Page 39 - CMA Journal (July-August 2025)

Focus Section

3) Personalized Financial Advice: Robo-advisors such As the function evolves, so must the talent. The finance
as Wealthfront provide more than investment team of the future will be characterized by:
advice; they have agents that actively manage your
• Technology fluency: Skills in AI, automation, and
money. They can take actions on your behalf, like
data science.
rebalancing your portfolio, adjusting for taxes, or
switching your investments automatically. They also • Cross-functional collaboration: Strong ties with IT,
learn to adapt based on market changes—all strategy, and operations.
without you lifting a finger.
• Agile thinking: The ability to adapt quickly and
How to Get Started implement change.

Before jumping in, it is essential to establish a strong Hybrid talent models—combining in-house teams with
foundation. Here’s how to begin: external experts—will become the norm. But the goal
should always be continuous internal capability building.
1) Create a Plan: Don’t throw tech at a problem and
hope something sticks. Be intentional. Define how The CFO's New Mission
Agentic AI will help your organization achieve
Agentic AI will not solve every problem. Some tasks are
long-term strategic goals, and set clear success
better suited to simpler automation tools. It is worth
metrics.
noting that nearly 80% of Gen AI projects have failed to
2) Clean Your Data: AI is only as good as the data you meet their objectives—a reminder that enthusiasm must
feed it. Invest time in validating the accuracy, be matched by execution. For CFOs, this is a moment to
completeness, and consistency of your data. Without lead with both boldness and caution. The path forward
clean inputs, you’ll never get clean outputs. includes:
3) Think Small: Start with manageable, low-risk use • Setting realistic expectations: Avoid the hype.
cases. Try automating a single part of the budgeting Look for tangible ROI.
process or streamlining one financial workflow.
• Establishing governance: Ensure AI is used
These early wins help build credibility and
ethically, transparently, and responsibly.
demonstrate the transformative potential of the
technology. • Learning from others: Connect with early adopters,
attend conferences, and stay close to vendor
The New Finance Team innovation.

With Agentic AI in the picture, your finance team will not • Building internal muscle: Do not rely entirely on
look the same. The manual, repetitive work of yesterday consultants. Invest in your people and grow your
will give way to a new era of strategic focus. To thrive, own capabilities.
finance professionals will need to become more digitally
fluent, collaborate closely across departments, and The Future of Finance is Being Written Now
develop the agility to respond to constant change. The
Agentic AI opens the door to a broader reimagination of
true goal is not just automation—it is transformation.
finance—its operating models, workflows, and mindset.
Human brainpower should be redirected from
This is not just about tools; it is about a shift in how value
operational tasks toward high-value, creative
is created across the business. CFOs are uniquely
problem-solving. But here is the catch: Agentic AI
positioned to lead this transformation. With vision,
amplifies everything it touches. That means broken
thoughtful planning, and a balance of innovation and
processes will not just stay broken—they will become
realism, finance leaders can turn their function into a
even more dysfunctional. So before automation comes
powerhouse of strategic value—fuelling not only better
redesign.
decisions but entirely new opportunities for growth.
How to Begin:
About the Author: The writer is a Fellow member of ICMA, Fellow of
• Redesign sprints: Rapidly and iteratively simplify CIMA (UK) and CGMA, with additional qualifications including
workflows. ACCA, MS in Accounting and Finance (UK), Certified Fraud Examiner
(USA), and UAE Corporate Tax (Certified). He is currently a Partner at
• Categorize improvements: Break them down into Arabian Chartered Accountants and a dynamic finance and tax
people, processes, systems and data. Prioritize smartly. professional with over 10 years of experience across the Gulf, US,
and Pakistan, spanning sectors such as manufacturing,
• Embed improvements into your roadmap: Make construction, retail, IT, e-commerce, and trading.
these redesigns part of your broader digital
transformation.

ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Jul-Aug 2025 37