The Global indirect tax landscape is changing incredibly rapidly which inevitably impacts the finance function in many companies. 'e-invoicing, government mandates, continuous transaction controls' are some of the new buzz words that everyone talks about and many transformation projects are now focused on.

This is a trap. What is good for government is not necessarily good for business and it is very probable that e-invoicing mandates work against your business objectives.

While very important, it is critical that we look beyond compliance and we understand what the future will bring.

This Masterclass will illustrate how e-invoicing mandates are just one step in a journey and how you can focus on today's needs while you prepare for what might come next.

The upcoming legal obligation regarding e-invoicing is a decisive turning point in the business world. However, this transition is much more than just a requirement; it provides the perfect opportunity to optimize business processes from scratch.  AFI Solutions' Single Point of Business approach will provide a perfect solution for handling (e-)invoices and other documents, including receipt, sending, conversion and processing. Martin Bannik, AFI's e-invoicing expert, will explain how the implementation of the appropriate invoicing solutions can help to optimize your business processes comprehensively.

 In this session, we will explore the transformative power of digital integration in finance departments. René Söll from Natalie Söll Vertrieb GmbH will share his first-hand experience of adopting an integrated cloud platform for his business finance and operations. He will delve into the profound effects this shift has had on his accounting and finance practices. Join us to gain valuable insights into leveraging cloud-based solutions for a more efficient and insightful financial management approach. 

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a topic that is currently demanding significant attention from many companies. In our masterclass, we will focus on two key aspects of the CSRD: XBRL tagging and the challenges involved in creating an auditable CSRD report. Our aim is to address the fact that sustainability teams often have limited experience with these topics. We hope to provide participants with valuable insights and support to enhance their understanding and improve their work in these areas.

Outdated financial processes significantly impact both efficiency and team well-being, contributing to high turnover rates. In this session, we will explore the findings of the latest FloQast study, which reveals that over 60% of finance executives experience stress due to manual processes. We will discuss how automation and artificial intelligence (AI) can offer practical solutions to streamline operations and enhance job satisfaction. Additionally, an expert from CFGI Germany will present real-world examples and actionable strategies for successful financial transformation.

Managing global expenses in a multinational corporation like Knauf presents significant challenges, including currency fluctuations, regulatory compliance, and diverse expense reporting standards. In this masterclass, you will hear leading practice examples on how to streamline global expense management in an organization with a global footprint. Discover innovative strategies and solutions successfully implemented by Knauf to overcome these challenges and optimize their expense management processes.

Immerse yourself in the world of high-speed controlling and how you can efficiently manage operational controlling processes, integrated financial planning and legal consolidation with the Corporate Planning Software. Find out in our live demo how fast and clear IBCS reports lead to more agile decisions.

Global corporations receive invoices from all over the world and at many locations. Get to know how innovative software and process optimization can boost your global invoice processing. Be inspired and take valuable tips for your own company.

Accounting and controlling are often described as the cornerstones of successful corporate management. Magnus Bilke knows from many years of experience that in real life, the interplay between these disciplines is anything but straightforward.

His dream: a holistic collaboration at eye level that enables forward-looking, data-driven corporate management. With the DONE!Financials Group, he sets a good example and dispels common prejudices in his expert talk. It's a kind of pairing consultation for corporate finance, because his heart beats for the close integration of accounting and controlling.

Our ESG experts present the challenges of the ESG reporting wave and their project experiences how these can be managed.

Follow our exciting dialogue presenting practical recommendations and discussing the following questions:

How to scope the group companies subject to reporting?
How to determine the material sustainable topics?
Which information and data points must be reported?
What does the auditor of sustainability reporting pay attention to?
What might be consequences of non-compliance?

One of the major challenges in project controlling is the “life to date” view. It requires both cost and margin calculations as well as project accounting data to be considered. In our master class, we will walk you through a real-world implementation project based on the case of Ippolito Fleitz from Stuttgart. You will learn how project controlling can be optimized using a state-of-the-art tool like Prophix.

The agricultural group BayWa switched to SAP S/4HANA and implemented SAP Central Finance as a central part of the changeover. The go-live of the switch to SAP S/4HANA was at the beginning of 2024. With the introduction of SAP S/4HANA, the Group replaced a very heterogeneous SAP R/3 system that was around 20 years old. SAP Central Finance connects the old SAP R/3 system with the future SAP S/4HANA system and thus enables a gradual move with cutting patterns across the legal structures, significantly reducing complexity and risk in particular. At the Accounting Summit, Markus Lobinger and Holger Turansky will report on the preliminary study carried out in advance and provide a practical insight into the subsequent implementation and the particular challenges of the project.

In the masterclass, we look at the relevant accounting regulations in accordance with IFRS & HGB. We present key challenges and pitfalls as well as approaches to overcoming them. The masterclass is suitable for ‘newbies’ as well as ‘experts’ in the field of ESOP & VSOP accounting.

Robust, scalable, future-proof  
 

In our masterclass, we will take a detailed look at the Record-to-Report (R2R) process and the crucial role of a holistic approach. We will look at the individual components - such as reconciliation, close, journal entry, intercompany and automation - and illustrate
them using practical examples from various industries. We will talk about methods and tools to get your R2R process to a best-in class level and make it future-proof.  

Discover and learn in our masterclass:  

R2R process components  

- Platform economy options to generate significant added value  

- Best practices from different industries  

- Potential challenges in R2R projects  

Finally, we take an exciting look into the future of the R2R process and highlight the pioneering role of GenAI and ESG. Be inspired on how you can shape sustainable and future-oriented financial management. Join us and become part of this innovative journey!   

In this presentation, we will delve into the world of the classic approach to key performance indicators (KPIs) in comparison to the "True KPIs" approach. With the idea of "True KPIs", we introduce a complementary perspective that is more orientated towards the real actual situation of the company and can provide new impulses for the operational management of your company. Find out how True KPIs can revolutionise traditional controlling and how they differ from conventional KPIs. Discover how True KPIs based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) enable more precise and dynamic decision-making processes. Innovative opportunities are opening up to increase the efficiency and responsiveness of corporate controlling.

The presentation offers you:

- An introduction to the world of True KPIs and how they differ from traditional metrics.
- Strengthen your ability to interpret and utilise data comprehensively.
- Recognise ways in which True KPIs can enrich the operational management of your company.
- Recognise the potential offered by AI in the analysis and application of True KPIs.
- Practical application examples as inspiration for the integration of True KPIs in your company

Financial Accounting is often regarded as a regulatory-driven discipline, at the same time, it forms the basis for managing the business by the controlling function. A close integration across the finance functions is therefore an essential success factor.

Together with Lexware, Visa will delve into the area of automation in accounting, focusing on the benefits offered by card-based transaction data. We will demonstrate how this data can optimize accounting processes by providing real-time access to transactions, enabling automated reconciliations, and significantly reducing the effort of manual data entry. In addition, we will discuss how the use of card-based transaction data ushers in a new era of digital accounting and paves the way for a more efficient and streamlined future.

Discover how N26 is transforming the Office of the CFO through modern technologies. This session will demonstrate how a modern financial system provides efficient and customer-centric solutions, and how flexible reporting enables rapid response to new requirements. Another key focus is on how the CFO area can operate more independently from IT to become more agile and efficient. Finally, the session will explore the role of AI as a co-pilot in modern financial processes, supporting optimization and better decision-making. This session offers insights into the future of financial processes.

Aico's hyper-configurable and interconnected financial close solutions are helping large enterprises improve their Record-to-Report (R2R) processes. The productivity of enterprise finance is struggling with growing complexity, a mix of third-party and in-house software suppliers, and a ceiling on department overheads. Christopher von Walzel, Sales Executive at Aico, will share how Aico’s hyper-configurable and interconnected financial close solutions, enhanced by automation and industry-unique ERP integration technology, facilitate a faster and more accurate close without increasing over costs.

Digitalization is transforming finance. Process automation with intelligent tools offers tremendous opportunities. Learn how new SAP S/4HANA applications such as automated bank statement processing or Intelligent Reconciliation of Goods and Invoice Receipt Accounts can help you accelerate your financial close while improving quality.

Join us for a session to explore the impact of 3rd wave AI on enterprise accounting
operations. We'll examine how advanced LLMs and Agentic AI platforms are reshaping
the back-office globally. Learn about deploying specialized AI Agents as a key factor to
accelerate the journey to operational excellence in Purchase-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, and
Hire-to-Retire processes.

Key highlights:

- Mechanics of Agentic AI and AI Agents: Gain insights into how these
cutting-edge technologies function and the ways teams can seamlessly
integrate and collaborate with them.
- Live Demonstration and Case Study: Witness a live demo featuring AP AI
Agents embedded within SAP S/4 Hana, showcasing their impact in a global
enterprise setting.
- Project Plans and Success Criteria: Learn from real-world example project
plans and understand the critical success factors for implementing AI Agent
programs.
- Preparing for Transformation: Explore essential steps your organization
must take now to prepare for and thrive in this upcoming AI-driven paradigm
shift.

Don’t miss this opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and transform your back-office
operations with Agentic AI.

Generative AI is revolutionising our world thanks to human-level processing of language information. With modern AI technology, the complete end-to-end automation of complex business processes is no longer a distant vision, but a tangible reality.

But what does this mean for the finance department? In this masterclass, you will learn how you can fully automate administrative back-office activities along the procure-to-pay process with state-of-the-art generative AI assistants - from accounting to Intrastat and central bank reporting to ESG classifications.

What you will learn in this masterclass:

Insights into how these generative AI assistants work
How they can be embedded in ERP and accounting system
The data they learn from
The financial value they can add
At which process points they are best integrated
There will also be an exclusive live demo!

Vote for the most inspiring, charismatic or innovative speakers in our app. The top three speakers on each stage will be presented with a Accounting Summit Speaker Award.