Let’s be honest: nobody starts a business because they love chasing invoices or nagging department heads for approvals. Yet, as companies scale, the accounts payable (AP) function often turns into a bottleneck of manual data entry and “where is this payment?” emails.
That dynamic is shifting. We are moving from simple automation to what is now being called “Agentic Finance.”
The Shift to Autonomy
Basware recently integrated AI agents into their platform, but this isn’t just about faster calculators. It represents a fundamental change in how we view software. In the traditional model, you use the software. In the “Agentic” model, the software acts on your behalf.
Jason Kurtz, CEO of Basware, frames the goal clearly: “The immediate future of finance involves near-perfect, touchless invoice processing.”
He’s aiming for a world where invoice processing is 100% automated, compliant, and protected. For a founder or CFO, that sounds less like a software update and more like an operational dream.
How It Actually Works (No Jargon)
Instead of forcing your team to learn complex reporting tools or dig through dashboards, these new agents operate like a smart colleague sitting inside the system.
- The AP Data Agent: Imagine asking your database, “Which suppliers gave us early payment discounts last month?” or “What invoices are stuck in approval?” and getting an instant answer. No SQL, no spreadsheets—just natural language.
- The AP Business Agent: This works in the background, offering contextual guidance to users. It looks at the transaction status and recommends the exact next step, reducing the cognitive load on your staff.
Autonomy Without Risk?
The biggest barrier to handing finance over to AI is trust. We all worry about the “black box” scenario where an AI makes an unauthorized decision regarding company funds.
Basware addresses this head-on. Their approach is that autonomy cannot exist without governance. These AI agents don’t run wild; they pass through a central policy engine—essentially a set of “autonomy gates.”
As Kurtz puts it, “Autonomy without trust is just risk.” The system ensures every decision is explainable and follows the compliance rules your finance team already relies on.
The State of Adoption
If this feels like sci-fi, you aren’t alone, but the market is moving. A recent survey shows that 61% of organizations have already deployed AI agents as experiments. However, adoption is uneven. About a quarter of finance leaders admitted they don’t fully understand what an AI agent looks like in practice yet.
But for early adopters like paper manufacturer Billerud, the benefits are tangible. They reported immediate cost savings and improved invoice quality. The efficiency gains allowed them to move from experimentation to real value quickly.
The Bottom Line for Business Owners
The introduction of these agents isn’t about replacing your finance team; it’s about elevating them. When AI handles the repetitive “check the status” queries, your human talent is freed up to focus on strategy, cash flow optimization, and supplier relationships.
We are looking at a future where the finance function drives business outcomes rather than just processing transactions. The tools are here—the question is, are you ready to delegate?
