ISG to Assess Finance and Accounting Outsourcing Providers

Upcoming ISG Provider Lens™ report will evaluate providers of services to streamline financial operations, ensure accuracy and identify risks and opportunities

Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm, has launched a research study examining providers of finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO) services, which are growing beyond their traditional cost-efficiency role and beginning to incorporate generative AI and agentic AI.

The study results will be published in a comprehensive ISG Provider Lens™ report, called Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) Services, scheduled to be released in September 2025. The report will cover companies offering services including accounts payable, order to cash (O2C) operations, recording and reporting of financial results, tax compliance and financial planning and analysis.

Enterprise buyers will be able to use information from the report to evaluate current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings, while ISG advisors use the information to recommend providers to the firm’s buy-side clients.

Enterprises are turning to FAO for functions far beyond its traditional role of controlling costs. Increasingly, companies are outsourcing complex, high-value processes such as financial planning and tax compliance, which were once considered too strategic or complex to delegate, to FAO firms. They expect providers to serve as consultative partners that understand the business context well enough to enable increased agility and smart decision-making.

“As FAO evolves and extends its reach, technological advancement is more important than ever,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “GenAI and agentic AI allow service providers to introduce new capabilities, including autonomous workflows and intelligent exception handling. FAO is becoming a full-fledged partner to forward-thinking enterprises.”

ISG has distributed surveys to 48 FAO service providers serving the global market. Working in collaboration with ISG’s global advisors, the research team will produce four quadrants representing the FAO services the typical enterprise is buying, based on ISG’s experience working with its clients. The four quadrants are:

• Invoice to Pay (I2P), evaluating service providers that manage the full accounts payable lifecycle, from receipt of invoices to payment. Services include invoice capture and validation, master data maintenance and payment processing. Providers offer technologies such as AI and ML for exception handling and real-time analytics for compliance and decision-making.
• Order to Cash (O2C), assessing end-to-end O2C service providers that perform functions such as accounts receivable management, credit risk assessment, invoice generation and dispute resolution. Leading providers use automation, predictive analytics and big data to achieve rapid order fulfillment and other benefits.
• R2R and Tax Services, covering providers of record-to-report and tax services that help enterprises perform financial closing, reporting, reconciliation and indirect tax compliance. Providers use AI, automation and analytics to streamline operations and enhance accuracy. They can help enterprise finance leaders gain real-time insights and ensure compliance.
• Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), evaluating providers of services such as budgeting, forecasting, planning and risk management. As enterprises outsource more strategic financial functions, these providers become partners delivering real-time insights that help them identify risks and opportunities.

A report from the study will cover the global FAO market and examine available products and services. ISG analysts Gaurang Pagdi, Sneha Jayanth and Shilpashree N will serve as authors of the report.

A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the study are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as FAO providers can contact ISG and ask to be included in the study.

All 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ evaluations feature expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG’s continuous CX research. Enterprise customers wishing to share their experience about a specific provider or vendor are invited to complete this online survey. Participants will receive a copy of this report in return for their feedback.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

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As FAO evolves and extends its reach, technological advancement is more important than ever. GenAI and agentic AI allow service providers to introduce new capabilities and become full-fledged partners to forward-thinking enterprises.