[Editor’s Note: Ardent Partners recently published its Accounts Payable-themed report, “Accounts Payable 2025: BIG Trends and Predictions”. Over the next several weeks, this site will feature a series highlighting the key BIG Trends and Predictions from the report.
As we step into 2025, the world of Accounts Payable (AP) is poised for a transformative year, driven by the accelerating forces of artificial intelligence (“AI”), advanced automation, and the growing recognition of AP’s potential to deliver measurable operational and financial impact.
Since the pandemic began, AP has emerged as a strategic cornerstone for businesses looking to streamline operations, enhance cash flow management, and bolster profitability. AI-powered solutions are helping to redefine the function; the need for smarter cash management and stronger supplier relationships are also aiding the cause.
In this new age, smart executives have identified AP as an area of investment and a lever for driving strategic value. This attention has empowered many AP teams to move beyond transactional tasks, embracing roles that directly influence financial performance and operational excellence.
This Week’s BIG Predictions
Prediction #12 – Alien vs. Predator: AI-powered Fraud vs. AI-powered Protection
Ardent Partners’ 2023 research showed that fraud attempts targeting the procure-to-pay process (and invoicing and payments specifically) hit an all-time high. If the global pandemic emboldened fraudsters, the use of AI-powered fraud tools has empowered them fully. Just as “the Alien” evolved to counter “the Predator’s” advanced weaponry in that cinematic classic, Alien vs. Predator, sophisticated AI-powered fraud detection solutions are now locked in a constant arms race against increasingly cunning AI-powered fraudsters. Fraudsters are conventionally adaptive and relentless, constantly evolving their tactics to exploit vulnerabilities in traditional security measures. They can now leverage AI to generate convincing deepfakes, manipulate data, and orchestrate elaborate phishing schemes with unprecedented sophistication.
In response, finance departments will continue to deploy their own arsenal of AI-powered defenses. Machine learning algorithms are trained to detect anomalies in transaction patterns, identify suspicious invoices, and flag potentially fraudulent activities. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms are being used to analyze communications between trading partners to identify subtle cues that may indicate a fraudulent attempt. These AI-powered sentinels, like the Predator, are constantly learning and adapting, refining their detection capabilities to stay ahead of the ever-evolving threats. For AP teams, winning a battle will not end fraud attempts — there will be many sequels. Everything from fraud to geopolitical instability can create opportunities for fraudsters to exploit weaknesses in payment systems and manipulate financial transactions.
Prediction #13 – AP Leaders Begin Developing New Staffing Models and Hiring for New Skillsets
The deployment of an AI-powered AP automation solution has the potential to fundamentally transform the department’s staffing needs. Accordingly, in 2025, HR and finance leaders will begin to collaborate on the development of new staffing models for AP departments and look to develop or recruit new skillsets to align with the drivers of a modern operation (and the use of a skills-based approach to hiring). While the volume of manual processing tasks will decrease, the need for roles focused on oversight, strategic analysis, and technology management will increase. The new staffing model should emphasize adaptability, technical proficiency, and value-added capabilities.
Staffing Model Overview — The adoption of an AI-powered ePayables solutions will dramatically reduce the need for transactional roles focused on manual data entry, invoice processing, and reconciliations. With automation handling up to 80% of routine tasks within the next few years, the AP team will shift towards roles emphasizing oversight, analysis, and strategic input.
As manual operations diminish, the department’s structure will evolve to support system efficiency and ensure the team’s alignment with broader organizational goals. This transition will require fewer generalists and more specialized professionals capable of managing exceptions, analyzing data, and maintaining compliance.
New Roles and Skillsets — The reimagined AP department will prioritize positions that complement the ePayables system’s capabilities. AI and automation specialists will be critical to managing, optimizing, and troubleshooting the deployed solution, requiring expertise in AI, machine learning, and process automation.
AP data analysts will leverage insights generated by AI to identify trends, improve vendor relations, and inform B2B payment strategies, demanding more advanced analytical and financial modeling skills. Exception management specialists will focus on resolving flagged cases, such as payment discrepancies or fraud detection, necessitating strong problem-solving abilities and AP process expertise.
Furthermore, compliance officers will ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and mitigate risks, while vendor relationship managers (who may report into procurement) will concentrate on enhancing partnerships and addressing payment-related issues.
A short-term need for change management experts will also arise to guide the transition, address employee resistance, and train the workforce on new processes.
Prediction #14 – As AI’s Impact Expands, AP Becomes a True Career Launching Pad
In 2025, a greater number of professionals that began their careers in AP will advance into more strategic roles. This is the inevitable result of a multi-year gain in strategic momentum, the advancement of technology adoption across the industry (including experience in driving a digital transformation), and the broad-based understanding of an AP operation’s huge potential impact on cash management. The rise of AI within AP departments will propel the careers of many AP staffers.
AP professionals who effectively leverage AI technologies will gain valuable skills in data management and financial analysis and decision-making. These skills will be highly prized across various departments within the enterprise, opening doors to career paths within finance and beyond.
Talented AP professionals who develop a broader understanding of the business and its financial operations, while simultaneously strengthening their general AP and AI-related skills, will find success in other roles. This shift will position AP as a launching pad for sharp professionals seeking to advance their careers beyond traditional AP roles.
Within the AP realm, AI has the potential to channel an entirely new level of innovation that will enable both AP professionals and their leaders to transform the tactical and strategic activities of the function (such as invoice receipt and processing, as well as B2B payment scheduling and working capital optimization), while also tapping into a currently underutilized repository of AP information, data, and insights.
