The gap

Live is not the same as finished

Implementations are run to a deadline. To hit it, finance scope often stops at "what we did before". Period-end still runs on spreadsheets, cash is forecast outside the system, and margin reporting waits for month end.

The functionality to fix this is usually already in your licence. Many of our consultants come from business, including former finance controllers, so they know which features make a real difference to a finance team, and how to make them stick.

Where we help

Finance capability we bring to life

Period-end close

Plan, automate and monitor the close with SAP's financial closing tools, so close is shorter and every task is tracked.

Universal Journal and reporting

One source of truth for finance and controlling. Real-time reporting without reconciliation between ledgers.

Margin and profitability

Margin analysis by customer, product, channel and region, available as transactions post rather than at month end.

Receivables and collections

Credit, collections and dispute management that help you get paid sooner and spot risk earlier.

Payables and invoice automation

Automated invoice capture, matching and payment runs, with fewer manual touches and better supplier relationships.

Cash and treasury

Bank integration, cash positioning and liquidity forecasting inside SAP, so you see cash daily instead of weekly.

Group reporting and consolidation

Intercompany matching and consolidation in the same system as your ledgers, for faster, auditable group results.

Tax and compliance

VAT and digital tax reporting such as Making Tax Digital, e-invoicing readiness and audit-ready controls built into the process.

Typical finance design challenges

Finance problems we help customers solve

Every finance team is different, but some design problems come up again and again. Here are four typical examples of the kinds of problems we help customers resolve in SAP Cloud ERP, and how we approach them.

Slow, manual period-end close

The problemClose takes too long, with spreadsheet reconciliations, manual accruals and intercompany mismatches.

How we solve itWe design a faster, automated close built on the Universal Journal, with intercompany matching and SAP's closing tools orchestrating every task.

Path to autonomyA standard, automated close is the foundation SAP's Autonomous Close Assistant builds on.

Hands typing on a laptop showing a finance spreadsheet

Multi-GAAP and group reporting

The problemIFRS, local GAAP and US GAAP across many entities and currencies, consolidated outside the ERP.

How we solve itWe help you choose the right leading ledger (usually IFRS or US GAAP for a group), run local GAAP in parallel ledgers, and consolidate in SAP with Group Reporting.

Path to autonomyA clear ledger and group design gives agents one consistent set of rules to work to across entities.

Stacked glass cubes in red and blue at sunset

Weak profitability insight

The problemStatutory numbers are fine, but there is no clear view of margin by product, customer, channel or segment.

How we solve itMargin Analysis and document splitting give you profit-centre and segment P&Ls and balance sheets inside SAP, without exporting to a separate BI tool.

Path to autonomyTrustworthy margin data inside SAP lets Joule surface insight for you, rather than your team building reports.

Stacked glass layers with a red layer in the middle

Transactions and working capital

The problemManual payables, receivables and cash processes cause invoice backlogs, slow collections and poor cash visibility.

How we solve itAutomating payables, receivables and cash management frees up working capital and tightens controls at the same time.

Path to autonomyWell-controlled payables, receivables and cash processes are prime candidates for agents to run end to end.

Blue and red glass panes with a beam of light passing through

What these have in common

The common foundation

Grid of red lights curving into the distance

THE FOUNDATION

Harmonised master data and chart of accounts, built on a clean core

WHY IT MATTERS

The root cause behind problems like these is usually fragmented master data and legacy customisation. Getting these right decides whether the benefits land.

The SAP Autonomous Enterprise

Getting finance ready for the Autonomous Enterprise

In SAP's Autonomous Enterprise, Joule Assistants coordinate AI agents to run finance processes from start to finish inside SAP Cloud ERP. Your finance team moves from doing the work to steering it.

SAP's Autonomous Close Assistant shows what that means. SAP says it can compress the financial close from weeks to days by automating journal entries, reconciliation and error resolution across the whole process.

Agents do the routine work

Journals, reconciliations, matching and error resolution run automatically, around the clock.

People steer and decide

Your team reviews exceptions, approves what matters and spends more time on analysis and advice.

Every action is controlled

Approval limits, segregation of duties and a full audit trail apply to agents as well as people.

The SAP Autonomous Enterprise

What finance needs in place

✓One source of truth. The Universal Journal used properly, without side ledgers and offline reconciliations.

✓A standard, documented close. Agents automate a process that is already defined. They cannot fix one that isn't.

✓Clean master data. Chart of accounts, cost centres, customers and suppliers that are accurate and governed.

✓Controls designed for agents. Approval limits, segregation of duties and an audit trail for every automated action.

How we get you there

Assess your readiness

Ignite reviews automation and AI as one of its technology domains, maps where agents could add most value, and gives you an AI and automation roadmap.

Fix the foundations

The capability and design work on this page, from master data to standard processes, is exactly what agents need to work reliably.

Adopt assistants in stages

SAP says GROW customers get the full Joule Assistants portfolio at onboarding, and RISE customers get three assistants activated in their first year. We help you choose, govern and measure them.

Autonomous finance in practice

What autonomous finance looks like, layer by layer

SAP groups its finance AI under what it calls Autonomous Finance, which combines Joule Assistants and Joule Agents across planning, treasury, accounting, revenue management, compliance and tax. Here are finance examples for each layer, from asking questions to having the work done for you.

Joule, the copilotLayer 01

Everyday questions and simple tasks

Joule answers, finds information and opens the right app. You still do the actual work yourself. These are typical requests a finance user might type into Joule. They're illustrative, not quoted from SAP.

"Show me overdue receivables over £10,000 for UK customers."

"What's the current balance on GL account 400000 for company code 1000?"

"Take me to the app for posting a manual journal entry."

"Summarise this month's top five cost centre variances."

Joule AgentsLayer 02

Do the work themselves

SAP's own finance agents include:

Cash Management Agent

Analyses daily bank statements, automates reconciliation, flags likely cash shortages and surpluses, and suggests optimisations. SAP estimates it saves up to 70% of the time spent on manual reconciliation.

Accounting Accruals Agent

Calculates accruals and deferrals from system data and gives the accountant a proposal to review, with an explanation of how it worked out the figures.

Dispute Resolution Agent

Handles cases such as incorrect or missing invoices, unapplied credits, and denied or duplicate payments. In a typical flow, the agent pulls the original order, delivery and invoice, compares them with the claim, finds the root cause, proposes a fix, drafts the customer message and routes it for approval.

International Trade Classification Agent

Classifies exported products under trade regulations and recommends customs tariff numbers and commodity codes.

Companies can also build their own agents in Joule Studio, for example a financial accounting agent that automates bill payments and updates ledgers.

Joule AssistantsLayer 03

Role-based coordinators

SAP's finance assistants include:

AssistantWhat it does
Financial Closing AssistantRuns the full close across posting, accruals, journal validation, error fixing and intercompany reconciliation.
Accounts Receivable AssistantPredicts churn, prioritises collections, prepares dunning steps and outreach, and streamlines disputes.
Billing AssistantSpots billing inconsistencies early and validates data before invoices are created.
Governance AssistantTracks regulatory changes, coordinates controls, monitors risk and automates testing for CFOs, compliance leads and auditors.
Cash and Treasury AssistantSupports cash and treasury management, including intercompany funding and risk insight.
OthersFinancial Planning, Tax and Compliance, Accounts Payable, Expense Management, Sales Operations and Travel.

How we work

Three ways to start

OPTION 1

In your implementation

Bring our finance consultants into your SAP Cloud ERP project so the finance design goes further than "like for like" from day one.

OPTION 2

After go-live

We review how your finance team uses SAP today, find the gaps and the quick wins, and agree a prioritised plan to close them.

OPTION 3

Through AMS

As part of our Application Management Services, we keep improving your finance processes release by release, not just fixing issues.

Talk to a finance consultant

What changes

What finance teams get

A shorter close

Fewer manual journals, fewer spreadsheets and a close you can monitor in one place.

Real-time margin

Profitability you can see during the month, while you can still act on it.

Better cash visibility

A daily view of cash and a forecast you trust.

Compliance in the process

Controls and audit trails built in, not bolted on.

Next step

Find out what your finance system could be doing

Talk to one of our finance consultants about where you are today, what you could switch on next, and how ready you are for autonomous finance. Send us a message using the form.

Send us a message