Let’s take a longer look at what steps finance officers would take with GenAI implementations.
In our last post, we focused on Deloitte’s latest CFO Insights report, which covered some facts about Generative AI and offered sound advice on how CFOs could get their best results when deploying the technology.
Perhaps that’s just in time.
According to Deloitte’s 3Q23 CFO Signals survey of 116 senior financial executives, 42% say their firms are “experimenting” with generative AI and 15% say their businesses are currently fully in GenAI deployment mode.
“The results dovetail with the 2023 CFO Agenda, which cites the pressure on CFOs to wring actionable information from the data finance collects,” Deloitte states.
GenAI “fits the bill” for CFOs on that front, the report notes.
“GenAI may ultimately reshape the finance function’s entire value proposition to the business, given the range of its prospective use cases, from automating heavily manual processes to powering real-time predictive models,” Deloitte adds.
That said, GenAI implementations can be an uphill climb for senior corporate finance professionals – even “complicated”, as Deloitte says. “Even getting to the testing phase is an accomplishment.”
A Path to Success
How can CFOs clear those hurdles and start gaining the maximum benefits from their GenAI campaigns? Deloitte offers some “must do” tips for senior executives tasked with making sure their artificial intelligence dollars are well spent.
Know what you’re getting into. While senior financial leaders don’t need to know GenAI chapter and verse, they should have a basic understanding of how the technology works and how it should contribute to bottom-line revenues.
“They should also know how GenAI makes decisions,” Deloitte says. “Even a basic understanding of the technology could help CFOs demystify the process for team members.”
Team up. In Deloitte’s report, 59% of executives say that ownership of GenAI within their organization belongs to the chief technology officer or equivalent.
“In any case, leaders should not perceive GenAI as an IT issue to resolve,” CFO Insights reports. “CFOs and other functional leaders should participate in shaping strategy and driving execution around GenAI. After all, GenAI is not merely another emerging technology; it represents a new way of making decisions.”
Evaluate your firm’s technology prowess. Any GenAI return on investment depends not only on the underlying technology but also on the people who use that technology.
“This means companies need to make sure they have access to the necessary skills required to do so,” Deloitte says. “Those may include familiarity with data analytics and engineering, machine learning algorithms, and facility with certain programming languages.”
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.
