Digital Finance 2026

Discover how to connect your systems so your new "virtual staff" can actually function

Hear directly from peers how they are building a future-proof finance landscape

We move beyond the vision and show you the concrete steps towards an AI driven finance department

Present:

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13:30 - 17:00

Finext office, Delft

Finance is changing. We are moving from reporting on the past to predicting the future. That shift requires more than a new tool. It requires a new foundation. Digital Finance 2026 is designed for finance leaders who want to close the gap between AI ambition and architectural reality. We zoom in on the technologies and approaches that make autonomous finance work — but only if your landscape is built to handle them. AI is ready. Is your architecture?

Virtual colleagues don’t work in a messy office.

Everyone is talking about AI being your new "Virtual Colleague" that runs processes, ensures compliance, and generates insights automatically. But a virtual colleague cannot function if your systems aren't smartly connected.

If your data landscape is fragmented, AI is just a nice toy. At Digital Finance 2026, we show you how Digital Finance Architecture forms the necessary foundation for true innovation.

What to expect

No lengthy reports or sales pitches. We prefer a down-to-earth approach that works.

How do you move from a basic setup to a finance function that truly accelerates?
Why topics like e-invoicing and compliance are actually the perfect entry points for high-tech innovation.
How modern tools work together to create a unified landscape.
Practical ways to map your application landscape and control IT costs

Program

The part the spreadsheets don't capture

‍Keynote by Robin Schluter, Finance Director at Louwman Group

What separates a finance function that reports from one that actually drives the business forward? Robin Schluter has been building that answer from the ground up at Louwman Group. He'll take you through what they built first, what came next, and why the order mattered. With real attention to what the spreadsheets don't capture: getting people to actually change the way they work. What's next for Louwman Group? The answer is already in motion: AI in finance.

The reality of AI: what actually works today?

‍Breakout session

Everyone talks about AI in finance. Fewer can show you what it looks like when it actually runs. In this session, we move past the theory and into live results — what AI agents are delivering today when the foundation is solid.

Intelligent Variance Analysis: AI that analyzes budget fluctuations and explains them instantly, without waiting for a analyst to dig in.
The Productivity Assistant: Automated invoice processing, journal entries, and complex tax rules applied at transaction level.
Horizontal Integration: Data matched and reconciled across different sources and timelines into a single, unified overview.

The virtual colleague is no longer a promise. It is already here. The difference lies in how you design the architecture around it.

The architecture of calm: direction over motion

‍Breakout session

The finance function of 2030 won't be built around the tools you inherited. It will be built around what actually drives value. In this session, we step back from the daily rush and show what a deliberate, future-proof architecture looks like in practice.

True Value Drivers Take the Wheel: How to identify what actually moves the needle and build your architecture around that, not around legacy habits.
Direction Over Motion: Why a well-designed landscape reduces noise, eliminates friction, and gives your team space to do work that matters.
Your Map, Your Journey: How to translate your current application landscape into a concrete roadmap toward 2030 — one that fits your organization, not someone else's blueprint.

A calm, future-proof finance function is not a distant ideal. It starts with making deliberate architectural choices today.

Beyond the pilot

‍Sponsored breakout session by Freeday

Most AP automation projects look promising in the demo. Fewer survive first contact with reality. The technology works. What most teams underestimate is everything that needs to be in place before it can. This session draws on live deployments at CitizenM Hotels, Bitvavo, Novum Bank, Bux by ABN AMRO, and Pathé: the decisions, the conditions, and the failures that never make it into the deck. You walk away knowing exactly what conditions need to be in place before you go live with digital employees in AP. This session is 18 months of deployment learning in 25 minutes: what it really takes to move beyond pilots and make digital employees work in AP.