May Newsletter

Editor's Note

By May, most organizations have moved beyond consideration and are implementing AI, automation, and new operating models. The question now is whether the right decisions are being made and where value is actually showing up. 

Account Payable is Still Leaking Value

Financial leakage remains one of the most immediate and controllable gaps.  

Across the market, organizations lose an estimated $53 billion annually through duplicate payments, missed credits, invoice errors, and fraud. Most teams still lack visibility before the pay run, so losses are identified too late.

Read the Report: Financial Leakage: How AI Has Made the Recovery Audit Redundant 

GBS Industry Standards

The Alliance for Professional Excellence in Global Business Services (APEX GBS) has developed the first practitioner-led standards defining GBS as an enterprise operating model.   
 
Version 2 expands the standards with practical guidance on applying AI, strengthening data and decision capabilities, and scaling GBS beyond transactional work. 

Join Committee Members from J&J and Cardinal Health during our webinar: GBS Industry Standards: Leapfrogging Maturity in a Changing Context 

What Strong Performance Looks Like

The 2026 World's Best GBS results highlight what leading organizations are doing well.

Siemens Global Business Services has been named World's Best GBS 2026, with Bosch and 3M also recognized for high performance. 

The common thread is clarity in operating model, ownership, and how value is measured. Hear from Eckard Eberle, CEO, Siemens Global Business Services, on how that translates into practice.  
 
Join the Webinar: Winner Spotlight with Siemens Global Business Services 

The GBS Model is Evolving

GBS models are shifting beyond service delivery into broader enterprise roles, with more focus on data, decision support, and end-to-end ownership. 

We want to understand how your model is evolving. Take part in our new GBS survey and contribute to the insights shaping the next wave of GBS value-add.  

What You Can Use Now

1. Read the latest World's Best GBS research  

2. Access the full dataset behind the study with the Visual Analytics Workbook  

3. Explore 20 new vendors in the Intelligent Automation Universe

4. Use R&Ai to get fast, targeted answers from across the platform  

5. Access new presentation decks on topics spanning CEE, Finance Transformation and the post-FTE model  

6. Benchmark against new GBS+ metrics designed to measure value, not just efficiency

How To Apply This

Use the Report Wizard to benchmark your performance against peers and top-performing organizations in minutes. 

For more complex decisions, bring SSON Research & Analytics into your next town hall to validate direction, pressure-test assumptions, and ground decisions in market data. For suggested topics, visit our Advisory Services Guide.  

What Are We Seeing Across The Market

Across the conversations we are having with subscribers, this is where the focus has shifted. Most organizations have already invested in AI, automation, and new operating models. The challenge is not getting started, it is knowing where to apply them, how to measure impact, and how to move forward with confidence. That is where we are seeing the most demand, not for more ideas, but for validation using data that reflects what is actually working in the market. 

Until next time, 
Naomi Secor, Global Managing Director, SSON Research & Analytics