Ardent’s FinTech Influencer Series highlights innovative voices in the world of Accounts Payable (“AP”) automation. This series is the go-to spot for progressive thoughts on how technology, transformational thinking, and revolutionary ideas are changing how AP work gets done. Continuing our FinTech Influencer Series, today we are speaking with Nick Sprau, Co-CEO at Metafile.
Bob Cohen: Welcome Nick and thank you for spending some time with me today. Let’s get started. Please tell me about your background, your company, and how you ended up in the ePayables industry?
Nick Sprau: Metafile was founded in 1979 as an independent software vendor (ISV) that integrated the then newly invented personal computers to large financial applications on mainframe computers. I joined the company in 1987 to head the marketing and sales departments. We were a very early disruptor in the document management industry in the early 1990s. With our personal computer heritage and being founded in the same year as Microsoft, we have always been a proponent and early adopter of their evolving tools and solutions. Today, we provide cloud-based, paperless, spend management solutions for the enterprise, all based on Microsoft architecture and fully integrated with ERP and business solutions from Microsoft and other industry leaders.
BC: The coronavirus has disrupted business operations and supply chains on a scale that few ever thought possible. In your view, what has the impact been on Accounts Payable (“AP”) departments in particular?
NS: Business Financial Management has evolved tremendously from a technical standpoint in the last 20 years, but it is still a very human-focused, paper-based, centralized department in many businesses today. Unlike many other aspects of business, an event like the coronavirus shutdown with forced remote “work-from-home” makes AP functions almost impossible to perform in that traditional way. In many ways AP is the B2B equivalent of a restaurant. People needed to interact with the onsite tools and with other people physically in order to sustain the business. Without a major (and immediate) change to the business function and new, disruptive innovation and technology, the business would be forced to shut its doors.
BC: Recent events have taught us many things, what should companies be paying attention to now, in the short-term, as well as in the future? (Automation, technologies, remote work, B2B payment trends, etc.)
NS: I believe the remote and decentralized organization is here to stay. The rise in social and collaborative interaction tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom are crucial, but not sufficient to sustain this trend. Cloud-based, integrated, paperless, financial solutions are no longer a “nice-to-have” at some point in the future; they are now a necessity for all businesses going forward.
BC: What role can AP play in helping with business continuity, resiliency, and recovery?
NS: Cash flow is always the life-blood of a business entity, but in a time of crisis managing spend and vendor relationships in real-time, intelligently and with full visibility can become the difference between survival and shutting your doors.
BC: How have companies in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem fared of late?
NS: I have been through many severe business cycles but I think, as far as economic downturns go, this has been the most sudden and dramatic any of us has ever seen. On the other hand, technology companies like those of us in the Microsoft ecosystem were in a much less vulnerable position than millions of other businesses around the world. Most of us, including Metafile, already had some percentage of our workforce working remotely, had tech tools at our disposal to support remote workers that many businesses do not, and, have the cloud-based technology that we can provide our customers which has become even more important to business decision-makers trying to find ways to sustain their businesses to make the economic impact less severe.
BC: As an executive at a FinTech solution provider, what advice would you offer on how best to utilize technology and automation to prepare for future uncertainties?
NS: Be sure to understand that this event is likely not the last we will see of this type. Make it a priority to understand where your vulnerabilities are and prioritize accordingly. Just as the value of medical technology and advancements cannot be overstated to sustaining the health of each of us individually, the value of business and financial technology cannot be overstated to sustaining the health of our economy and our individual organizations.
BC: On a personal note, what is your favorite book or movie and why do you like it?
NS: Saving Private Ryan. I am attracted to stories that try and accurately bring history to life (love history, hated junior high history class) but that also include the human side of these events. Many of these major events in history, including events in the world today, focus on the macroeconomic, geopolitical or the statistical and hypothetical “they.” It is much more emotionally taxing and rewarding to understand the story of the individuals affected and to be empathetic with a sense of “we.” I felt extremely moved by another of Spielberg’s best, Schindler’s List, for the exact same reason. “Individuals can make a difference and don’t let the headline overshadow the people struggling behind them.”
BC: Thank you Nick for your time and insight on the market.
