Day One, Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 

8:45 – 8:55 EST (13:45 – 13:55 BST)
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:  ONE OF THE 6 CRITICAL PILLARS OF THE ORGANIZATION (CHAIRMAN'S OPENING)
Sid Vasili, Vasili Advisory

9:00 – 9:30 EST (14:00 – 14:30 BST)
ENABLING "PROCUREMENT WITH A PURPOSE' AND THE ROLE OF DIGITAL/IA
Hear how Johnson and Johnson is uniquely positioned to drive positive social and environmental change across global supply chains and the unique role that Intelligent Automation/Digital can play in enabling this vision. 

Speaker: Ajay Anand, Vice President, Global Services Strategy & Transformation, Johnson & Johnson

9:45 – 10:30 EST (14:45 – 15:30 BST)
WHAT SHARED SERVICES REALLY REQUIRE FROM AP AUTOMATION COMPANIES TO TRULY TRANSFORM THEIR BUSINESS AND REDUCE THEIR OPERATING COSTS?
Full AP automation allows SSOs to improve KPIs, reduce operating expenses and increase agent’s productivity. During the client case study session, attendees will see how one SSO reached their goal of reducing invoice processing time to below $ 1 per invoice. Additionally, you will learn how their agents were able to improve productivity by only focusing on exception handling, leaving the mundane data processing to automation.

Customer: Leon Bhaskar, Head SSC Transformation, Conneqt Business Solutions Limited 
Speaker: Firdaus Mogul, Founder, Check an Invoice Limited 

10:45 – 11:30 EST (15:45 – 16:30 BST)
DRIVING TOUCHLESS PROCESSING AND GAINING SPEND VISIBILITY WITH AP AUTOMATION
In tough times sometimes it's hard to see a route forward. But when it comes to automating accounts payable processes, the future actually is bright. Learn how to create a brighter future for your shared service centre with optimisation, change management and the right technology that drives complete control, visibility and accuracy.
Join this session to discover:

• How to improve the processes you already have
• Why 100% touchless order processes isn't possible, it's already happening
• How to get better supplier discounts, more value for money and improved productivity - without substituting humans with robots

11:45 – 12:30 EST (16:45  – 17:30 BST)
REIMAGINE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE IN A DIGITAL ERA  
A post-COVID reality has changed everything. Finance executives and their teams have been heads-down reimagining their businesses since the crisis began and a common thread among innovation initiatives is the urgent shift to a more contemporary, digitally savvy, and data-driven accounts payable function. In partnership with SSON, Kofax ran an industrywide AP Automation Maturity survey, gaining insights from all over the world into how digitally savvy companies are taking action. Attend this session for firsthand insight into the findings of this survey, and learn more about how you can invest in automation to transform your AP operations.

Speaker: David Sentongo, Director, Commercial Product Management, Kofax


12:45 - 1:30 EST (17:45 - 18:30 BST)
BUILDING A PANDEMIC PROOF AP FUNCTION: ROADMAP FOR SUCCESSFUL AP AUTOMATION 
Accounts Payable departments in enterprises globally are struggling to maintain their business as usual due to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. They are finding it difficult to manage invoice processing in a cost-effective and timely manner as many lack a long-term digital-driven account payable strategies. Accounts Payable Automation is playing a vital role in helping organizations deal with the changing workforce and optimize their cash flow needs. Organizations can now digitize accounts payable not just to ensure business continuity, but also future-proof their business from the next global crisis.
Key Learnings:

• How COVID-19 has impacted the AP function
• What to expect for AP automation and how to meet the AP team's goals along with recommendations to help you to successfully deal with unprecedented events
• Important technologies, tools and solutions to consider to improve on your automation efforts
• How Gate Gourmet North America leveraged automation and BPM to create an efficient and resilient AP function

DAY TWO – WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

9:00 – 9:30 EST (14:00 – 14:30 BST)
HOW THOMAS COOK USES TOUCHLESS INVOICING TO IMPROVE FORECASTING, ON TIME PAYMENT % AND ENABLE BETTER CONTRACT NEGOTIATION AND DISCOUNTING 
Over the last two decades, organizations have invested billions in technology with the aim of automating all processes and making them ‘touchless”. Not without its challenges, this is finally becoming a reality, changing the way invoice processing is delivered from manual and paper-based to fully digitized. During this session, attendees will learn how to:

• Maximize touchless invoicing, making even the highest volume and most complex business processes simplified and streamlined
• Increase the ROI of touchless AP invoice processing

Speaker: Geeta Degaonkar, Senior Vice President, Shared Services, Thomas Cook  

9:45 – 10:30 EST (14:45 – 15:30 BST)
HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OPTIMIZES AP PROCESSING 
Artificial intelligence promises to fundamentally change the way Accounts Payable (AP) operates by turbocharging levels of automation and accuracy. Deployed effectively, it can optimally reduce invoice cycle time, decrease cost savings and increase efficiency. At the same time, finance leaders are unclear about what exactly to look for, and how the technology is applied to AP.

Join this webinar, and find out:

• How and where AI impacts AP 
• Where to start and how to deploy
• How a global SSO is leveraging AI for AP processing

Niels Schipper, Head of Finance Service Delivery Prague, Edwards Lifesciences, a.g.
Daneen Storc, Director of Product Marketing, ABBYY   

10:45 – 11:30 EST (15:45 – 16:30 BST)
LEVERAGING THE NEW FOCUS ON ACCOUNTS PAYABLE TO DELIVER BOTTOM-LINE IMPACT
The recent pandemic and ensuing recession has thrust Accounts Payable into the limelight. With this new focus comes a unique opportunity to use this attention to drive true transformation within the organization.

Taking a fresh look at the processes and leveraging new technology can enable Accounts Payable to become more agile, efficient, and cost-effective than ever before. Join Divya Krishnan, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Celonis, to learn how the A/P operation can rapidly transform to meet the demands of modern business.

Divya Krishnan, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Celonis

11:45 – 12:25 EST  (16:45 – 17:25 BST)
ENTER THE AP AUTOMATION START-UP ZONE - PRODUCT INNOVATIONS & FIRESIDE CHAT
Welcome to SSON’s AP Automation Start-Up Zone. This is THE place for AP solution startups to showcase critical new tools and services that SSO executives need to be aware of. Enterprises are anxiously on the lookout for innovative technology that will allow them to leap-frog the status quo and ratchet up the benefits of Shared Services in managing operational support. Fortunately, there is a parallel push from startups with the right solutions, looking for customers. Until now, the problem has been to connect the two.

Each startup will pitch for 3 minutes, detailing the problem their product solves for Accounts Payable processes, how their product differs from what’s currently in the market, and their unique advantage. After the pitches, the startups with engage in a moderated fireside chat with audience Q&A.

Pitch 1: Fast Bots for AP Automation
Led by: Manuel Ho, Founder and CEO, EMO Technologies 

Pitch 2: End to End AP Ecosystem - Process Discovery, Entry, Extraction to Approval 
Led by: Mahesh Vinayagam, CEO, qBotica 

Pitch 3: Making AP Part of a Larger Strategy - Extracting Value From Optimizing Spend
Led by: Anders Lillevik, Founder, Focal Point 

12:40 – 1:20 EST (17:40 – 18:20 BST)
PANEL: DE-RISK YOUR AP AUTOMATION DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: DETECTING & MITIGATING FRAUD   
The evolving digital landscape and expanding regulatory environment have expanded the type and number of business risks. This interactive panel dives deep into the types of Accounts Payable fraud, red flags and strategies for detecting, preventing and investigating payables fraud.

Panelists:
Morey Thompson, Senior Director, Shared Services, Essilor
Attila Hernold, Director, Shared Services Center, Albemarle Corporation
Moderator: Sid Vasili, Vasili Advisory 

1:40 - 2:10 EST (18:40 - 19:10 BST)
TALENT RETENTION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY

• Understanding the new generation of professionals in shared services
• Evolving from a transactional culture into a full career development model (Tornado concept)
• Mapping organization knowledge and developing the training paths across the organization