Finance is Ready for a Generative AI Breakthrough

Charlotte A.Y.
17 hours ago
3 min read

As we know, generative AI is reshaping industries, and in finance, its potential is transformative. More than just a productivity boost, it is a strategic capability that can sharpen decision-making, uncover new value streams and position finance teams as central drivers of enterprise growth.

This short article highlights three key insights for leaders, and three actions to take now, to fully capture generative AI’s potential in finance.

#1 FinOps + Generative AI: A Two-Way Value Exchange

Key insight: Giving Superpowers to Finance Teams

As businesses modernize infrastructure and experiment with AI, finance must measure not only the cost of tech investments but also the full business value (the true technology ROI) they deliver. FinOps (financial management for cloud-based investments) provides the framework to keep AI spending transparent, targeted, and tied to strategic outcomes.

Most organizations that have activated a FinOps model using AI-powered software report cost savings greater than 20%.

Generative AI makes FinOps smarter: automating vendor bill analysis, spotting inefficiencies and simulating financial scenarios. In turn, FinOps ensures AI adoption remains cost-effective, forecasting needs, preventing overruns and maximizing returns.

Action to take now:

Embed FinOps into all AI initiatives, enhancing it with generative AI capabilities. If FinOps isn’t yet in place, establish a cross-functional team from finance, IT, and the business to build it now.

Given that majority of organizations are adopting hybrid cloud environments, infrastructure expenses are set to rise, and large-scale generative AI could magnify those costs dramatically. This makes early integration of FinOps critical. Beyond the numbers, this approach introduces cultural and governance practices that are key to unlocking the full value of both cloud and generative AI, along with all the opportunities that connect them.

#2 Transformation: Turning Finance into a Strategic Force

Key insight: Generative AI gives finance teams superpowers, eliminating repetitive tasks so they can focus on higher-value work.

IBM’s research shows that the finance areas poised to realize the greatest value from generative AI include predicting anomalies (47%), explaining variances (41%), generating scenarios (40%), creating reports (39%), and managing accounts—both payables (38%) and receivables (38%).

Those automable tasks can vary from anomaly detection and variance analysis to contract review and compliance checks, where AI accelerates processes and improves accuracy. CFOs who integrate generative AI into daily workfloes to augment finance functions can boost resilience, speed up scenario planning and provide sharper insights that actively shape business direction. Thus, AI-powered finance teams can pivot in real time, support rapid scenario planning and deliver insights, not just report it.

Action to take now:

Automate the most time-consuming tasks first. Start small to demonstrate value and build adoption, then scale rapidly when the technical and governance foundations are in place.

#3 Decision-Making: From Cost Savings to Growth Creation

Key insight: Generative AI doesn’t just cut costs—it creates new business value

By processing and interpreting large datasets in seconds, AI assistants help CFOs spot trends, identify growth opportunities, thereby responding to market changes faster. Organizations with strong data architectures and AI-ready governance are already seeing returns that double those of early-stage adopters. But training finance teams to use AI responsibly is essential for turning technology into a competitive advantage.

Action to take now:

Deploy AI assistants for forecasting, planning, and reporting. Automate manual processes like validating claims, reducing vendor inquiries, and generating real-time performance narratives.

Bottom line:

Finance is no longer just about managing the numbers. By combining generative AI with FinOps, CFOs can deliver faster insights, better forecasts and strategies, such as to generate lasting business value.