CFO’s Guide to Putting AI to the Finance Test
AI initiatives are competing for investment across the business. For CFOs, the challenge is bringing enough commercial discipline to determine which opportunities warrant investment, which do not, and where measurable value should come from.
Built from 53 CFO conversations, this guide helps finance leaders bring greater clarity and control to those decisions, so AI investment can be tied to business value.
Put a finance lens over every AI decision
This guide gives CFOs a practical way to assess AI initiatives with the same commercial discipline applied to other investments.
Discover how to:
- test whether an AI initiative has a credible business case
- connect operational improvements to measurable P&L or Balance Sheet impact
- assess real ROI, value, risk and accountability before investment decisions are made
- create greater visibility over AI initiatives across the organisation
- apply the same finance lens to opportunities inside and outside the finance function
See what 53 CFO conversations revealed about making AI investment decisions with greater confidence. Download the guide.
Overview
Why should finance have a central role in how AI initiatives are assessed?
Drawing on conversations with 53 CFOs, the guide establishes a common finance lens for moving from AI opportunity to a more disciplined investment decision.
Learnings & takeaways
- Why AI initiatives need a consistent commercial lens
- The four tests used to assess an AI initiative
- How the method applies beyond the finance function
- Where finance can bring greater clarity to AI decisions
Overview
An operational improvement only tells part of the story. CFOs also need to understand how that change connects to financial performance.
See the practical apparatus for tracking AI initiatives and following operational measures through to their potential P&L or Balance Sheet impact.
Learnings & takeaways
- The three registers that bring structure to AI activity
- How to connect operational measures to financial outcomes
- What meaningful AI measurement needs to capture
- Where the framework draws the line
Overview
The guide puts the finance lens to work across three very different challenges: how to apply a finance lens to AI use case priority and sequencing, AI governance and regulatory readiness, and cash flow.
Each provides a practical view of how the same assessment discipline can be applied to a different business problem.
Learnings & takeaways
- Faster close: reconciliation and variance commentary
- AI register and regulatory readiness
- Cash flow in a payday super environment
- How the finance lens changes across different priorities
Overview
Once the finance lens is in place, the opportunity is to apply it consistently across AI proposals in every department, led by a finance framework.
This section gives CFOs a broader view of where AI could create meaningful gains across the finance function, helping surface the next opportunities worth examining.
Learnings & takeaways
- Where further efficiency and control may be available
- Which finance processes could justify closer assessment
- How to spot opportunities with clearer commercial potential
- Where the next measurable gains may come from
Overview
The final question is not what AI can do. It is where your organisation should start.
The guide closes with a CFO AI Readiness Assessment designed to help finance leaders take stock of their current position and bring greater structure to the next conversation.
Learnings & takeaways
- A practical CFO AI Readiness Assessment
- Questions to consider before prioritising and sequencing investment
- Areas that may require greater clarity or control
- A structured starting point for your next AI decision
Need to start now?
Go straight to the source
Prefer to skip straight to a conversation?
- Bring the AI initiatives or investment decisions already on your agenda.
- Put them through the finance lens with an experienced AI leader.
- Get a clearer view of where the commercial case is strongest.
- Identify what warrants investment, what needs more scrutiny and what should wait.