Podcast

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Rapid advances in AI are transforming how finance teams forecast cash flow, detect fraud, and automate routine reporting, raising difficult questions about what happens to traditional roles when machines can achieve in minutes what once took analysts days. At the same time, many economies are grappling with skills shortages in some areas and structural unemployment in others, especially among younger professionals trying to break into the industry. Understanding whether new technologies are eliminating jobs, reshaping them, or creating entirely new categories of work has become a strategic imperative for anyone leading—or aspiring to lead—in the finance function.

Amid these shifts, Kevin Appleby is joined by Ademola Odewade, CEO of K-Dems Consulting Ltd., to examine the real impact of AI on employment in finance and whether the industry is drifting toward a full-blown jobs crisis. Drawing on Ademola’s background as a former Big 4 chartered accountant and CFO, and his new book Human Led AI Powered Finance, the discussion reframes AI from a perceived threat into a powerful enabler whose effects depend on how leaders choose to design teams, workflows, and controls.

Ademola introduces his ACCOUNT framework—Aim, Capability, Controls, Operating Workflows, Underlying Data, Numbers, and Trust—as a practical blueprint for adopting AI without losing the human judgment that underpins sound financial stewardship [episode302]. Rather than focusing solely on job losses, the conversation challenges finance leaders to rethink skills, data foundations, and governance so that automation handles the heavy lifting while people move into higher-value analytical, strategic, and advisory roles.

About Ademola Odewade

Ademola Odewade, MBA, ACA, BSc (Economics), is a finance leader, entrepreneur, author and podcast host with a background in Big Four advisory at PwC and KPMG. He is the Founder and CEO of K-Dems Consulting Ltd and CAIO at CreatrHub, where he contributes to the intersection of AI, innovation and the creator economy.

He is also the host of Diary Of A CFO and The King Dems Podcast, where he explores finance, leadership, AI and business growth with global executives and thought leaders.

A Chartered Accountant and MBA, Ademola’s work focuses on helping finance leaders and organisations move beyond traditional reporting towards more strategic, human-led and AI-powered decision-making. He is also the author of Human-Led, AI-Powered Finance, which examines how finance professionals can combine human judgement, leadership and emerging technology to create greater business impact.

Key topics covered:

• Ademola explains the vision behind Human Led AI Powered Finance and why finance leaders must take a proactive stance on AI rather than wait for disruption to hit their teams.
• The conversation tackles fears about a “jobs crisis” head-on, contrasting rising youth unemployment with the capacity of AI to automate routine work and free humans for higher-value activities.
• Ademola lays out his ACCOUNT framework (Aim, Capability, Controls, Operating Workflows, Underlying Data, Numbers, Trust) as a practical blueprint for implementing AI responsibly in finance.
• Kevin and Ademola explore how AI can enhance cash flow forecasting, anomaly detection, and decision support—while still requiring human oversight of assumptions and data quality.
• They discuss AI’s role in strengthening fraud detection and controls, highlighting how AI can surface unusual transactions and support better segregation of duties.
• The episode closes with clear guidance on measuring AI success through efficiency, accuracy, risk reduction, and, crucially, the level of trust business leaders place in AI outputs over time.

Links

• Ademola Odewade on LinkedIn
• Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
• GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

• 0:00:01 – Introduction to Ademola Odewade, his background in finance and digital technology, and the premise of Human Led AI Powered Finance
• 0:05:22 – Why early adopters in finance can gain a structural advantage from AI, and why the “AI will take all our jobs” narrative is overly simplistic
• [0:15:33–0:15:56] – Direct discussion of whether AI is driving a jobs crisis in finance, with reference to UK youth unemployment and the need for re-skilling and training
• 0:16:18 – Deep dive into the ACCOUNT framework for structuring AI initiatives in finance teams
• 0:18:59 – Practical examples of AI in cash flow forecasting, including the importance of understanding assumptions, data quality, and anomaly detection
• 0:26:31 – How AI can enhance fraud detection and internal controls, and where human judgment must remain non-negotiable
• 0:32:54 – The critical role of documented processes and high-quality data in making AI implementations reliable and auditable
• 0:37:53 – Metrics and KPIs for AI success in finance—time savings, accuracy, variance reduction, and risk impacts—plus how to build executive trust in AI
• 0:41:45 – Wrap-up and details on the book’s availability, reinforcing why staying current on AI is now a core responsibility for finance leaders

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Intelligent Assessments is Peter Wardle’s company. He digitises intellectual property to provide actionable insights.

Summary of the Podcast

Key Takeaways

• Intelligent Assessments digitises IP by converting manual frameworks (often in spreadsheets) into a SaaS platform, enabling consultants to scale their expertise globally and create recurring revenue.
• The platform provides actionable insights, not just scores. It analyzes answer patterns to generate specific, automated actions, moving beyond generic “red/amber/green” status reports.
• Its core value is enabling continuous improvement. The platform supports self-assessment, peer oversight, and independent assurance, creating a closed-loop system for tracking progress and benchmarking performance over time.
• AI is used to accelerate framework creation and power natural-language analytics. A future AI agent will automate evidence analysis for compliance checks, such as against the FCA handbook.

The Problem: Manual, Inconsistent Assessments

• Peter Wardle’s background is in recovering failing projects. His initial method involved manual interviews and spreadsheets, which were:
• Inconsistent: Dependent on the interviewer’s mood and approach.
• Inefficient: Time-consuming for large, distributed teams.
• Limited: Provided a one-time snapshot, not a continuous improvement mechanism.

The Solution: A Digitised Assessment Framework

• Intelligent Assessments (IA) was created to digitise and standardise this process, moving from a service model to a product model.
• Core Principle: Provide “delivery intelligence” to project managers, empowering them with tools for self-assessment and continuous monitoring, rather than relying on external audits.
• Methodology: A “three lines of defense” model, framed as:

1. Self-Assessment: Project managers run health checks.
2. Oversight: Peers or senior managers review work.
3. Independent Assurance: For complex projects, a third party provides an objective view.

Platform Capabilities & Value

• Actionable Reporting: Generates a “skill card” report that identifies strengths and weaknesses and provides specific, automated actions for improvement.
• Maturity Assessments: Measures organisational maturity on a 1–5 scale against a framework (e.g., asset management maturity for water companies).
• Evidence Tracking: The platform stores evidence for each score, enabling internal governance and external validation.
• Consultancy Enablement: Helps consultants digitise their IP, creating a sticky, recurring revenue stream and expanding their global reach.
• Benchmarking: Aggregates anonymous data to identify common weaknesses and benchmark client performance against peers.

AI Integration

IA uses AI in three key areas:

1. Framework Creation: Accelerates the conversion of manual frameworks into the platform.
2. Natural Language Analytics: Allows users to query data in plain English to generate custom dashboards.
3. Evidence Analysis (Future): An AI agent will analyze evidence against standards (e.g., FCA handbook) to automate compliance checks.

 The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He’s the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham is an inCruises Independent Partner, and is building up interest from people around the world in the World’s Largest Travel Membership – inCruises. You can sign up and access 21,000+ cruises, hotels and tours by clicking HERE

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He’s the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com