In a world of AI-driven disruption, is your finance team ready to lead transformation? As a CFO, I've seen the pitfalls and the wins. Six months ago, I asked my finance team a simple question: "If AI could do 40% of what you do today, what would you want to do instead?" The silence was deafening. Not because they didn't have ideas. Because they were terrified, I was asking who we could replace. That moment taught me everything about why finance transformations fail. The problem isn't the technology. It's the narrative. Most CFOs roll out AI tools with a cost-saving pitch. "We can do more with less." "Improve efficiency." "Reduce headcount." And we wonder why adoption is slow. Here's what I learned: People don't resist change. They resist being made obsolete. So I changed the conversation entirely. We reframed AI as career acceleration, not a career threat. I gave the team a challenge: identify the work you hate, the repetitive, soul-crushing tasks that keep you from doing meaningful analysis. The list was long: → Manual journal entries → Variance analysis for 50+ cost centres → Reformatting reports for different stakeholders → Chasing approvals for routine transactions → Reconciling data across multiple systems Then I said, "What if AI handled all of this, and you spent your time on strategy, insights, and decision support?" That's when everything shifted. The wins came faster than expected. We started small. One use case at a time. In 5 years, there will be two types of finance professionals: those who work with AI to drive strategic decisions and those who do not. And those still doing tasks AI replaced 3 years ago. As CFOs, we get to choose which team we're building. The companies that win won't be the ones with the best AI tools. They'll be the ones with finance teams confident enough to use them. So ask yourself: Is your finance team learning to lead with AI or learning to fear it? What's your biggest challenge in preparing your finance team for an AI-driven future?
Shadir Nassar
6mo
AI isn’t the threat, it’s the misunderstood opportunity. When we shifted the focus from replacement to empowerment, engagement soared. Our biggest challenge now? Upskilling fast enough to match the pace of transformation.
Aida Smajic
6mo
That moment of silence really says it all. Most finance teams aren’t afraid of AI, they’re afraid of what it means for them. Once leaders make it about freeing time for meaningful work, everything changes.
This resonates deeply, Steven. I’ve seen that same silence in boardrooms worldwide. The inflection point isn’t technical, it’s emotional. When AI adoption starts with empathy, not efficiency, transformation sticks. Culture shifts faster than code ever will.