The future of finance is widely expected to be driven by technologies, such as AI, which offer multiple advantages for businesses to gain a competitive edge while providing greater insulation against market disruption.
Amid the uncertain economic climate, AI-powered forecasting tools and scenario modelling are already enabling companies to have more flexibility and greater certainty in financial planning. In the face of continued rapid advancements, businesses must ensure they are not left behind.
Harnessing AI in finance processes
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are transforming finance departments. Supported by the cloud, solutions now offer business intelligence, forecasts, profitability analysis, and capital allocation insights.
Leveraging the cloud, AI can help manage business data more effectively between different divisions to ensure greater interoperability between systems and full visibility across operations. In addition, AI can enhance cybersecurity capabilities and deliver robust protection against evolving threats.
With the number of acquisitions and divestitures expected to increase into 2026, future-proofed companies need to shore up their capital and cash flows. AI-enabled financial modelling can provide real-time insights, along with scenario planning to adapt to economic volatility.
To mitigate against potential future losses, transforming the finance operating model through cost and risk reduction is a key objective for companies. Human resources can be freed up by outsourcing or automation and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can avoid big upfront investments.
Yet for all the hype surrounding AI, investors are seeking real-world examples of the technology in action to demonstrate the benefits it can bring to their business. SAP is a leading provider in the application of AI across a range of industries, with SAP Taulia playing a key role in payment platforms and capital management solutions.
AI in working capital management
One way to incorporate AI into risk management is to deploy a working capital management package with integrated automation and a flexible toolset. SAP Taulia offers such AI-powered solutions.
The integrated package offers customers a global standardised data model, along with third-party datasets, which can be layered with SAP Taulia’s proprietary data to reveal patterns from millions of transactions and generate predictive insights. Businesses can use these insights to make informed decisions and create action plans to achieve their working capital targets.
SAP Taulia’s Early Payment Predictor tool takes a comprehensive view of the client’s suppliers and couples this with real-time visibility of early payment transactions. The tool then feeds this into an AI model, which allows a business to predict demand for early payment at different annual percentage rates (APRs). This 360-degree view of each supplier and AI modelling is also used to suggest realistic term targets and predict the acceptance of different types of credit cards. These tools all feed into the Payables Planner, combined with the supplier enrichment data from SAP Taulia’s network insights, customers, and third parties.
The planner applies AI models to working capital goals. Based on the accurate and up-to-date picture of the company’s finances, the tool creates numerous scenarios and allows customers to view the pros and cons of each outcome. Once a strategy has been decided, the tool provides businesses with regular updates on what actions are required to ensure the successful implementation of that strategy.
A cloud pioneer and leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP), SAP offers a host of solutions that integrate with SAP Taulia’s tools to enhance the offering to businesses. The Working Capital Management Package pairs SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning with SAP Taulia Scenario Planner. It also incorporates SAP Cloud for Cash Management with SAP Taulia Working Capital Program Execution. Furthermore, data from SAP Analytics Cloud can be fed into the SAP Taulia Cash Flow Accelerator.
The resulting easy-to-understand visualisations, industry benchmarking and AI-driven analysis provide treasury teams with the insights they need to conceive, determine and execute plans in their company’s best interests.
Further advances in finance technologies
Looking to the future, SAP Taulia is investing in generative AI with the aim of developing a working capital management assistant – a natural language chatbot that will extrapolate complex working capital scenarios.
SAP Taulia is also developing an AI performance manager that can serve as a working capital agent and a digital supplier manager that can automatically execute the preferred strategy for a business. When this happens, AI’s automation of manual processes will handle menial tasks, leaving employees able to focus on complex business challenges more effectively.
Despite the tumultuous nature of global events and their knock-on effects on markets, technologies enable businesses to maintain working capital flows with help from trusted market leaders and AI-enhanced tools – all providing greater stability for the future of finance.
To learn more about how SAP Taulia’s solutions and the ways they can support your business payment management processes, download the document below.
