EXPERT OPINION/ AP
Organizations with Modern AP Outperform
ternal force is the shift from rules‑based automation to intelligent, adaptive, con- nected AP systems powered by AI. Kurtz describes autonomous AP as a journey that begins with clean, connected in- voice data and ends with predictive, continuously learning controls: “Our AI can learn, predict, and optimize. Our platform continues to learn and evolve as we get more and more volume and traction.” Yet he emphasizes that AI must be tied to ROI, not experimentation for its own sake. Kurtz recounts a customer who “in- vested 1,000,000 euros just experiment- ing with AI” in AP without being able to point to a single euro of ROI—a caution- ary tale about pilots disconnected from business outcomes. By contrast, Bas- ware’s ILM platform builds AI into the operational fabric of AP, from invoice capture and classification, to exception handling and fraud detection, all within tolerances defined by finance teams. For CFOs, autonomous AP begins with mastering invoice data. In SAPinsider’s 2025 report Automating the Record to Report and Financial Close Process, data harmonization emerged as a top barrier to automation, and Basware’s maturity analysis shows that organizations that treat invoice data as a strategic asset rather than an afterthought are far more likely to exceed targets, maintain audit readiness, and avoid fraud. As Kurtz puts it, investing in data quality as part of ILM “is where AP can be a differentiator,” giv- ing finance leaders a single source of truth for spend, suppliers, and working capital. Force 2: Regulatory Pressure Global compliance, the second force is the rapid expansion of e‑invoicing and continuous transaction control (CTC) mandates worldwide, which are in- creasing government transparency into business transactions and compressing compliance timelines. “There are more than 70 of these in the world,” Kurtz notes, “and even the ones that already exist change all the time.” The impact
84% exceeded operational efficiency targets
88% exceeded gross profit targets
83% exceeded invoice processing speed
Basware frames that data opportu- nity in hard numbers. Basware explored how leading CFOs are rethinking invoice and tax compliance to build resilience in Beyond the Checkbox: Compliance as Strategy, on automation maturity, and how advanced organizations with modern AP are significantly more likely to outperform. Critically, 80% of these advanced organizations say they rarely or never experience fraud, compared to only 60% of less mature organizations, underscoring that ILM is a lever for both performance and risk reduction.
“We sit on top of all that complexity and give you one place for all of accounts payable, for all invoices to be handled so that you get exceptionally clean data that you can use in analyzing suppliers, ana- lyzing spend, optimizing working capi- tal,” Kurtz explains. That harmonized ILM layer has processed over 2.5 billion invoices and more than 10 trillion euros in spend over Basware’s 40‑year history, training some of the most specialized invoice‑centric AI on the market. The impact on financial performance is tangible. Basware research on com- pliance and AP maturity shows that or- ganizations with advanced, ILM‑driven processes not only outperform on prof- itability and efficiency, but also report dramatically better audit readiness and lower fraud incidence. In parallel, Be- yond the Checkbox highlights the cost of inaction: 36% of respondents reported paying regulatory fines and penalties, 32% discovered non‑compliance dur- ing tax audits, and 56% said they missed compliance‑related deadlines that im- peded market expansion. Force 1: Shift To Autonomous AP CFOs are under tremendous pressure worldwide to deliver ROI in weeks not months and years and they are doing this while tackling four powerful external forces reshaping their world. The first ex-
ILM As A Response To Fragmented Data
Many SAP finance organizations admit, off the record, that data management is not their core strength, especially when they operate globally with multiple SAP ERP instances and local systems. “Most businesses would admit they’re not great at data management,” Kurtz says. “They struggle to analyze and leverage invoice data effectively,” particularly when multi‑currency, multi‑country op- erations create a patchwork of ERPs and data models. Basware’s approach is to standard- ize invoice lifecycle management as an AP‑specific layer above SAP ERP and S/4HANA, creating a single, invoice‑cen- tric view across all entities and instances.
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