Finance and accounting professionals are asking a variety of questions about how AI will impact the future of finance. If you’re reading this now, you’re likely in one of two positions:
To be strategic, finance organizations should view AI from the perspective of Finance’s overall role in the company. Below are the key questions finance executives can start with:
How can we optimize business processes to align Administration with Sales and Operations using AI?
Standardizing repetitive processes using AI is a great starting point for the finance organization. Take OCR (optical character recognition), for example. OCR has advanced to the point where AI is embedded in the software. This allows for smarter recognition of information on invoices, which makes it easier to capture info in the ERP. It makes for an easier process and saves time that would have been spent on a repetitive task.
How will AI help Finance align the strategic plan with financial objectives, corporate structure, working capital, and funding?
Consider how AI can be used to sift through the company’s financial trends and economic forecasts to identify where strategic challenges might need to be assessed. An example of this is using AI to analyze assumptions in the business plan along with changing economic and geo-political environments to identify what needs to be reassessed. An even simpler example is having AI assess and identify updates in a SWOT analysis conducted 5 years ago against the changing business environment over the years.
How will AI help Finance safeguard assets through efficient and effective risk management controls (policy, process transactions, compliance, regulatory, cash management)?
AI can be used to review internal data and extract information to pinpoint where current risks may need to be reassessed. It can also be used to generate updated policy documents based upon changes in the business environment. A simple example is having AI automatically generate FAQs in a new policy document to aid in communications.
How can we use AI to provide quality information to stakeholders more quickly to support decision-making, goal setting, regulatory requirements, and planning?
AI tools are already used in business intelligence to identify trends and develop smart forecasting models based on a series of data lakes the organization develops with internal information. Consider how it can help speed up the communication process.
AI has applicability within each of the above and a deeper dive into the supporting process that finance and accounting supports as a part of a finance AI initiative will a lynch pin for advancing just about every organization. Trenegy has developed an AI for Finance Toolkit that allows finance executives to quickly prioritize AI opportunities. Our AI for Finance Toolkit has been embedded into our finance transformation methodology along with leading practices and a comprehensive look at tools available in the market to jumpstart a finance AI initiative.
From a tactical perspective, any professional in the finance organization can leverage AI as part of their job. Our advice to finance and accounting professionals is to view AI as a productivity tool. Find ways to use AI to make things easier. For example, Microsoft Copilot has all sorts of mind-blowing capabilities that can advance and automate the finance and accounting process. Using Copilot is akin to learning the capabilities of Excel to automate reporting, allocations, and forecast models. It’s simply a tool designed to make your job easier.
Copilot can be used to mine information and create summaries and documentation using a combination of internal SharePoint files and external information. This could help with tasks like updating management disclosure documentation, identifying anomalies in financial data, and documenting budget meeting results. The opportunities are endless.
Finance organizations can leverage AI to enhance their value proposition and become more agile, innovative, and collaborative. However, implementing AI in finance requires clear guiding principles, a robust roadmap, and disciplined execution. That's why Trenegy offers a comprehensive “AI for Finance Toolkit” that helps finance leaders assess their current state, identify high-impact opportunities, select the best-fit solutions, and manage change effectively.
Our toolkit combines our deep expertise in finance processes, data analytics, and change management with our extensive knowledge of the AI landscape and leading practices. Whether you want to automate your reporting, forecasting, compliance, or planning functions, we can help you design and implement a tailored AI solution that meets your needs and goals.
Reach out to learn more about Trenegy’s “AI for Finance Toolkit” and how we have helped other finance organizations achieve success through automation. We would love to hear from you and explore how we can support your finance transformation journey. Email us anytime at info@trenegy.com.
