Will AI Finally Make Finance Faster and Smarter? I’m Headed to SAP Sapphire to Investigate...

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In late May, I’ll head to #SAPSapphire in Madrid, one of the most important global gatherings in enterprise technology. This year, I’m not just attending as a participant; I’ve been invited by SAP to cover the event, focusing on their flagship SAP Business Suite and, more specifically, how it can transform the role of finance in the modern organization.

This isn’t just a reporting assignment. It’s an opportunity to explore the next frontier of becoming a CFO in the age of AI, data, and intelligent enterprise systems. And let me tell you: I have questions!

The Evolution of the CFO: From Scorekeeper to Strategic Business Partner

We’ve all felt the shift over the past decades. Finance leaders are no longer being asked to “keep the books.” Today’s CFO is expected to be:

• A strategic partner in growth,
• A guardian of resilience and sustainability,
• And a tech-savvy leader who can steer the business through uncertainty.

And all of that while keeping an eye on risk, compliance, liquidity, and profit. That’s a tall order that no one can fulfill with legacy systems or fragmented tools. The modern CFO needs something new. Something unified. Something intelligent. That’s where SAP’s Business Suite enters the conversation.

So, Why Sapphire? Why Now?

SAP Sapphire is more than just a tech event. It’s where business leaders, technologists, and innovators converge to shape the future of enterprise performance. It’s the heartbeat of SAP’s vision for the years ahead, where they unveil what’s next. I’m going for three main reasons:

1. To Understand the CFO Value Proposition of SAP Business Suite

SAP Business Suite isn’t just another software bundle; it’s a fully integrated ecosystem that connects finance, supply chain, procurement, sustainability, HR, and customer experience. But how does that translate into concrete value for finance leaders? I’ll be looking to uncover:

• Real-world use cases and success stories
• How AI is embedded into financial workflows
• How the Suite handles planning, forecasting, working capital, and ESG reporting

2. To Evaluate the Hype Around AI and Agentic Automation

Everyone’s talking about AI. But let’s be real, a chatbot doesn’t make your month-end close easier. I want to get beyond the buzzwords and explore:

• Are SAP’s AI agents making finance faster and smarter?
• Is “predictive planning” living up to its promise?
• Can AI help bridge the skills gap in finance teams?

If the answer is yes, this could be a game-changer for how finance professionals spend their time and how they drive business value.

3. To Bring These Learnings Back to the Finance Community

If you follow me here or via the #FinanceMaster platforms, you know I’m passionate about democratizing knowledge in finance. Too often, events like Sapphire feel like elite gatherings with limited visibility to the broader finance world. I’m here to change that. I'll be on the ground to share:

• First-hand observations and reflections
• Short interviews with thought leaders and SAP insiders
• Behind-the-scenes moments that give you the real story
• And practical takeaways you can apply, no matter your role or company size

It’s going to be an event coverage like you’ve never seen before, and I want you to be a part of it, too. Get ready for an interactive experience!

What I Hope to Learn

As I prepare my agenda for the event, I’ve compiled a short list of the key questions I’ll be chasing. If you’re in finance, maybe these resonate with you too:

• Can finance finally operate with a single source of truth across planning, closing, working capital, and ESG?
• How does SAP’s Business AI improve forecast accuracy, and can CFOs trust it?
• Is ESG reporting truly embedded into finance workflows, or is it still an add-on?
• What does “Agentic AI” mean, and how close are we to autonomous finance operations?
• How does the Suite empower, not replace, finance teams? In other words: how human is this technology?

These are the questions that keep CFOs up at night. And these are the answers I’ll be hunting down in Madrid.

A Personal Note: Why This Matters

I’ve spent my career helping finance professionals step out of the back office and into the business. I believe the future of finance isn’t about being faster at reporting; it’s about being better at guiding the business.

But to do that, we need tools that work with us, not against us. We need AI we can trust. We need data that’s clean, complete, and contextual. And we need systems that don’t just process transactions, but generate insights, trigger actions, and connect the dots across the enterprise. This is what SAP claims to offer with its Business Suite. Now I’m going to find out if the promise holds up.

Follow the Journey

During the event, I’ll be sharing my experience across:

• My personal LinkedIn
• The #FinanceMaster LinkedIn page
• And the @hashtagfinancemaster Instagram account

If you have questions you’d like me to ask SAP, topics you want covered, or just want to follow the journey, connect with me and tag along. The role of finance is changing, and the technology is evolving. At Sapphire, we’ll get a glimpse of where it’s all going.

Hope to see you in Madrid, but if you can’t make the trip, check out Sapphire Virtual: register here!