With the continuing ecomonimc and political uncertainty in the Eurozone, downgraded credit ratings and the latest news that despite some "green shoots", the UK will continue to endure public sector cuts, the way ahead is likely to continue to be choppy. Despite what economists have called "some genuinely encouraging news" on the back of the unexpected growth in UK manufacturing figures, what organisations need most of all is a tight control on cash flows. That might sound obvious, but maintaining enough liquidity to sustain growth is what keeps many CFOs awake at night.

Imagine an accounts office where paper invoices are piled high with just a couple of staff members assigned to process them. The employees are bogged down with documents, manually keying them into the system, with only a fraction of staff free to focus on activities which contribute to improving the performance and growth of the business. What makes things worse is that that no AP office is not without disruption, with employees poking their head around the door asking for the status on particular documents etc. With so much work to think about and get through, it’s no surprise that workers in this area feel the strain.