Two Years Ago vs. Today: CFOs and the ERP Shift

Two years ago, ERP modernization was still easy to postpone.

Many companies even delayed them repeatedly, wary of cost overruns, operational disruption, and the sheer complexity of replacing deeply embedded systems.

Today, ERP systems sit at the center of how companies manage navigational poles, such as cash flow, supplier risk, forecasting and operational visibility. The conversation has shifted from automation to artificial intelligence, and many chief financial officers are finding that their ERP systems’ capabilities are becoming a test of whether the finance function itself can operate at the speed of the business.

Beneath the rhetoric lies a bigger structural change. Companies are also discovering that AI is only as effective as the operational systems feeding it. The modern ERP discussion, in that light, is less about replacing legacy software than enabling continuous visibility across the enterprise. Finance leaders are pushing systems beyond static accounting functions into operational intelligence platforms capable of integrating procurement, logistics, inventory, workforce and treasury data in near real time.

The biggest problem for today’s CFOs isn’t just ERP inefficiencies. It’s intelligence latency.

Read also: The Classic ERP Model Is Dying. What Comes Next?

The End of Backward-Looking Finance

Two years ago, ERP discussions were often framed around implementation timelines, migration risk and software selection. Today, the language sounds different. Executive teams talk about resilience, visibility and adaptability.

The irony is that ERP systems were never intended to become strategic differentiators. They were designed to standardize and stabilize enterprise operations. But when supply costs shift weekly, customer demand changes daily, and working capital conditions tighten unexpectedly, the traditional lag between operational activity and financial visibility becomes a strategic liability. In an environment defined by volatility, speed and AI-driven expectations, CFOs need real-time awareness into cash positions, procurement exposure and margin variability. Not after the quarter closes, but while conditions are still changing.

The modern ERP discussion is less about replacing legacy software than enabling continuous visibility across the enterprise. A company’s ability to adjust pricing, reroute suppliers, optimize inventory or revise forecasts increasingly depends on how quickly financial and operational data can move across the organization. ERP systems have become the connective tissue enabling that responsiveness. In many enterprises, they are now as strategically important as customer-facing technology platforms.

“It’s not about abandoning legacy systems, but modernizing around them intelligently,” Garrett Baird, vice president of product, banking and FinTech at Paymentus, told PYMNTS last month.

The evolution reflects a broader realization that enterprise agility is constrained by operational architecture. An ERP system that cannot unify procurement, inventory, receivables and operational data in real time limits the usefulness of every downstream analytics initiative. Poor data governance, inconsistent workflows and delayed reporting cycles become obstacles not just to efficiency, but to enterprise intelligence itself.

“When payroll connects with the payments and banking operations of the business, they essentially become the central nervous system for day-to-day operations of the business,” Kirubha Perumalsamy, executive vice president of Priority Rollfi, told PYMNTS this month.

See also: Governance Becomes the Product as B2B Payments Go Real-Time

AI Raised the Stakes for ERP Modernization

Two years ago, ERP transformation projects often emphasized broad digital modernization goals. Today, many CFOs are pursuing more targeted upgrades focused specifically on forecasting visibility, treasury management, procurement analytics and AI readiness. The language has shifted from transformation to operational responsiveness.

PYMNTS and Visa research has shown that cash flow certainty is linked to confidence in growth. When finance leaders can trust their liquidity position, they are more willing to invest, extend supplier terms and accelerate payroll or vendor payments without fear of shortfalls.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Time to Cash : A New Measure of Business Resilience” found that 77.9% of CFOs see improving the cash flow cycle as “very or extremely important” to their strategy in the year ahead.

“We see challenges around legacy ERP systems with limited AR API capabilities,” Michael Younkie, vice president of product management at Billtrust, told PYMNTS in January.

“We like to tie clear measurable KPIs to upfront things like DSO reduction, straight-through processing, digital invoice adoption,” he added.

This is one reason ERP modernization conversations are gaining urgency inside the finance function. CFOs increasingly recognize that AI readiness is not merely about deploying new tools. It requires rethinking the systems that govern enterprise data flows at their source. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Smart Spending: How AI Is Transforming Financial Decision Making” found that more than 80% of CFOs at large companies are either already using AI or considering adopting it.

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