From Number Crunchers to Strategic Advisors
Two months ago, I was introduced to a finance department drowning in spreadsheets.
They wanted our sendXmail team to help to regain some sanity again.
The CFO hadn’t seen his family on a weekend for three months. Yes, absolutely terrible!
The control team worked until 2 AM during month-end closing.
Today?
They leave at 5.
Their reporting is automated.
Their predictions are 93% accurate.
Here’s what changed.
The Shift in Finance
Remember when Excel was revolutionary?
We’re at that moment again, but bigger.
After a few decades of helping businesses with automation processes, I’m seeing a fundamental shift:
The old way: Process transactions, report past performance, and forecast based on gut feel.
The new way: Automate processes, predict outcomes, and advise on future strategy.
But here’s what nobody talks about: The tech isn’t the hard part.
It’s changing how finance teams think about their work.
What Actually Works
Take David’s treasury team at a mid-sized manufacturer.
Their first two AI implementations failed.
The third one transformed their operation.
The difference?
They started with one problem: cash flow forecasting.
Their journey looked like this:
Month 1: Connected all data sources
- Banking feeds
- AP/AR systems
- Customer payment patterns
- Supplier terms
Month 2: Built prediction models
- Payment timing
- Cash requirements
- Working capital needs
Month 3: Results shocked everyone:
- Forecast accuracy: 94% (up from 67%)
- Working capital: Reduced by £2.1M
- Late payments: Down 76%
- Team overtime: Gone
The Tools That Work for Finance with AI
Small Teams (Revenue < £10M):
- Ramp for spending
- HubDoc for documents
- Xero + GPT for bookkeeping
- Cost: £300-800 monthly
Mid-Market (£10M-£100M):
- NetSuite for core finance
- Tesorio for treasury
- MindBridge for audit
- Investment: £2,000-5,000 monthly
Enterprise (£100M+):
- Anaplan + DataRobot
- BlackLine
- Workday Adaptive
- Range: £8,000-20,000 monthly
Real Cases That Matter
Insurance Company
Before:
- Month-end: 12 days
- Report accuracy: 82%
- Manual entries: 12,000+ monthly
- Team size: 24 people
After:
- Month-end: 3 days
- Report accuracy: 99.7%
- Manual entries: 40
- Same team size, different work
The Action Plan for Finance with AI
Week 1: Map Your Pain
- Track time spent on tasks
- List manual processes
- Identify error-prone areas
- Note weekend work causes
Week 2: Quick Wins
- Automate bank reconciliation
- Connect payment systems
- Set up basic alerts
- Train one process
Week 3: Build Momentum
- Add predictive models
- Expand automation
- Train key users
- Measure improvements
Week 4: Transform Work
- Shift to analysis
- Build new insights
- Support decisions
- Train everyone
Warning Signs You Need Finance with AI
- Your team works weekends
- Excel files have dates in names
- Reports take days to prepare
- Forecasts are usually wrong
- Nobody questions processes
The Future of Finance
The best finance teams aren’t just counting numbers anymore.
They’re shaping business strategy.
AI handles the routine work.
Humans handle the thinking.
Got a finance function stuck in spreadsheet hell?
Message me.
Let’s turn your team into the strategic powerhouse they should be.
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