It’s no secret the chief financial officer position has significantly shifted in the last two decades, and perhaps even earlier than that.
No longer is the job limited to strategizing company cash management and managing a company’s financial responsibilities. Now, corporate boards expect CFOs to take a leading hand in establishing company strategic management tasks and guiding the CEO to more robust profit opportunities.
In a recent white paper from Workday, one of the leading human resources and financial management systems companies in the U.S., chief financial officers can no longer stick to “being the manager of annual reports, revenue numbers, and financial forecasts.” In the 2020s and beyond, CFOs now “are expected to be a strategic advisor to the chief executive officer, the chief information officer and others with a hand in guiding the enterprise.”
There’s no time or room for offloading traditional corporate finance responsibilities, even as those practices remain a priority.
“The challenges facing the modern CFO are always ‘and’ problems, meaning you have to do this and that,” says Sayan Chakraborty, Workday head of product and technology. “They’ve still got to fill all the traditional roles of the CFO in a public company, but now they have to do so much more.”
Enter artificial intelligence and machine learning, two “easy to use” advanced technologies that help CFOs automate more of the time-intensive workplace tasks, thus allowing them to take on a more strategic role in managing the corporate enterprise.
Foot-Dragging in the Corporate Finance Suite
If that is, more CFOs would actually arm themselves with such technology tools.
According to Workday’s CXO Indicator Report and the new Workday Global Survey
• 47% of finance and procurement teams have yet to begin piloting AI and ML, compared to 32% of IT teams and 39% of the organization overall.
• While 98% of CEOs said there would be some immediate business benefit from implementing these capabilities, 43% of all business leaders are concerned about the trustworthiness of AI and ML; 59% of respondents said their organizations’ data is somewhat or completely siloed; and only 4% of all respondents said their data is fully accessible.
What’s the problem? Two reasons, really – the risk of weakening risk management and a general mistrust of a dauntingly massive technology that really hasn’t been vetted yet.
“CFOs are nervous that a lack of AI and ML transparency will weaken security and compliance, with 62% ranking security and privacy concerns as the biggest risk to greater AI adoption,” the CXO Indicator Report states. “In addition, 38% of finance and HR leaders say unreliable and unusable data is a top barrier to transformation at their companies.”
As for trust in AI, that’s in short supply in the C-suite.
“Uncertainty about data and privacy, and a lack of trust are holding CEOs and other business leaders back from fully embracing and adopting AI and ML,” the Workday Global Survey reports. “43% of all leaders surveyed said they were concerned about the trustworthiness of AI and ML, with 67% of CEOs citing potential errors as a top risk of AI and ML integration, reinforcing that lack of trust.”
The way forward is increased transparency that’s needed to build trust, yet siloed data is obscuring leaders’ ability to lean in.
“59% of organizations surveyed reported that their data is somewhat or completely siloed,” Workday states. “Only 4% of all respondents said their data is fully accessible.”
Despite some uncertainty, leaders are optimistic that AI and ML will augment their workforce and drive productivity,” says Jim Stratton, Workday’s chief technology officer, Workday. “Trust is paramount to embracing these benefits, and building trust requires the right data foundation and commitment to governance.”
“By implementing trustworthy solutions that prioritize data quality and transparency, companies can reap the rewards of AI and ML across their organization,” Stratton adds.
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Brian O’Connell, a former Wall Street bond trader and best-selling author, is a prominent figure in the finance industry. With a substantial background as an ex-Wall Street trader, he has authored two best-selling books: ‘The 401k Millionaire’ and ‘CNBC’s Creating Wealth’, demonstrating his profound knowledge of finance and investing.
Brian is also a finance and business writer for esteemed national platforms and publications, including CNN, TheStreet.com, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, and Fox News.
