The Complete Guide to Using AI as a Finance Professional in Belgium in 2025

Belgian finance professionals face a turning point in 2025: regulators and industry leaders are pushing AI from experimentation to operational use, and compliance matters as much as opportunity.

Events like Market Insights Belgium 2025 conference highlight how DORA (from Jan 17, 2025), IReF/BIRD and the EU AI Act (initial provisions 2 Feb 2025, full enforcement 2 Aug 2026) are reshaping regulatory reporting, outsourcing and model risk; meanwhile PwC's PwC GenAI in Financial Services report workstreams show banks moving from pilots to scaled, measurable solutions that balance innovation and oversight.

Practical gains are immediate - AI-powered expense auditing can flag VAT anomalies and speed reconciliations - so pairing regulatory know-how with hands-on skills matters; consider a focused path like Nucamp's Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp to learn prompt-writing and workplace AI use cases in 15 weeks and run compliant, auditable pilots that deliver ROI.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

Belgium's AI strategy is deliberately pragmatic and multi-level: the national plan (summarised by the European Commission's AI Watch) organises action around three pillars - creating technological impact, ensuring social and economic benefits, and building an ethical, resilient society - which translates into concrete funding, training and public‑service pilots across federal, Flemish, Walloon and Brussels ecosystems (Belgium AI strategy report (AI Watch)).

For finance teams the implications are clear and immediate: generous R&D tax incentives and regional innovation budgets mean companies should treat AI spend as a strategic, auditable asset; rising adoption (13.8% to 24.7% in 2023–24) signals that AI is moving from niche to mainstream, so identify whether the firm is a provider or deployer under the EU rules and apply the Act's risk‑based controls (documentation, human oversight, data quality) now rather than later (Trustworthy AI in Europe: Time to act (ActLegal)).

National policy also mandates regulatory sandboxes under the AI Act to support compliant experimentation - an opportunity for finance teams to run controlled pilots that generate traceable evidence for auditors and regulators (AI regulatory sandbox approaches in EU member states (overview)).

Picture AI not as a magic black box but as a new, actively monitored ledger line: it needs governance, logging, and measurable KPIs just like any other financial control, or the penalties and compliance work will quickly outpace the value delivered.

AI regulation in Belgium sits at the practical crossroads of the GDPR, national law and the EU AI Act, and for finance teams that means rules you can't treat as optional: the Belgian Data Protection Act (30 July 2018) transposed GDPR obligations locally and the Data Protection Authority has been strengthened through 2023 reforms to increase enforcement and sector expertise (Belgian data protection laws overview - DLA Piper).

The Belgian DPA has also published targeted guidance on AI -

“Artificial Intelligence Systems and the GDPR”

- and a dedicated BDPA AI section explain how transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation and human oversight apply when models touch personal data (BDPA brochure: Artificial Intelligence Systems and the GDPR - CMS Law-Now).

Overlaying this, the EU AI Act assigns risk-based duties to providers and deployers (with new obligations for high‑risk systems and GPAI models), so finance teams must map roles, run DPIAs, appoint or consult DPOs where required, and keep Art.30 records and robust logging to demonstrate compliance (EU AI Act implications for Belgian finance teams - ActLegal).

Practically speaking: treat every model version like a stamped invoice in the audit trail - logged, dated and tied to a lawful basis - because breach notifications (72 hours), automated‑decision safeguards (Art.22 GDPR) and tiered fines under both regimes make defensible documentation and human oversight the clearest route from innovation to safe, auditable value.

For Belgian finance teams the most tangible AI wins sit squarely in forecasting, accounts payable and fraud detection: AI-driven invoice capture and matching free AP teams from paper chases and manual keying (Concur finds 64% of finance leaders pushing for efficiency) and Forrester highlights six high‑value AP areas - invoice data capture, matching, reporting, fraud management, payment optimisation and e‑invoicing - that drive measurable gains; vendors and local specialists in Belgium (see a country list of AP automation providers) are already offering low‑code IDP, ML matching and policy‑aware automation that plug into ERPs and regional tax workflows.

Expect a staged approach: start with intelligent document processing and touchless invoice goals (many providers target ~95% touchless processing), then layer decisioning agents for continuous ledger hygiene and anomaly detection so exceptions are routed, explained and logged for auditors.

ABBYY and NetSuite case studies show dramatic outcomes - big cuts in cycle time, near‑straight‑through processing and much lower error rates - while Tungsten's market view warns that roughly three in five AP leaders see AI as transformational, not optional; the practical “so what?” is clear: get AP to touchless levels and fraud flags become a day‑to‑day control rather than a quarterly scramble, turning AP from cost centre to cash‑flow enabler.

Concur whitepaper - Invoices Meet Their Match: AI for Accounts Payable, Cevinio analysis of AI-powered accounts payable automation, Directory of Belgian AP automation companies (ensun)

Belgian finance teams should watch the ERP and automation layer like a strategic utility: cloud ERP adoption is racing ahead in BeNe (Priority's report notes more than 70% of enterprises will have integrated cloud ERP by 2025), and platforms are increasingly shipping AI and RPA capabilities that cut routine admin by roughly 25–30% - enough to materially shorten month‑end drudgery and free up time for analysis.

Pick vendors that solve local pain points (VAT, e‑invoicing, GDPR) and plug into CPM and AP automation workflows; Priority, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Odoo all lead with industry‑specific stacks and localization features for Belgian rules, while local players and integration specialists help bridge ERPs to touchless AP and expense auditing.

For a quick toolkit roundup aimed at finance pros, see Nucamp's list of top AI tools for Belgium, and consult Priority's BeNe ERP trends briefing when planning cloud, hybrid or phased ERP moves - practical choices now determine whether AI becomes an auditable control or an expensive, unmanaged experiment.

Belgian finance professionals who want practical, auditable skills have a clear set of options in 2025: short, high‑impact executive courses and longer specialist tracks that bridge strategy and hands‑on projects.

Vlerick's AI for Finance blends a self‑paced online primer with

three intensive days on campus

to turn leaders into AI‑ready CFOs (upcoming editions in Ghent and Leuven) - a focused choice for teams that need fast, governance‑aware roadmaps (Vlerick AI for Finance program details and schedule).

For deeper technical and business integration, the Masters in Business Analytics & AI is a 10‑month Leuven programme (tuition ~€20,950) that combines classroom action learning with an Amsterdam AI study trip and a two‑month company project, ideal for those aiming to translate models into measurable finance outcomes (Vlerick Masters in Business Analytics & AI full program information).

Short campus modules such as “Digital Strategy and AI” (Nov 17–19, 2025) sit alongside sector events like the AI For Finance conference (Nov 21, 2024) for bite‑sized updates and peer networking; the practical payoff is concrete - expect templates, KPIs and a live case or hackathon so teams leave with a pilot plan, not just slides.

When Belgian finance teams move from pilots to production, partnering with consultancies that blend strategy, technology and governance is a fast track to safe, auditable value: EY Belgium explicitly promotes a human‑centered, pragmatic and outcomes‑focused approach to AI (see EY's AI consulting services for Belgian enterprises), backed by platform tools such as the EY Trusted AI Platform for AI risk and governance and the EY.ai / EY Fabric stack that embed governance, cloud hyperscalers and reusable assets.

Their teams help define AI strategy, run PoCs and MVPs, accelerate M&A due diligence, and operationalise controls so every model version can be treated like a stamped invoice in the audit trail - logged, dated and defensible.

For finance leaders wanting hands‑on pilots and repeatable prompts to prove value before large vendor bets, pair strategic consulting with practical upskilling and pilot templates (for example, consider a getting‑started pilot approach outlined by Nucamp's resources).

Choose partners that combine local regulatory know‑how, sector workflows (VAT, e‑invoicing) and responsible‑AI tooling to keep compliance and ROI moving together.

“Our solid growth of 4% demonstrates not only the strength of our organization, but also the resilience and dedication of our team. We continue to invest in what is essential for the future: our talent, sustainability and technological innovation.”

Becoming an AI expert in Belgium in 2025 is a practical, staged process: start by auditing your finance team's digital maturity, build foundational governance and data skills, then close the gap with targeted executive education and hands‑on pilots that tie directly to KPIs.

Short, work‑focused programmes such as the Vlerick AI for Finance programme combine a self‑paced online primer with three intensive days on campus to teach forecasting, valuation, RPA, ML and GenAI use cases that finance teams can operationalise and audit (Vlerick AI for Finance programme - blended executive course); meanwhile the Belgian AI Barometer 2025 report shows the sector is maturing fast - 85% of institutions now host a dedicated AI unit and over 60% have validated or updated roadmaps - so align learning with a clear roadmap and a pilot that proves ROI (Belgian AI Barometer 2025 report).

Practical shortcuts also exist: many ERPs now ship plug‑and‑play AI apps for cash forecasting and invoice matching, meaning teams can deliver visible wins without hiring a full data‑science squad.

Aim for a blend of governance, tool fluency and scenario practice - run an internal AI literacy campaign, choose one touchless AP or forecasting pilot, instrument it with KPIs, and iterate - so AI moves from experiment to repeatable, auditable value.

“The changing environment of AI, encompassing traditional AI and the nascent GenAI and agentic AI, will unequivocally reveal which organizations possess superior data and enterprise architecture. This architectural strength will become the decisive competitive advantage for deploying AI services with optimal speed to market.” - Anthony Belpaire, Head of AI at BNP Paribas Fortis

Turn AI ambition into repeatable value with a phased, compliance-first roadmap tailored to Belgium: start small with a 90‑day pilot that proves a business case and integrates cleanly with ERP/GL feeds, then expand, optimise and industrialise - this approach is the four‑phase journey Nominal recommends for finance teams, delivering quick wins (70%+ automation and ~50% time savings in Phase 1) and measurable scale later on; couple that sequence with Belgian‑specific governance (DPIAs, logging, human oversight and sandboxed experiments) and a local risk lens from the Sailpeak/FinTech Belgium Barometer - 84% of institutions already run predictive AI and most are building AI units, so demonstrate defensible KPIs (automation rate, exception volume, hours saved, close-cycle time and predictive accuracy) to keep auditors and regulators satisfied.

Practical controls matter: run pilots in shadow mode, appoint an “AI champion” for ownership, test cheaper models first for cost control, and instrument each release like an auditable ledger entry so every model version is logged and traceable.

For playbooks and phase templates see Nominal AI implementation roadmap for finance teams, for Belgian sector context consult the Sailpeak Belgian AI report, and for governance checklists and staged industrialisation guidance see delaware GenAI governance guidance - this keeps pilots fast, compliant and ready to scale into predictive forecasting and continuous close.

“Mitigating the risks of AI requires solid governance that takes into account people, processes, and technologies.” - Stijn Robberechts, delaware

Practical next steps for Belgian finance professionals are straightforward: map a 90‑day pilot, pick a short course that ties directly to that pilot, and keep one clear compliance thread from Day One.

Local learning windows are plentiful - scan the VAIA Flanders AI Academy course calendar for hands‑on events and summer schools (for example, Edge Intelligence on 15 Sept 2025) to build device‑level and MLOps awareness, or book a compact workshop like Expert Academy's “AI for Finance” (Ghent, 23 Oct 2025) to turn cash‑flow forecasting and anomaly detection into actionable skills; for a structured, workplace‑focused pathway consider the Nucamp AI Essentials for Work 15-week bootcamp (practical prompt and tool training, early-bird $3,582) to move from pilot to repeatable workflow with auditable controls (VAIA Flanders AI Academy course calendar, Expert Academy AI for Finance workshop - Ghent, Nucamp AI Essentials for Work 15-week bootcamp).

Treat the pilot as an auditable invoice - logged, dated and tied to KPIs - so auditors, regulators and the CFO can all measure the upside before scaling.