E-Invoicing Mandates and the Unintended Consequences for AP

As governments accelerate the global rollout of e-invoicing mandates, most organisations are understandably focused on one thing: compliance.

Meeting regulatory deadlines, connecting to government platforms, and ensuring invoices meet e-invoicing mandates have become top priorities. What is less visible, but may prove to be more consequential, is the operational impact these mandates will have on accounts payable (AP).

Mandated e-invoicing is designed to give tax authorities structured, reliable VAT data to help them close their respective VAT gaps. It is not designed to preserve or improve AP efficiency. In the long term, more digitised invoice flows will enable smarter, more automated f in...