Fast-track your Return-on-AI: a guide for finance leaders

Whether you’re a CFO, a controller, an AP manager, or part of a business transformation team, odds are you’ve already recognized the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) for your organization. But if you’re still wondering how it all fits together, this guide is here to help.

We’ll decode the jargon, break down the essential features and benefits of AI-powered spend management, and reveal the simple steps you can take to fast-track your ROI.

Must-know AI terminology

Understanding AI starts with understanding the lingo. Here are some of the key terms you’ll encounter:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
A broad set of technologies that allow computers to perform tasks typically requiring human-level intellect, such as problem solving, learning, and decision-making.

Machine Learning (ML)
A form of AI that uses data to learn and improve over time, without being explicitly programmed. The more data it sees, the smarter it gets.

Deep Learning
A subset of ML that mimics how the human brain works using layered neural networks. Great for identifying complex patterns in large data sets.

Generative AI (GenAI)
GenAI leverages Deep Learning to generate unique content, such as images, text, audio, video, and computer code.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)
This is what allows AI to understand and generate human language. If you’ve ever talked to a chatbot or used voice-to-text, you’ve used NLP.

Large Language Model (LLM)
A fancy term for the tech behind tools like ChatGPT. LLMs generate human-sounding responses by predicting patterns based on huge sets of training data.

Prompt Engineering
Crafting just the right input or question to get the best output from an AI assistant. It’s part science, part art.

AI Copilot
A copilot is an AI-powered assistant that is built directly into a software system to provide expert advice, assist in highly complex tasks, and even generate creative content. Examples include Microsoft Co-pilot and Joule.

Joule for SAP Concur
Joule is the ground-breaking, new AI copilot for SAP Concur that’s grounded in your business data and infused with AI agents to proactively assist your employees in every cloud application they use while automating complex processes.

Download this infographic for a printable AI cheat sheet and a handy three-step guide for engineering AI assistant prompts that deliver higher quality results.

Transform your back office into an AI-driven powerhouse

AI is already changing the game for finance teams by shifting the back office from a support function to a strategic driver of business value. Instead of getting bogged down by routine tasks and disconnected processes, AI helps teams move faster, work smarter, and make more confident decisions across the travel, expense, and invoice landscape. That means no more chasing receipts, sorting spreadsheets, or cross-checking reports manually.

Companies using these solutions report a 92% audit automation rate, and many see expense report approval times drop to under two days. These aren’t just time savings, they’re opportunities to redirect resources toward high-value work like forecasting, vendor negotiations, and strategic planning.

Take a look at the following resources for even more insights:

• eBook: How to leverage business AI in travel and expense to gain a competitive advantage
• Video: From Friction to Flow: How AI Transforms Spend Management
• Podcast Episode: How AI is Shaping the Future of Financial Professionals
• Whitepaper: Why Finance is Ready for Breakout Transformation with AI
   

How SAP Concur solutions leverage AI

With nearly a decade of innovations in AI and machine learning, SAP Concur offers organizations of all types and sizes a scalable platform of intelligent spend management solutions that seamlessly integrate with today’s top ERP, CRM, and accounting systems.

Core solutions in our AI-powered spend management ecosystem include:

• Concur Travel: Business travellers benefit from a faster, more intuitive booking experience that aligns with company policies. AI-powered alerts highlight the best options based on preferences and spending standards making compliance feel effortless.
   
• Concur Expense: AI and machine learning work behind the scenes to accelerate processes from expense filing to reimbursement, while ensuring policy violations are flagged in real time. Plus, teams across finance, HR, and travel gain access to cleaner, more accurate data that supports better decision-making.
   
• ExpenseIt: With ExpenseIt, snapping a photo of a receipt is all it takes. AI extracts the data and correctly adds it to an expense report, helping to cut down on errors and reducing rejection rates by up to 90%.¹
   
• Concur Invoice: Concur Invoice uses AI to extract key invoice details and populate fields automatically, giving finance teams faster visibility and stronger cash flow oversight.
   
• Intelligent Audit and Verify: To date, these AI-powered audit solutions have performed more than 1.1 billion audit checks across nearly 41.5 million expense reports (and counting), verifying receipt accuracy, currency, spend category, and reducing risk¹.
   
• Concur Request Assistant: Concur Request Assistant uses GenAI to generate cost estimates based on travel dates, locations, preferences, and more. Employees are able to save time and gain peace of mind knowing their selections will be within budget and policy, all before submitting their request.
   
• Concur TripIt Pro: Duty of care is the duty of all companies. With Concur TripIt Pro, AI tracks and notifies business travellers of risks like severe weather, strikes, or cyberattacks, so they can stay safe and adjust plans at a moment’s notice.

Explore how SAP Concur is using breakthroughs in AI technology to learn more about tapping into intelligent automation to improve efficiency and compliance while delivering a personalized experience for users.

Why you shouldn’t wait to jump in with AI

AI adoption isn’t just trending, it’s accelerating. In fact, the number of CFOs actively investing in AI jumped from just 15% in August 2023 to 51% in 2024².

Why the sudden surge? For SAP Concur customers, it’s because the business case speaks for itself. Teams are seeing measurable improvements in speed, compliance, and accuracy, including:

• 19.2% less time spent on travel bookings³
• 5 times more efficient report filing³
• 78% policy compliance improvement³
• 10 times more errors and fraud captured⁴

Simply put, AI is helping finance leaders go beyond cost containment and unlock new levels of productivity and confidence across their operations.

Want a first-hand account? Watch this video to hear SAP Concur customer insights on Unlocking the Business Value of AI, and discover what a day-in-the-life of a CFO with SAP Concur solutions looks like.

AI-powered automation pays for itself

For finance teams, the true value of AI lies in its ability to streamline everyday processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and unlock insights that lead to better decisions.

And this isn’t hypothetical. Businesses using AI-powered solutions from SAP Concur are seeing measurable results:

• 26% reduction in budget overspending^†, thanks to better visibility and real-time tracking⁵.
• 11% cost savings achieved through smarter supplier negotiations and preferred rates.⁵
• 7 months estimated time to see positive ROI⁵ and a total ROI of 628%⁴ within only three years.

These aren’t just operational wins, they’re strategic advantages. And it’s proof that AI can free up your teams to focus on high-value work while making sure your processes run leaner and smarter.

Want to see what this could look like in your company?

Find out how to evaluate the ROI of AI and where you could find quick wins after adoption with the CFO Insights series ebook, Solving the ROI Puzzle, and by watching our on-demand presentation on Calculating AI's Impact on Spend Management.

No one knows AI-driven spend management better than SAP Concur

With over ten years of AI-powered transformation and thirty years of T&E data from more than 46,000 customers and 92 million users worldwide, only SAP Concur has the spend management expertise and AI-powered solutions your organization needs to navigate a fast-changing business world.

Ready to fast-track your return-on-AI? Talk to us today.

^{1 SAP Concur Internal data}

^{2CFO Insights Report: Repositioning for Growth}

^{3 SAP Concur ROI Research, Global & Regional Findings, Phronesis Partners, 2024.}

^{4 SAP Concur Benchmarking Report}

^{5 Analysys Mason 2022, Travel, Expense, and Vendor Invoice Management Study}