When AI is taking over Finance, these six skills will keep you relevant

The endgame for the Finance function

Dear finance executive,

If machines run finance, where does that leave you?

For decades, automation has driven efficiency in the finance function. AI and GenAI are simply the latest tools in the toolbox. Gartner estimates that by 2027, 90% of analytics in finance will be fully automated.

So, what’s left for us? Will finance even exist in 2040? Will it become autonomous? What is the endgame?

Why automation has its limits

While automation in finance will continue to advance, there are diminishing marginal returns. The last 5% will always be prohibitively expensive to automate. This trade-off isn’t going away.

The finance function will shrink significantly in size. But it will never fully go away due to the economics of technology.

Six finance tasks will endure

As most operational and analytical tasks will get increasingly automated, finance teams will shift even further towards steering meaning and decisions. Six core activities will endure - even in the endgame - because machines struggle:

1. Framing problems
   Machines can process data, but they can’t determine which problems matter. Humans excel at identifying what’s at stake, why it’s important, and where the focus should lie. Asking the right questions will endure.

2. Supporting complex decisions
   Routine decisions can be automated. But complex decisions like M&A, growth investments, or R&D - where context, tacit knowledge and judgement between multiple objectives - require humans. Finance will remain a key advisor in these decisions.

3. Providing accountability
   Boards, auditors, and regulators will always demand that accountability resides with people. Finance leaders will continue to share this responsibility - and this influence.

4. Influencing people
   AI might be able to suggest the right data and arguments. But trust, persuasion, and empathy are still human domains. Influencing, inspiring, and motivating people will remain finance leadership responsibilities.

5. Operating automated systems
   Automation requires oversight and maintenance. Finance teams will manage and continuously optimize these digital systems, drawing on both technical fluency and domain expertise.

6. Architecting future finance
   As business models evolve, so must finance. This means reimagining the finance operating model, redesigning processes and continuously innovating how finance can add more value.

What you can do now

The implications are clear: The automation journey in finance will continue to reduce capacity every year. But the importance of human judgment, leadership, and innovation is rising. To stay relevant and gain influence, focus your personal development on what endures:

1. Leading high-stakes decisions,

2. Influencing and motivating people

3. Driving digital and strategic innovation in finance.

The endgame of finance won’t be human-less. It’s more human where it counts.

Practical takeaway: Automation in finance will continue. Invest in the right skills to stay essential: People, digital, innovation.

In your view, what role will finance play in 2040?

Sebastian

Further posts in this series on AI/GenAI in Finance:

• The top 10 AI/GenAI use cases in Finance that actually deliver impact

• 280+ CFOs reveal what really works with AI in Finance

• (Gen)AI will revolutionize Finance - just not overnight

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