I have spent more than two decades studying Accounts Payable, which is either evidence of an admirable professional commitment or a sign that I need more hobbies. Over that time, I have watched AP evolve from a paper-heavy back-office operation into a data-rich and more tech-enabled function. I have researched and written about automation, B2B payments, supplier enablement, fraud, cash management, and literally every AP performance metric imaginable.
And yet, as I prepare for our webinar next Thursday, “From AP Automation to AP Intelligence,” I am more excited than usual to get behind the microphone. There are three reasons why.
1. Thursday is my birthday. While some people might choose golf, a nice lunch, or perhaps the radical concept of taking the day off, I will be spending part of mine talking about the future of Accounts Payable. After 20-plus years in this market, this feels strangely appropriate. Consider the webinar my professional birthday party. There will be fewer candles, but significantly better benchmark data.
2. There is another change this time around. We are moving to a shorter, 45-minute format, including Q&A. Everyone’s calendar is overloaded, and I would rather deliver a focused discussion packed with useful research and practical ideas than stretch an hour simply because webinars have traditionally lasted an hour. Come in, get the research, hear what it means, ask your questions, and get back to your day. More bang for your buck, or in this case, your time.
The bigger reason I am looking forward to next Thursday, however, is what our latest research says about where AP is headed:
3. For most of AP’s modern history, technology has helped the function process transactions faster, cheaper, and with fewer manual steps. These advances mattered enormously, and they created the foundation for what comes next. But automation and intelligence are not the same thing, and that distinction is at the heart of Thursday’s discussion. We will use our latest State of AP research to establish where the market stands today, including the automation gaps that remain, AP’s current level of AI maturity, and where organizations are already putting AI to work.
From there, we will focus on the larger opportunity: how AI can expand touchless processing, strengthen fraud prevention, improve financial visibility, and ultimately help AP become a more important source of enterprise intelligence. But identifying the opportunity is the easy part. Activating AI in a way that produces measurable results is much harder, which is why we will close with Ardent’s AI Activation Guide for AP Leaders. This guide is designed to help AP leaders develop a practical path for moving from AI interest and experimentation toward meaningful business impact.
Joining me on Thursday will be Graeme Chard, SVP of Product Marketing for Medius, who will help connect the research and market trends to what organizations are actually doing in the field. And because it is my birthday, I am bringing a present. Everyone who attends will also receive a BONUS report from Ardent Partners’ research library.
So, in 45 minutes, you will get new State of AP research, a clear view of where AI is creating opportunities for the function, a practical framework for moving forward, and some additional Ardent research to take with you. Not a bad return on your 45 minutes.
See you Thursday.
