I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Clark, CEO and president of Corcentric, for an enlightening conversation about how today’s CFOs can optimize B2B commerce while maintaining tight cost controls. The discussion revealed just how dramatically the CFO role has evolved in recent years.
Corcentric CEO Matt Clark on Removing Friction from B2B Commerce and the Evolution of the CFO Role — watch the full episode here:
CFOs Are Primary Drivers of Organizational Growth
What struck me during our conversation is the rapid evolution of the CFO role. Today’s CFOs have become the primary drivers of organizational growth and strategic initiatives, particularly around finance, procurement, and technology. The office of the CFO has emerged as a key leader in enterprise digital transformation initiatives, and there’s a very real need to optimize financial operations and enhance business agility as part of those transformation efforts.
This is a significant shift from the traditional model where digital transformation initiatives typically fell under IT leadership. As someone who has spent years working alongside enterprise customers navigating their digital transformation journeys, I’ve seen firsthand how critical it is to have the right leadership driving these changes. This is especially important when navigating the challenging macroeconomic conditions we’ve seen over the past handful of years and, when CFOs can rely on trusted vendor partners to help navigate financial and procurement operations, they are freed up to focus on other important business needs.
For Corcentric, the More Complex, the Messier [the problems] the Better
Clark shared some impressive numbers, including that Corcentric processes over 20 million transactions and manages more than $150 billion in spend annually. But what I might’ve enjoyed the most was Corcentric’s approach to complex B2B commerce situations. As Clark put it, “the more complex, the messier, the better” for the Corcentric team, and complexity is exactly what they solve for. Corcentric’s clients are across a wide variety of industries, ranging from transportation and logistics to manufacturing, healthcare, as well as the food and beverage sector.
Today’s CFOs face mounting pressures, from adapting to higher interest rates and inflation to managing remote workforce transitions. Clark emphasized the importance of data management, noting that while companies have more data than ever, converting it into actionable information remains a significant challenge. This challenge: the data problem, is not an uncommon one, and Corcentric’s approach combines tech solutions with managed and advisory services which Clark describes as the company’s “special sauce.” This consultative arrangement, which is bespoke and tailored to the unique needs of individual clients, helps them accomplish the faster time to value part of the AI equation and positions them for long-term success.
One of the key insights that emerged from our discussion was the importance of working with trusted vendor partners. In my experience working alongside clients navigating their digital transformation journeys, I’m a big believer that the right partnerships can significantly shorten the learning curve and accelerate ROI. As I shared with Clark, what I want to spend my time doing is the things that bring deep core value to the business. I don’t want to be messing with little details. That’s what is so exciting about the advent of generative AI; the ability to focus on those higher-value things is exponentially easier.
The Role of AI in Modern Financial Operations
Clark and I discussed the role of AI in modern financial operations and he shared that Corcentric recently added generative AI capabilities to the company’s managed accounts payable invoice processing. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human workers, they’re using it to automate the tasks that people typically don’t enjoy, allowing organizations to redirect their teams’ efforts toward more interesting and valuable activities. This is a pretty common piece of the value AI value prop overall and something I’m not surprised to see Corcentric lean into.
Clark shared several compelling customer success stories that illustrated the real-world impact of their approach. One that stood out involved a major tire manufacturer struggling with complex AR processes for customers like FedEx, Walmart, and Amazon. Corcentric’s solution provided predictable payment timing and streamlined operations – exactly the kind of transformation that can give organizations a competitive edge.
Modernizing Operations is Essential to Business Growth and Prosperity
What I particularly appreciated about my discussion with Clark was his emphasis on taking a holistic view of transformation. As he pointed out, there’s never going to be a perfect time to modernize your operations — and waiting only makes the challenges more complex as your business grows.
In my years of working with clients navigating their digital transformation journeys, I’ve always come in as a change agent and I’ve seen how holding onto the status quo can be dangerous, especially in today’s highly competitive, fast-moving business environment. With the advent of AI and generative AI solutions, the risks of maintaining outdated processes are greater than ever.
The conversation with Clark reinforced my long-held belief that successful digital transformation is always about the magic combination of people, processes, and technology. That said, what really resonated with me was Corcentric’s commitment to values: do the right thing, embrace and drive change, be empowered, and remain relentlessly focused on the customer.
In today’s complex B2B commerce landscape, these principles aren’t just nice-to-haves — they’re essential for driving meaningful transformation and sustainable growth. They are also exactly what I look for in vendor relationships.
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