67% of CFOs Report AR Automation Cut DSO by 12+ Days, FIS Survey Finds

Two-thirds of CFOs at companies with $50 million or more in annual revenue report that automating accounts receivable reduced their days sales outstanding by at least 12 days, according to a new survey commissioned by FIS and conducted by Datos Insights.

The survey of 1,200 finance leaders across North America and Europe found that AI-driven cash application — matching incoming payments to open invoices automatically — was the single highest-ROI investment in the order-to-cash cycle over the past 18 months.

Companies using AI matching reported a 94% straight-through processing rate on remittances, up from 62% with rule-based systems. The improvement translates directly to faster cash posting and fewer disputed invoices requiring manual intervention.

"The CFO conversation has shifted from whether to automate AR to how quickly they can extend automation across the full receivables lifecycle," said Stephanie Ferris, FIS president. "The next frontier is predictive collections — using AI to identify which invoices will go past-due before they do."

The findings align with broader market trends. Billtrust, HighRadius, and Versapay all reported record bookings in Q1 2026, while private funding into AR/AP automation startups exceeded $1.8 billion in the trailing 12 months.