Agentic AI
Agentic AI and the Future of Finance Automation at Rethink! 2025
.png)
Learn how Agentic AI is bridging the gap between automation hype and real operational impact.
.webp)
“Whoever invests in Agentic AI today lays the foundation for truly autonomous finance processes – not just smart assistants.” – Christiane Tetzner, Account Director at Hypatos
As businesses navigate increasingly complex financial environments, events like Rethink! Accounting 2025 in Frankfurt have become essential for staying ahead of the curve. With over almost 400 finance leaders from DACH and beyond, this year’s gathering offered deep insights into how AI, automation, and agile finance structures are reshaping accounting as we know it.
We were proud to be part of the conversation through our Account Director Christiane Tetzner, who joined the event to engage with decision-makers, challenge the status quo, and explore how Agentic AI can redefine accounting operations from the ground up.
Themed “Precision – Completeness – Reliability”, Rethink! Accounting 2025 made clear: traditional finance operations are under pressure. Manual workflows, fragmented systems, and rising compliance demands make transformation not optional but inevitable. The big themes? AI integration, automation maturity, next-gen R2R, e-invoicing evolution, and the growing strategic role of the CFO.
1. GenAI is good – but not good enough.
While generative AI tools are already helping finance teams extract data or draft reports, they fall short of full process automation. As several sessions emphasized, decision-making and execution often remain human-dependent. In a field driven by compliance and accuracy, this is a major limitation.
2. Agentic AI is closing the automation gap.
Agentic AI – systems with memory, goals, and autonomy - emerged as a central theme at both event days, signaling a major shift in enterprise automation. Yet, many finance leaders are still just beginning to grasp the power of truly autonomous systems. Unlike isolated GenAI tools, AI agents like those from Hypatos go beyond automation to manage entire accounting workflows: from document intake to validation, booking, and audit logging. This isn’t just about reducing manual effort; it’s about scaling intelligent, self-improving processes that learn, adapt, and drive strategic value.
3. Record-to-Report (R2R) needs a reset.
Sessions like “Next Generation R2R” and “How to rethink Record-to-Report” revealed how R2R processes are being reengineered with AI and automation at their core. Companies are moving from static reporting cycles to real-time, resilient reporting models, powered by AI agents and predictive analytics.
4. Compliance and control remain non-negotiable.
Whether it’s ESG integration, e-invoicing mandates, or global tax frameworks, the consensus is clear: automation must be auditable. Finance leaders emphasized the need for AI solutions that align with enterprise-grade compliance, especially in high-stakes areas like Accounts Payable and Financial Close.
To bring a personal lens to these trends, I sat down with Christiane, who represented Hypatos at Rethink! Accounting. Here's what she experienced and learned:
Q: Christiane, what was your key takeaway from the event?
Christiane: “The discussions around GenAI vs. Agentic AI! GenAI offers impressive point solutions, but it often stops at interpretation. For example, it might extract invoice data well, but decisions and downstream actions? Those still fall back to the user. That’s where Agentic AI steps in – our AI agents don’t just read the invoice; they process, validate, and book it. Seamlessly, within ERP systems, and fully auditable.”
Q: Was there any session or conversation that particularly resonated with you?
Christiane: “Absolutely. The session on 'Modern Finance – Transformation through AI' sparked great dialogue. One finance leader told me, ‘We're drowning in tools that don’t talk to each other. What we need is integration and intelligence.’ That’s exactly where Hypatos shines – we provide AI agents that connect across systems, learn context, and reduce handovers.”
Q: What’s the mood among finance leaders when it comes to automation?
Christiane: “There’s momentum – but also skepticism. Many teams have been burned by ‘automation theater’: flashy dashboards, low real impact. So I focused on explaining what real AI-driven autonomy looks like by providing insights to our client cases, generally allowing 100x faster invoice processing with 75% fewer errors. A leading manufacturing firm, operating across six continents, revolutionized its global AP operations with Hypatos, achieving 60% end-to-end automation for non-PO invoices, up from just 12%.”
Q: Any personal moment that stood out?
Christiane: “Yes! During a 1:1 session, a CFO asked me, ‘Can Agentic AI also flag anomalies and suggest accounting treatments based on context?’ And the answer was: Yes. Because our agents are not static scripts – they learn from data, user feedback, and business logic. That’s the future.”
At Hypatos, we believe that AI in finance must go beyond digitization – it must drive true autonomy. That’s why we’ve developed AI-powered co-workers: highly specialized agents that operate within your finance ecosystem, not outside of it.
Here's what sets our Agentic AI apart:
From invoice ingestion and 3-way matching to journal entry creation and reconciliation, our AI agents handle it all. And they don’t just automate – they cooperate, acting as digital teammates within your finance team.
The days of static rule-based automation are over. The future lies in Agentic AI – systems that think, act, and evolve.
“AI isn’t just a tool anymore – it’s becoming a partner in finance.” – Christiane Tetzner, Account Director at Hypatos
Finance leaders are moving from reactive reporting to proactive orchestration. With Agentic AI, the CFO’s office transforms into a strategic command center, capable of real-time insight, autonomous operations, and resilient compliance.
At Hypatos, we’re proud to be leading this shift. By combining deep accounting knowledge with cutting-edge AI, we help enterprises unlock AI-driven finance operations that are faster, safer, and smarter.
Rethink! Accounting 2025 made one thing clear: automation is no longer a “nice-to-have” – it’s a strategic imperative. But not all automation is created equal. To truly transform finance, companies need intelligent, integrated, and agentic solutions that don’t just assist – they act. Autonomously.
If you're ready to explore how Hypatos AI agents can power your next-gen finance operations, let’s talk.
Further stories from our blog
.jpg)
