In today’s business landscape, staying competitive requires innovation. By adopting AI, finance leaders can stay ahead of the curve and keep their teams focused on what matters to the business.
According to a 2022 study by McKinsey, AI adoption in finance functions can lead to cost savings of up to 25% by automating repetitive tasks and improving efficiency. With routine tasks out of the way and financial analysis one click away, CFOs can have more time for strategic initiatives – and make informed decisions promptly.
We recently held a webinar with Sherry Duhe, former CEO and CFO at Newcrest Mining (now Newmont Mining) about AI’s impact on the CFO’s role. Here, we’ll recap the discussion where we explored the changes across the financial function and the possibilities AI brings to financial leaders and processes.
Building the right foundation for AI adoption
Before starting with AI, it’s crucial to address the foundational elements of technology integration and data management. According to Duhe, there are two critical – and interconnected – components that, if overlooked, only intensify existing issues:
- Master data must be clean and accurate before you can leverage it effectively
- End-to-end processes must be standardised and optimised before AI is introduced
As Duhe emphasises, you shouldn’t apply technology to flawed processes. It’s essential to step back and consider how to simplify work processes and master data. Ask yourself: Do we need all of this? Can we eliminate any components? Once you’re down to what you need – aligned with the business strategy – you can evaluate what should be automated and how to implement that automation.
This is the ESSA (Eliminate, Standardise, Simplify, Automate) approach, a strategic framework CFOs can use to streamline processes before applying AI solutions.
The impact of AI on finance teams
As with any industry impacted by AI, there’s the fear of job loss, including concerns that, over time, AI could diminish the number of subject-matter experts.
However, Duhe argues that success with AI comes from upskilling people and driving cultural change. The poll we conducted about AI opportunities in organisations backs this up: 38% of respondents see continuous employee upskilling as an opportunity.
Sherry gives an example of how AI drastically improved the accuracy of modelling complex reservoirs in industries like mining. What used to take months and the work of many engineers, can now be done in hours or days with AI. Despite this, the demand for engineers hasn’t decreased – they have more time to focus on strategic initiatives.
AI’s integration into finance will not eliminate finance teams but reshape their roles. Finance professionals must maintain critical thinking skills and see this moment as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of foundational skills.
- Focus on upskilling: The ability to work with AI-powered systems will streamline their work, keep them relevant, and increase their marketability
- Shift to value-added tasks: While technology may automate calculations, a deep understanding of accounting principles and financial skills remains essential. Teams should view AI as a key collaborator.
Take for example the use of Excel – something that Sherry has been advocating against for some time now – and productivity. A 2023 report from Trullion found that 95% of finance professionals spend at least an hour a day on Excel, with a whopping 61% spending over 4 hours. AI-powered automation can help CFOs leverage technology and data analytics over traditional tools like Excel.
In Duhe’s words, “A good finance person is not someone who can add up the numbers, but who can gain an insight from them. None of that accountability should ever be relinquished as we use AI.”
Is AI too costly to invest in?
It’s the CFO’s job to carefully evaluate the strongest business cases for any AI initiatives. During our webinar, we conducted a second poll, asking attendees to answer: “How much time and effort has your organisation invested in looking at AI opportunities for the finance function?”
| How much time and effort has your organisation invested in looking at AI opportunities for the finance function? Poll answers |
| None and don’t plan to: 4% None yet but planning is underway: 12% Limited effort – mostly experimental: 40% Moderate effort: 36% Significant investment already made: 8% |
The results revealed that most organisations sit between planning and moderate effort – 88%.
By examining both ends of the spectrum, “none and don’t plan to” (4%), and “significant investment already made” (8%), Sherry argues that no company can afford to overlook AI – every organisation must consider its potential benefits. At the same time, she emphasises that it’s important to recognise that significant investment doesn’t have to mean significant financial outlay.
Investment can mean upskilling employees so that they can develop AI solutions independently.
What are some of the biggest AI risks for CFOs?
Among the critical risks are:
Deepfakes and cybersecurity
AI-generated deepfakes and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks pose significant risks to companies. CFOs must ensure robust security measures are in place to mitigate these risks.
Human oversight
Human oversight remains crucial in AI initiatives to guard against errors and manipulation. CFOs must invest in both technology and skilled professionals to manage these risks effectively.
To illustrate, here are two examples of cyberattacks that you should be aware of:
Example 1: According to CNN, earlier this year, a British multinational firm in Hong Kong reportedly lost $25 million to cybercriminals who used deepfake technology to impersonate the company’s CFO in a video call – and deceived an unsuspecting staff member.
Example 2: Sherry Duhe recounts a cyberattack experience where a scammer replicated her email address and sent a message to the company’s financial controller requesting an immediate wire transfer of $50 million. The controller, believing the email was genuine, went straight to Duhe to confirm, ready to execute the request. It was only then that they realised it was a fraudulent message.
These incidents highlight how the attacks rely on urgency and familiarity. However, by keeping in mind that there are controls around cash processing, the employees should be able to protect the company from these attacks. This is where AI can be a tool to combat cybercrime, such as learning from patterns to counter phishing attacks and fraud.
AI and the transformation of the CFO role
In today’s AI-driven landscape, CFOs are uniquely positioned to lead transformative change in finance, capitalising on technology to drive efficiency, harness predictive insights, and unlock new strategic opportunities.
By investing in upskilling, refining processes, and embracing AI as a collaborative tool, finance leaders can guide their teams through a period of profound change and ensure that human expertise remains central to every AI initiative.
If you are looking to address costly errors and fraud through automation, artificial intelligence, and oversight of your financial data, speak to the Satori team and get the tools to elevate financial accuracy and control.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed are the personal views of Sherry Duhe and do not represent any past or present company affiliation.
