Tech companies are driving the future with AI innovation for clients — but are they maximizing its use in their own finance functions?
The answer — at least at many companies — is “no.” AI in finance remains under-optimized across tech firms, driven by factors such as siloed data, unclear ownership of AI and challenges in change management
The situation at many companies could easily be called “Robotic Process Automation 2.0” — in other words, a good deal of AI in finance today is simple automation of parts of the process, not the whole. There are plenty of solutions on the market looking for problems, but putting them together in a holistic manner takes a different mindset
“Most tech leaders today can tell you what the future of AI in finance looks like,” said Adam Blaylock, EY Americas Financial Accounting Advisory Services TMT Industry and Technology Sector Leader. “The challenge is getting from today to tomorrow in a thoughtful, value-driven way, because building a reimagined finance function isn’t a simple task.Tech companies of all sizes can benefit from a partnership with a firm that has deep experience in finance and AI technology, one that understands the nuances of the finance function and regulatory reporting.”
Reimagining finance with agentic AI
Some tech companies are taking a “renovate” approach to finance AI, developing point solutions that focus on specific use cases, such as invoice extraction or anomaly detection. While this can streamline processes and reduce costs, it is not a game changer in terms of headcount, nor does it fully embrace the power of AI to move the finance function forward
A more comprehensive, long-term strategy is to reimagine the finance function in an AI-centric <a href="https://absafricatv.com/72-hours-at-the-gnaoua-and-<a href="https://absafricatv.com/world-cup-2026-matches-today-tuesday-30-june/” title=”World Cup 2026 matches today: Tuesday 30 June”>world-music-festival/” title=”72 Hours at the Gnaoua and World Music Festival”>world, using a “design for zero” approach. This means that the process needs to be reimagined to focus on the outcomes and how those outcomes could be achieved without human intervention, and then only putting humans into the process where absolutely required, not because finance has “always done it that way.”
