Nat Rubio-Licht
2 min read
In This Article:
If you’re not considering how to work AI into your finance team, you may be behind the curve.
While doing so involves additional hurdles and higher stakes than adding AI to other departments in an enterprise, the benefits that the tech can bring – and the ability to stay ahead of competition – may be worth the hassle, experts told CIO Upside as part of our first-ever webinar.
“Opportunities for AI in finance are ultimately going to become as routine as using spreadsheets,” said Mel Walker, managing director and data and AI practice leader at CohnReznick.
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There are tons of ways to put AI to use in financial departments, said L.E.K. Managing Director and Partner Chuck Reynolds. Enterprises should invest in a “portfolio of solutions” to adopt AI across their finance teams:
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Reynolds sees AI advancements in three key areas: performance enhancement, competitiveness and unique revenue streams. Areas like fraud detection and accounts payable and receivable, he said, are ripe for automation.
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The introduction of AI agents, Reynolds noted, has the capability to make these processes even more efficient and seamless.
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“It’s imperative for organizations to adopt AI,” he said. “If you’re not doing this, your competitors will be.”
The stakes, however, are quite high, Walker said. Without total confidence in the outputs, finance departments have naturally adopted AI more slowly than others. Making a mistake in financial statements and audits or reporting bad numbers to Wall Street “can have a serious negative impact on your brand or your reputation,” Walker said, and even lead to fines or penalties. “That responsibility can’t be taken lightly.”
So how can finance teams strike a balance? Figure out where to keep a human in the loop, Walker and Reynolds said. While teams can safely take their hands off the wheel for some tasks, in professions like accounting where “accuracy is paramount,” having a human in the loop is critical, Walker said. Having a strong internal policy that governs AI use can also prevent missteps, she added.
“Human feedback serves as a safeguard for the limitations that come with AI” she said. “Keeping people as part of the process is absolutely essential.”
To watch “Mind the Gap: Avoiding AI Pitfalls in Finance,” click here.
This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive cutting-edge insights into technology trends impacting CIOs and IT leaders, subscribe to our free CIO Upside newsletter.
