Sydney, Australia – April 23. 2026: SpendConsole hosted the CIPS NSW Branch at the Royal Exchange of Sydney for an evening of facilitated discussions on payables orchestration with AI and the procurement capabilities that endure as technology accelerates.
The first session looked at how AI is reshaping payables execution, controls and decision-making. As automation spreads across invoice processing and payments, procurement teams are gaining access to richer execution-level data that opens new opportunities to contribute to financial insight, supplier strategy and governance.
The second session was a practitioner panel on what stays the same. Speakers explored why judgement, supplier relationships, commercial acumen, governance and leadership remain central to the profession, and why these human capabilities matter more as automation expands across procurement.
Speakers included Abid Ali (SpendConsole), Amanda Reid (Colonial First State), Chris Sullivan (Alturis), Craig Lardner FCIPS (Procurement Advisory Services), Phillip McDonald FCIPS (SpendConsole), and Sommer Roles (Roles Consulting Ltd).
Thank you to the CIPS NSW Committee and to everyone who joined us for the discussion.