AP Innovation Roadshow

October 29th, 2026

St. Louis, MO

Twenty-five years of AP technology.

Dozens of platforms.

And most AP teams are still fighting the same battles.

The AP Innovation Roadshow brings together a select group of senior AP and finance executives to compare notes on what is working, what is not, and where AI fits into the picture. Each session is informed by original benchmark research from The AP Institute and Streamtech Advisors, and built around the challenges in the room — not a preset agenda.

Agenda

Here's how we're spending the time.

This is a half-day, invitation-only event for AP and finance leaders. No keynotes, no vendor floor. Lunch to kick things off, drinks to close it out, and three focused sessions in between built around one question: what does AI actually change for accounts payable, and what does it not?

Session 1

The Practitioner View: What AI Is Actually Doing for AP

Jeff Arnold, Director of Financial Shared Services at Gordon Food Service, runs AP across one of the largest foodservice distributors in North America — $26 billion in revenue, thousands of suppliers, and the same AP challenges every organization in this room is facing. He'll share what the journey from manual to AI-assisted actually looked like, what moved the needle, and where the biggest opportunities still ahead are for teams willing to make the shift.

Session 2

Signal vs. Slop: Making Sense of AI in AP

The AP Institute and Direct Commerce cut through the noise. Informed by original benchmark research fielded ahead of each workshop, this session covers where AI is genuinely changing outcomes in accounts payable, where it is falling short, and how to tell the difference before you commit budget to either.

Session 3

The Workshop: Are You AI-Forward or AI-Fearful?

Facilitated by Henry Ijams — founder of PayStream Advisors, the AP industry's leading research firm, and one of the few people in the room who has spent 15 years inside the data benchmarking exactly the problems you're dealing with. Bring a real challenge from your desk, work through it in small groups, and leave with three concrete things you can act on this year.

Format & Logistics

Half-day, invitation-only. Wednesday, October 29 at 612North Event Space, 612 N 2nd St, St. Louis, MO.

We start at noon and wrap by 4pm. Parking on site. Done early enough to beat traffic or to get back to the office before the end of the day.