Financial management in 2024 is not just about following a budget or automating a few transfers. Two European regulations, DORA and the AI Act, are reshaping companies’ obligations regarding IT risk and the use of artificial intelligence. The Banque de France reports a growing gap between the apparent solidity of balance sheets and the actual repayment capacity of SMEs.
Cost of debt for SMEs and mid-sized companies: diverging trajectories
The Banque de France observes that in 2025, the fundamentals of SMEs and mid-sized companies remained robust, with cash and debt levels deemed well managed. Activity has progressed slowly, and repayment capacity has deteriorated.
The notable point concerns the apparent cost of debt, which does not evolve in the same way depending on size. For SMEs, this cost has slightly increased on average in 2025. For mid-sized companies, it has significantly decreased over the same period.
| Indicator | SMEs (2025) | Mid-sized companies (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Apparent cost of debt | Slight increase | Net decrease |
| Repayment capacity | Deteriorated | Deteriorated |
| Cash level | Managed | Managed |
This table illustrates a paradox: a correct cash flow does not protect against rising financing costs. SMEs are more affected by the rise in rates because their borrowing conditions are renegotiated less favorably than those of larger structures. To manage financial operations in 2024 and beyond, monitoring the real cost of credit is as important as cash balance.
Analyses published on the MoneyWeek France website regularly detail these financing dynamics and their consequences on the investment decisions of French companies.
DORA and IT risk: what the regulation imposes since January 2025
The DORA regulation (Digital Operational Resilience Act) came into effect on January 17, 2025. It applies to all European financial entities, not just banks.
Four obligations structure this regulation:
- Strengthen IT risk management with documented procedures that are regularly tested
- Implement systematic logging of incidents, with notification deadlines to authorities
- Conduct digital operational resilience tests, including advanced penetration tests
- Supervise critical third-party providers (cloud hosts, financial software publishers, data providers)
For an SME managing its accounting via SaaS software and storing its financial data in the cloud, DORA requires verifying the resilience of each link in the chain. Compliance is not limited to an annual audit: it requires continuous monitoring of data flows and financial tools used daily.
Concrete impact on financial management tools
Companies using automation tools for their cash flow or expenses must now ensure that each provider complies with DORA requirements. An effective budget management tool hosted by a non-compliant provider exposes the company to direct regulatory risk.
This constraint pushes companies to centralize financial flows on platforms whose operational resilience is verifiable, rather than multiplying disconnected solutions.
AI Act and financial decisions: credit scoring under scrutiny
The European AI Act came into force for the banking sector in 2026. Its provisions classify certain uses of artificial intelligence in finance as high-risk systems, notably credit scoring and automated pricing.
For companies, this means two things. First, the AI models used to assess creditworthiness or set loan conditions must be explainable and auditable. Second, the training data for these models must meet documented quality and non-discrimination criteria.
What this changes to optimize financial management
A company seeking financing in 2024-2025 faces increasingly sophisticated scoring algorithms. With the AI Act, it will be able to demand an explanation of the criteria that led to a refusal or additional cost. This transparency alters the balance of power between borrower and lender.
For companies deploying their own AI to manage their financial performance (cash flow forecasting, fraud detection, risk analysis), compliance with the AI Act represents an additional cost. However, it imposes rigor in data governance that mechanically improves the quality of financial decisions.
Managing cash flow in 2024: data over habits
Competing content on financial management in 2024 recommends categorizing expenses, building an emergency savings fund, or closing unused accounts. These tips remain valid, but they do not take into account the regulatory and macroeconomic context described above.
Three areas deserve particular attention for both companies and freelancers:
- Check the real cost of each current line of credit, distinguishing between nominal rate and apparent cost of debt, which includes ancillary fees
- Map out financial technology providers to anticipate DORA requirements, even if the company is not directly a regulated financial entity
- Document decision-making processes involving AI or automation, to prepare for potential compliance requests related to the AI Act
Effective financial management now relies on the traceability of data and decisions, not just on tracking incoming and outgoing flows. Accounting and budgeting tools that do not incorporate this dimension risk becoming insufficient in light of new obligations.
The divergence between SMEs and mid-sized companies regarding the cost of debt reminds us that the size of the company strongly conditions access to the best financing conditions. Therefore, optimizing financial management in 2024 also means understanding where one’s company stands in this asymmetry and adapting cash flow decisions accordingly.
