, in fact, stronger [Author’s note: In my Procurement 2023: BIG Trends and Prediction report that published in January, 2023, Ardent Partners predicted that the United States would avoid a recession in 2023.]
Steep inflation has been curbed in most regions, and despite a high level of geopolitical conflict and tension, businesses continue to operate well and unemployment rates have stayed low. 2024 is also an election year in the United States and there are a large number of risks linked to the election process and who, ultimately, is elected. But, election-year recessions are improbable events, and the final weeks of 2023 reflected a strong stock market and unbridled optimism for the year ahead.
The ongoing threat of a recession in the U.S. will recede (at least until after the election in November), due to resilient employment, inflation, and general economic results that will be bolstered by strategic fiscal policies, increased consumer confidence, and robust trade. Other regions will be buoyed by the U.S. economy, although some may falter in H2.
In 2024, a more stable economic landscape will allow AP and finance leaders to pivot towards more strategic planning and make larger long- term investments in technology and growth initiatives designed to improve operations and results.
Prediction #2 – The Need for Full AP Automation Becomes the CFO’s Imperative
Any CFO worth their weight has noted the impact that the “year of efficiency” had on the stock prices of the Big Tech companies that grew revenues while simultaneously lowering expenses last year. Many of these tech behemoths were able to slice corporate largess without impacting sales/performance and gain billions in market value as a result.
Mimicking these accomplishments has become a major goal for many CFOs in 2024.
When well-deployed and well-adopted, ePayables solutions have a long track record of driving AP efficiencies and driving next- generation value by transforming AP into a superior source of financial knowledge, intelligence, and insights. It is only natural that CFOs will look to their own teams and departments to drive value this year. And, with the expansive promise of AI within AP, many CFOs will champion the need for full automation across their AP operation, making it a business imperative.
Prediction #3 – AI’s Impact on AP Spikes in 2024
AI is poised to revolutionize accounts payable in 2024, streamlining processes, reducing errors, and unlocking unprecedented efficiency, allowing finance teams to focus on strategic decision- making. Many new releases of current ePayables solutions will have embedded AI capabilities that have the potential to unleash a new era of productivity for AP. Many of the leading AP automation platforms have already begun to integrate artificial intelligence within the fabric of their offerings. By the end of 2024, new AI innovations will begin to significantly change (revolutionize is too strong of a word) invoice and payment processing with a true revolution beginning, perhaps, as soon as 2025.
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