Johannesburg, 19 Feb 2025
The adoption of AI, generative AI and automation are elevating the role of finance from focusing on spreadsheets to becoming strategic business growth enablers, according to speakers at a recent executive forum, hosted by Sage, in Johannesburg.
At an event for finance leaders themed: ‘Navigating 2025: The CFO’s Roadmap to Opportunity’, award-winning economist and thought leader Ndumiso (Hadebe) Kubheka and Sage experts outlined the changing business environment and how technology is empowering finance teams to become more efficient and support informed, data-driven businesses.
Kubheka said 2025 and the years to follow would be characterised by volatility, geopolitical change, trade tariff changes, climate change impacts and technological advances. “Three key themes will define 2025 and the next decade – accessibility, affordability and sustainability,” he said, noting that organisations were in a ‘chase to zero’ to lower costs.
Highlighting the role of AI and GenAI, he said: “AI can create transparency and efficiencies and reduce risk for business, which starts reflecting in the bottom line.”
AI for success
Jordaan Burger, Vice-President Finance: Africa, Middle East & Asia Pacific at Sage, and Gerhard Hartman, Regional Vice-President, Medium Business, Africa & Middle East at Sage, echoed the view that technology is changing the role of the CFO.
Burger said: “AI and automation won’t replace people in finance, but it will uplift them and give their organisations a competitive advantage. AI and automation are proving invaluable in enhancing workflows, reporting and dashboards.”
Enhanced efficiencies, improved reporting and greater transparency enabled by AI tools like Sage Intacct are allowing finance teams to better support business, with detailed dashboards and dimensional reports.
Hartman said Sage research had found that 86% of successful finance leaders have embraced and adopted AI tools and 79% say AI has the ability to revolutionise the way they work within their organisations. Seventy-eight percent say implementing AI in finance is crucial to stay competitive. In addition, 78% of finance leaders say automation has positively impacted their relationship with the C-suite and board, and 81% say it allows them to focus their time on more important tasks.
Hartman added that the cloud enabled organisations to harness automation and AI: “Our research finds that over 30% of customers are moving from desktop to the cloud to benefit from greater scalability, lower cost of ownership, improved data redundancy and better security,” he said.
Burger and Hartman noted that Sage AI is revolutionising accounting for SMEs through capabilities such as continuous auditing, in-depth insights and customised reporting.
Said Burger: “Sage is helping finance to become a trusted, strategic business advisor, empowering teams with reporting and dashboards.”
Intacct in action
Michael Britz, Senior Solutions Engineer, Sage AME – Sage Intacct, demonstrated the features of Sage Intacct, noting that each update had an average of 200 updates and enhancements. He said: “One feature that makes Sage Intacct different is its dimensional accounting structure.” This dimensional structure allows users to drill down into details and create custom dashboards, combining and pairing reports."
He also highlighted Sage Intacct Collaborate, which spans every process and device and allows teams to collaborate on a shared document for a single version of the truth.
Sage customers highlighted the capabilities of cloud-native, AI-enabled Sage Intacct to serve as a key change-driver, which empowers financial leaders to make smarter, data-driven decisions, automate routine tasks and enhance operational efficiency.
Chloe Katompa, Head of Operations at Reach for a Dream, said: “Reach for a Dream makes the dreams of around six terminally ill children come true every day, working with around R32 million in donor funding. In the past, we had to hire teams who would spend hours processing expenses and producing our reports. With Sage Intacct, we are able to keep costs down and improve transparency and accountability. We have immediate access to detailed information, and we can drill down into dimensions such as spending on food, transport and suppliers. We have also set up live feeds to reconcile as transactions are happening.”
Alvat Ncube, Financial Manager at Hono Transport Logistics, said Sage Intacct helps the company operate more efficiently and cost-effectively in a competitive market. “We have gotten rid of our spreadsheets and become more efficient with Sage Intacct. Sage Intacct provides live and accurate information, which allows us to make decisions quickly. For example, we can see which trucks or routes bring in the most revenue, and which ones cost us the most and should be cancelled.”
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