When finance leaders evaluate their accounts payable operations, the same themes consistently rise to the top: accuracy, governance, and confidence. Automation may reduce keystrokes, but it doesn’t eliminate uncertainty. And in AP, uncertainty shows up quickly — in cash flow visibility, audit readiness, and the integrity of the data organizations rely on to run the business.
That’s why the recently released Forrester Accounts Payable Invoice Automation Software Landscape (Q4 2025) stands out. The report reinforces what many finance teams are experiencing firsthand: AP is shifting from a back-office function to a foundation for financial intelligence.
Want to read the full report? Access your copy here.
Forrester highlights three core AP use cases:
- Invoice data capture
- Invoice matching
- Payment management.
These fundamentals haven’t changed. But what has changed is the world finance teams now operate in. Governments are enforcing e-invoicing mandates, organizations are entering major ERP transformations, and data quality issues continue to slow down even the most well-designed workflows.
The report makes clear that modernization now requires far more than automating the steps of AP. It requires strengthening the systems and intelligence surrounding them.
Where the Landscape is particularly telling is in the three extended use cases that Emburse self-reported as the top reasons clients select the platform:
- E-invoicing and tax compliance
- Financial and cash management
- Fraud and risk management
These are areas where automation alone isn’t enough. They demand accuracy, transparency, and forward-looking insights — the kind that help finance teams anticipate issues before they surface.
The report also underscores a critical challenge: fragmented systems and poor data quality. Many organizations are still stitching together separate tools for invoice capture, validation, payments, and reporting. This fragmentation leads to inconsistent data, delayed approvals, and increased exposure to error and fraud. It’s one of the strongest signals that the market is ready for more unified, intelligence-driven AP platforms.
Another key insight: agentic AI is emerging as the top disruptor in AP automation. This aligns with where Emburse is investing next. Over the past year, Emburse has strengthened invoice accuracy, expanded global e-invoicing capabilities, and embedded payments directly into workflows so teams can see liabilities and cash movement in one place.
The next phase focuses on capabilities that help finance teams:
- Identify anomalies sooner
- Improve cash forecasting and decision-making
- Reduce reliance on manual intervention
- Maintain compliance across borders
These are not incremental upgrades; they represent the next stage of AP as a strategic, intelligence-driven operation.
For finance leaders navigating this shift, the message is clear: if an AP process feels like it’s falling behind the pace of change, it’s not a failure. It’s a signal that the environment has outgrown traditional tools.
The goal is simple: give finance teams the clarity, intelligence, and confidence to make stronger decisions before issues arise, not after.
Access the report to explore the findings in more detail and help shape your AP strategy for the year ahead. You can also read our official press release in the Emburse newsroom.