Reflecting on 2024: Endings, Beginnings, and New Horizons

2024 is no more. As we bid farewell to December and another year, let's take a moment to reflect as it feels like I blinked and missed the entire month. Ive barely had time to catch my breath!

December was a whirlwind of endings and beginnings, wrap-ups, wind-downs, and winter fun, and I was even able to get away for some Winter sun.

Christmas is not a time I am usually fond of, my family circle has grown rather small in the past few years but this year I found some Christmas cheer. I bought a small pink tree, and my nan gave me her angel to put on top, (which is probably older than I am). We spent the day drinking port, painting her nails and laughing at the socks I bought her with mine and my cat's face on them. Then finished the year off in Alanya, Türkiye, soaking up some much-needed sunshine, petting stray kittens, and having a mud bath as a consequence of a quad bike ride...

As I reflect on these moments, I’m eager to share more of this December journey with you, along with my exciting resolutions for 2025 and for what you may have missed at the House of Lords. Get ready—there’s so much more to come!

Beginnings - New and Old Faces

Although we are wrapping up 2024, December brought many beginnings for the Accounts Payable Association !

I am thrilled to introduce our new Head of Strategic Partnerships, Ross Batten . Some of you may already be familiar with him. I had the pleasure of working with Ross when he was the Group Sales Manager for the APA and the Payroll Centre. His strategic vision, style, and infectious energy have already strengthened our team. Mike Pavely and I are really looking forward to having him join us and we encourage everyone to give him a warm welcome!

Ross, Mike, and I recently had a valuable opportunity to sit down at the House of Lords to lay the groundwork for our objectives in 2025. During our discussions, we outlined key strategies and shared insights that set the stage for our future success. We’re excited about the direction we’re heading and are so glad to have you on board, Ross.

Your expertise and different viewpoints will be instrumental as we tackle the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We can’t wait to see what 2025 brings for you and the impact we can make together.

Accounts Payable Account Manager

I'd also like to give another big APA welcome to our new Account Manager, Brandon South He is already making a significant impact and has firmly established himself as a vital pillar in our community.

Filled with knowledge and charisma, he has quickly become a familiar face among our members. You may have had the pleasure of meeting him at the House of Lords, where his enthusiasm and dedication were evident. I roped him into filming a member interview I was conducting after I had a technical issue—he didn’t even blink! I went, "Surprise! You’re now the director!" and he went with it like a pro.

Brandon brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective that will undoubtedly enhance our community. We are thrilled to have him on board, and I am excited to see the positive contributions he will continue to make!

House of Lords Round-Up

This is our third year at the House of Lords and my second time attending. Each year, I leave with a notebook full of ideas, contacts, and areas where I believe I can improve.

This year, the tea room was bustling with conversations as we filled into the Cholmondeley Room, providing the perfect atmosphere for networking, sharing ideas and bringing about change.

I made some fantastic new connections this year, including Ian Nicholls , who has only been working at West Gate Moore for a year. Although I've worked closely with him since he started, I never had the opportunity to connect with him face to face until now, a highlight of my day was on the walk to the post-reception drinks showing me all the London sights and their history! I also connected with Nichole Roberts , a fresh face in the APA community. My conversations with her and Karen Young FCICM while waiting in line for food were incredibly insightful regarding hiring AP professionals and their career development. Lastly, I met John Tallon B.A., MAAT, APAM , a prominent member of the APA who had attended many of our events and been a firm fixture of the community long before I joined.

I had the pleasure of interviewing John about his journey with the APA, and I found his story truly inspiring. It was a genuine privilege to learn more about him and his career. he was telling me how this year he felt supported enough by the APA to join a panel at the conference this year, as it was something he had never done before and always wanted to. If you were at the conference this year I am sure you'll be as shocked as I am to learn that, as he stood out as a seasoned expert speaker.

After making these great connections, I was excited to dive into the outstanding panels held at the House of Lords. I even had the chance to catch up with some of the panellists afterwards to ask a few questions and gain further insights.

Patsy Christian BA (Hons), MSc, FCMI CMgr – Panel 2: Empowering a Digital Future: Innovation & Transformation in Accounts Payable

What were your first thoughts on the subject going into the panel? "Oh gosh, what am I going to talk about and with Susan who is the data Queen ??"

Can you elaborate on any specific challenges or solutions discussed during the panel? I'd like to share again my advice to AP teams looking to embrace a digital future and drive innovation: prioritize a mindset shift alongside technology adoption. Digital transformation isn't just about the tools you implement—it's about fostering a culture of adaptability and continuous improvement.

Three steps:

1. Identify the processes that can benefit most from automation or digitization.
2. Ensure your team understands why these changes are happening and how they add value.
3. Empower your people with training and encourage collaboration to generate ideas for innovation.

Remember, the human element—creative thinking and problem-solving—is what truly unlocks the full potential of a digital culture.

How do you see the topics discussed impacting the industry in the near future? The topics discussed at the APA events are always great and leave you with things to think about and explore further when you get back to the office. Liz Barclay is so passionate about small businesses, it's always great to hear from her. This is an area I will be working on in 2025 with our Procurement colleagues. I also feel the topics discussed in Panel 3 were extremely beneficial for those of us working closely with the C-Suite. It was good to hear from them, their expectations of AP, and how they will be driving efficiency whilst improving performance across their areas.

Were there any surprising insights or audience reactions that stood out to you? When I talk about the work we have done at Bourne Leisure over the past few years, I always receive reactions of surprise and amazement. I think that's because, as an industry, we may not believe that we can become truly automated, and because it's one of the areas in the business that gets overlooked. The audience reaction at the House of Lords was the same, and they were genuinely interested to hear how we have achieved such great numbers in our automation journey. Coupa, our P2P provider, even asked us to share how we achieved it. It is also down to having a growth mindset and challenging the status quo. We are very good at this now ??

Anthony Thorpe – Panel 3: From Transactional to Transformational: Engaging the C-Suite in AP’s Strategic Journey

What were your first thoughts on the subject going into the panel? "I thought it was a really interesting session for the APA to have put on. If AP functions have good engagement from their CFOs, this is a huge enabler for accelerating progress with their projects and overcoming obstacles within the organization. Developing an understanding of what they are looking for in their AP teams felt like a very important part of that picture."

Can you elaborate on any specific challenges or solutions discussed during the panel? "I think it’s really important for all enabling departments, including AP, to be aligned to the goals of the overall business and to have a clear view of what they are trying to achieve as a team. Whether you call this a ‘strategy’ or a ‘story’, that’s the thing which is most likely to really resonate with CFOs. While KPIs can be really helpful to measure progress and help to tell that story, it’s important to use them in the right way without becoming a slave to them and not to forget about the things which are really important but harder to measure."

How do you see the topics discussed impacting the industry in the near future? "The trend over recent years has been for increasing regulation and compliance requirements, and I see this continuing. AP will remain an important part of any business’s response to this, and there is an opportunity to take those mandatory changes and find a way of implementing them in a way which adds value to the business."

Were there any surprising insights or audience reactions that stood out to you?

"I appreciated the solitary lady who applauded my comments."

APA Masterclass with Serrala and Microsoft Copilot

We had an exciting masterclass to finish the year off with Serrala and Microsoft, discussing the use of AI in the workplace and how it will continue to change the working landscape in 2025. AI is being used more in 2024 than ever before, and I even use it daily to help me quickly summarize information I need without having to scroll for hours online. AI has also had a big impact on my job by being a note-taker and summarizer in meetings, emailing me and those who needed a complete overview of what was discussed and the action points and it's exciting to think how it can elevate us further in the upcoming year.

However, it's important to recognize that AI also has significant environmental impacts. The training process for a single AI model can consume vast amounts of electricity and emit hundreds of tons of carbon[1]. Data centres, which house AI servers, are large consumers of water and electricity, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and water scarcity[2]. Additionally, the production and disposal of AI hardware generate electronic waste and require the extraction of critical minerals, often mined unsustainably[2][3]. These environmental concerns highlight the need for sustainable AI practices to ensure that the net effect of AI on the planet is positive[2].

Ozge Ozvardar, MBA Was also on a panel at the House of Lords and gave fantastic tips and tricks on how to make AI work for you and how its impact will grow in 2025.

Christmas break.

This Christmas I was able to spend the day indulging in port with my Great nan who is the biggest Grinch, so it was a casual affair of giving her a pamper, and laughing hysterically at the socks I got her, which had both my face and my cat's face on. Looking back at last year, I remember hiding away with some Chinese takeout and a film marathon avoiding any mention of festivities.

But this year, I decided to put myself out there and have some fun. Sure, things didn't go exactly as planned, but I managed to get my ducks in a row, packed my bag and rang in the New Year in a glorious 18-degree heat, far from the usual chaos. I even treated myself to a massage. It wasn't the most relaxing experience, but hey, I walked away with new shoulders and a knot-free back!??Talk about an adventure!

I also would like to give A special thank you to for the gift I received in the post at a time when I needed a little boost the most, and now I have a Christmas jumper!!—it is as cute as it is cosy and little things like that really do make someone's day!

It has been fantastic to work more closely with both and Zach Hemmant-Low over this quarter, and I look forward to more collaborations in 2025.

Plans for 2025

As we look ahead to 2025, I encourage everyone to make as many fun goals as they do serious ones and Don’t forget to add a resolution for yourself.

For me, I am going to try and attend 2-3 external learning courses, such as mental health, team building, and something that could develop my writing. I also want to train myself in AP with our APA training courses to fully understand the community and where you most need help.

Additionally, I plan to move apartments, focus more on connections and socializing, as I tend to be quite reclusive spending too much time alone, and prioritize more self-care.

Thank you all of you for reading and subscribing to my newsletter. The support has really blown me away, writing has always been something ive longed to do and has changed both my working and personal life. So thank you again for being part of this journey. Let's continue to support one another as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2025 together.

Feel free to reply to this newsletter with your thoughts, experiences, or goals for the upcoming year or if anyone has stories to share, training recommendations, connections you may think of interest, feedback, or even what you would like to see more or less of from the APA, please don’t hesitate to contact me either via direct message or email at [email protected].

I'd love to hear from you, I am all ears and all heart!

References

[1] The Uneven Distribution of AI’s Environmental Impacts

[2] AI has an environmental problem. Here’s what the world can do ... - UNEP

[3] Environmental Impacts of Artificial Intelligence