What is the future of AI in Finance?
Anders Liu-Lindberg
Leading advisor to senior Finance and FP&A leaders on creating impact through business partnering | Interim | VP Finance | Business Finance
For the final blog in our series on the rise of artificial intelligence in Finance, we’re doing something a little different. We thought we’d imagine what AI and a day in the life of a finance professional might look like.
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A day in the life: How AI transformed my Finance role
Meet Zuck, a finance professional from the future. Zuck recently joined Tesla’s subscription for unlimited robo-taxi journeys and so arrives at his company’s corporate headquarters nice and refreshed after watching a personalized financial newscast on his 5th generation Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality lenses.?
The newscast, read by a virtual reality AI presenter,? has all the latest Bloomberg news he needs to be aware of in their sector for the day. He’s focused, relaxed, and ready - to kick back and relax.?
Welcome to my not-so-average day at the office
Hey! Welcome to a day in my life as a finance professional. One thing that hasn’t changed is coffee! Come over here and join me at my workstation. How do you take yours??
Even though the morning coffee hasn't changed, from what I understand, just about everything to do with your “typical” Finance job has evolved in some way. Over the years, artificial intelligence has drastically changed how, when, and where we work. And, I want to walk you through how my typical day goes.
08:59 - Autonomous decision-making: A morning check-in with my AI assistant?
We each have a personal assistant, mine called itself “Sync”. Sync analyzed the overnight market trends before I even arrived in the office and made adjustments to some of the PR announcement timelines, financial reports, and forecasts based on geopolitical events and rumblings in our key markets.?
Sync also sent me a summary of suggested changes we should think about to your current investments and capital growth projects, and scheduled a call for me with some of the key decision-makers and stakeholders before we decide on how to proceed.?
Indeed, a global study from The Workforce Institute - from before my time - suggested that management and staff wasted more than an hour a day on administration that wasn’t core to their jobs.?
That’s all changed. The autonomy Sync has to make decisions and take actions without human approval but it’s still astonishing for me to think about all of the manual work that’s now been automated, that I might have had to do once upon a time!
While there is still human oversight, AI has already developed to the stage where decisions ranging from asset allocation in investment portfolios to real-time budget adjustments can be pre-authorized and carried out instantly.?
11:00 - A silent guardian: How AI enables advanced fraud detection
Throughout the day, another AI tool is continuously running in the background, scanning for irregularities and signs of fraud.?
Around 11 a.m. I got an alert about a potentially fraudulent transaction. Within moments, the system had already halted the transaction and initiated an internal review—all without human intervention.
Turns out to be a false positive in the end and not a fraudulent transaction, but the power of AI and helping us to detect when there might be possible infractions is invaluable.
13:59 - Making analytics available: Having the latest financial insights at my fingertips
After lunch, I have a meeting with a small business client. I asked my AI assistant to pull up some snappy infographics of the client's performance and also to give me some key takeaways that will help to structure our conversation around the client's objectives.
My AI assistant carried out the task and produced the information in a matter of minutes. Thanks to AI-powered analytics, I can provide them with insights that, in the past, would have required a team of analysts and days of work. This democratization of financial tools has not just made my life easier; it's a game-changer for our clients.
15:06 - Emotional intelligence: Better understanding our clients and the mood of the market
Around 3 p.m., our sentiment analysis tool flags a shift in consumer feeling related to one of our key investment sectors. Because the AI tool was able to consume and interpret so much data so quickly, we're able as a team to come together and make decisions about how to react best for our product, our customers, and our company.
It's not just about the numbers anymore; understanding emotions and market sentiment is crucial. This adds a whole new layer to decision-making in Finance and has turned us from a reporting function into a value-adding function.
16:34 - Blockchain and AI: Transparent and efficient end-of-day reports
Something that's been a game-changer for the way we use data and the way artificial intelligence interprets that data is blockchain-based technologies.?
As my day wraps up, I check the blockchain-based transaction records. Backed by AI algorithms and machine learning, our ability to interpret, analyze, and visualize data has been revolutionized.?
This transparency and efficiency have transformed operations, making end-of-day reconciliation almost a thing of the past.
17:29 - A shifting focus: Making more time for what matters
Although it's hard for me to imagine, from what I understand from how Finance roles used to be, I have much less administration and routine tasks to complete and much more oversight over how the artificial intelligence carries out the operations of my function.?
And because of these AI tools, Finance roles shifted dramatically. I'm far less of an operator now and much more of a decision-maker.?
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My AI work tools give me more time to focus on strategy, mentorship, and other aspects that require someone to be innately human.?
Embracing the future today?
As I log off and reflect on my day, it's clear that what once seemed like the future is already here. Now, it's hard for me to imagine what my working life as a finance professional must have been like in the past. And honestly, all I can think is that these smart tools (with human oversight) are making Finance more exciting, efficient, and meaningful than ever before.
This was the ninth article in our new series "Demystifying AI in Finance & Accounting". Remember to subscribe to catch the upcoming articles and read the previous ones below.
Don't forget to catch our previous series "Welcome to Finance Function 5.0" below.
Check out our previous series "Rebranding the CFO" below.
Continue reading below for more articles about trends in finance and accounting.
Anders Liu-Lindberg is the co-founder and a partner at Business Partnering Institute and the owner of the largest group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering on LinkedIn with more than 11,000 members. I have ten years of experience as a business partner at the global transport and logistics company Maersk. I am the co-author of the book “Create Value as a Finance Business Partner” and a long-time Finance Blogger on LinkedIn with 300,000+ followers. I am also an advisory board member at Born Capital where I help identify and grow the next big thing in #CFOTech. Finally, I'm a member of the board of directors at PACE - Profitability Analytics Center of Excellence where I support the development of new analytics frameworks that can improve profitability in companies around the world.
QuickBooks Certified Pro-Advisor, XERO Advisor, MSS, M. Com (Accounting), CMA (Final),
1 年Follow me on LinkedIn: www.dhirubhai.net/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=m-shafiul-azam-6358b831
Are you still relying on Excel for Budgeting & Forecasting?
1 年Charles Fiddes Payne
Anders Liu-Lindberg, The entire series was thoughtful and insightful and fun. Maybe as much for your selection of titles... I was oriented and waiting on your Posts like a person elects to wait in line to see the ever-evolving World of the Future attraction at Walt Disney World, Florida. And because I grew up in the United States in the 60s and 70s... more than a few of my friends and connection will smile that you have reminded me of the Jetsons Cartoon. You have accomplished this for me... with your detailed attention to AI and Finance. I'm all in for AI tools allowing me to be less of a tool and operator... and more of a decision-maker! I'm all in for AI giving people more time to focus on strategy, mentorship, and other aspects that require a human... to be innately human. Well done!
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1 年Jonas Laustsen- maybe this is relevant for you. ??