Sage - ES

The seven PCRT bodies published topical guidance on the ethical use of AI tools on 19 January 2026, alongside an updated PCRT effective from 1 January 2026. The guidance introduces no new rules. It reads the five existing fundamental principles through an AI lens. You remain responsible for any work your practice produces, whether or not an AI tool helped create it.

If you’re VAT registered, you usually need to charge VAT on your taxable supplies at the correct rate. Getting VAT wrong on an invoice can lead to HMRC queries, penalties, and awkward client conversations. Once the correct VAT treatment has been identified, the calculation itself is usually straightforward: add VAT at the applicable rate to a net price or work backwards from a gross total. But mistakes can happen when switching between rates or reverse-calculating VAT that’s already included.

Every acquisition changes finance immediately—close, consolidation and reporting all get harder with each new entity. Day-one data migration and system alignment set the tone for how smoothly an entity integrates. Standardising processes before the next deal saves far more time than fixing them after. Sector-specific requirements—regulatory, asset-heavy, or otherwise—add extra layers to group reporting.

Manual AP’s true cost shows up across several KPIs, not one visible line item. Cost per invoice and exception rate are the clearest early signals that AP is falling behind. Days Payable Outstanding and on-time payment rate reveal how manual AP affects supplier relationships and cash flow. Sector pressures—regulatory reporting, asset purchase tracking—add extra weight to manual AP for growing businesses. AP automation improves these KPIs directly, not just processing speed.

Close speed is a systems problem, not an effort problem, for growing UK finance teams. Core bottlenecks: manual reconciliation, spreadsheet consolidation, low real-time visibility. AI-powered automation and intelligent agents now separate fast closers from slow ones. Connected financial management software removes the manual work that slows close down most. Faster close frees finance leaders for analysis and strategic decisions, not data-chasing.

A financial close checklist standardises reconciliations, reviews and sign-off into one repeatable sequence. It matters most when teams change, systems change, or transaction volume grows. Good checklists separate pre-close prep, in-close tasks, and post-close review. Month-end and year-end checklists share a core structure, but year-end adds extra review steps. Financial management software turns a static checklist into a tracked, auditable workflow.

DSO measures how long it takes to collect payment after a sale — a rising DSO signals collections friction. Manual invoicing and inconsistent follow-up are the most common causes of DSO creep. AR automation standardises invoicing, reminders and collections so nothing depends on memory. Real-time ageing visibility lets finance act on overdue accounts before they become a cash problem. Reducing DSO frees up working capital without needing new sales or new financing.

Data security is the most cited AI implementation challenge in the profession, named by 62% of accountants in AccountingWEB’s research, produced in association with Sage. Asked for their single biggest concern, accountants put accuracy and hallucinations first at 29%, with data security second at around 22%. Around half of accountants using external AI tools use them to research tax rules, which carries a confidentiality risk and an accuracy risk at the same time.

La Directiva NIS2 refuerza la gestión de los riesgos de ciberseguridad, la continuidad operativa y la seguridad de los sistemas que soportan actividades críticas. Cuando un ERP concentra procesos como finanzas, compras, producción, inventario o logística, su protección debe formar parte del análisis de riesgos de la organización. Para las empresas potencialmente afectadas, prepararse para NIS2 no consiste únicamente en proteger servidores o redes.

AccountingWEB research in association with Sage reveals that just 7% of accountants report a “transformational impact” from AI, while 53% report only “minimal or moderate benefits”. Two-thirds already believe their core accounting software includes AI—so any first adoption decision for AI may cost a practice nothing at all. The one benefit that shows up reliably is time saved on manual tasks, reported by most respondent. Every other benefit was reported by fewer than three in ten.