How should CFOs approach generative AI

Getting ahead of the AI learning curve

While generative AI is still in its early stages, companies can gain an advantage by allowing employees to experiment with tools such as Microsoft’s data visualization solution Power BI, which can be a “quick, very effective, and costly alternative to start providing some new skills for your employees, because the employees are all looking for the experience.”

CFOs should try to be gen AI enablers rather than gatekeepers, ensuring that strategically vital programs receive the funding they require quickly and consistently. They should also guarantee that they and their function ascend the gen AI learning curve as rapidly as possible. The future has already begun.

CFOs looking to incorporate generative AI and other emerging technologies into their businesses can begin with financial planning and analysis — the use of machine learning and other AI solutions has aided FP&A advancement in recent years, but tapping next-generation solutions can help finance leaders “really move the needle” in that area.

Identifying where generative AI solutions could be most useful in one’s business is merely the first step toward properly using the developing technology. CFOs that are experiencing a learning curve with the rapidly evolving product could approach its implementation in two ways.

They should first determine what underlying technologies or solutions are required to enable the usage of generative AI in their organizations, and then determine what skills and competencies their finance personnel will require to use the technology.

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 Do AI right

Accounting and finance executives rush to understand the far-reaching effects of incorporating generative artificial intelligence into their businesses.

Zoom Video Communications and Ford Motor are just two examples of corporations starting the adoption process. As a first step, businesses are using the technology to anticipate the questions analysts would ask, investigate the earnings calls of rivals, and respond to employee inquiries about company policy.

In the realm of finance, many CFOs are now in the testing and evaluating phase of utilizing generative AI. Some high-level managers have voiced reservations regarding the safety of company data and the dependability of these technologies in financial and other operational settings.

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Adapt or die

There are three key ways in which financial operations may be affected by generative AI.

1. The first is through the use of automation, which helps with boring activities (like making presentation drafts).
2. Second, by augmenting human capabilities, so that they can operate more effectively (by, for example, compiling disparate data into a unified story).
3. Third, hastening processes like information extraction and indexing to speed up innovation and decrease the time between financial reports. CFOs’ proactive performance management and capacity to support business choices can benefit substantially from the use of Gen AI. High-performing finance departments know which use cases would most significantly and practically advance their departments.

• A well-run finance department knows which use cases will help it the most and how to implement them. It is important to us that all users, regardless of ability, have full access to this site. We are available to assist you in gathering data on this material. Some multinational corporations have already begun implementing (and this is by no means a complete list of) the Synthesis of data, with the ability to generate interactive charts with user-defined parameters based on free-form text searches. Solutions already exist, for instance, that supply a basic Q&A chatbot, a chart generation tool that makes charts in seconds after receiving a prompt or description of code, and a visualization tool that personalizes charts by employing preexisting code and confirming the veracity of the code.
• Management of financial performance in the digital era involves finding explanations for budget overruns and shortfalls, as well as figuring out how to fix them. Self-service and designed with business users in mind rather than financial pros, this solution can facilitate fruitful conversations on performance management. Drafts of external reports, which not only can save teams weeks in preparing advanced first drafts of securities filings and stakeholder reports (such as sustainability reports), but also run queries on the current regulations and standards to help ensure that the reports meet current standards.
• Working capital management with features such as an always-on support bot to help facilitate collections and payments, and an always-updated customer payment history risk assessment, including the capability to limit customer credit based on real-time information about customer-specific activity and market events. The applications of generational AI are numerous and diverse, and they are no longer speculative. Even though we are still in the beginning stages, the pace of adoption is increasing. Those realities make it even more vital for CFOs to get started in a planned and proactive approach.

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