Introduction
AI is transforming how finance professionals work, learn, and solve problems. I’ve been running a mini-series on the GrowCFO Show to discover more about what’s happening. In this week’s newsletter, I’m drawing together the lessons learned from all three interviews to show how AI tools and applications can help finance functions automate, optimize, and innovate. Whether you are a beginner or an expert in AI, you will find valuable insights and tips from the experts I interviewed in these episodes.
How to get started with AI in Finance with Nicolas Boucher
In episode 170 of the GrowCFO Show, Nicolas Boucher, the founder of AI Finance Club, shared his practical strategies for implementing AI tools like ChatGPT in finance functions. ChatGPT is a conversational AI platform that uses GPT-3, a powerful language model, to generate natural language responses to user queries. Nicolas explained how ChatGPT can help finance professionals write documents, develop training content, and explore solutions to problems. He also emphasized the increasing importance of Python skills for automating finance work and how ChatGPT can help users learn the basics. Nicolas highlighted the significance of experimenting with available AI tools and identifying automatable processes. You can listen to the full episode here.
What is happening in AI for Finance with Adam Shilton
In episode 169 of the GrowCFO Show, Adam Shilton, the co-founder and podcast host at Tech For Finance, talked about his experience experimenting with different language models to uncover productivity gains. Adam discussed the importance of simplifying, standardizing, and optimizing processes through methods like Lean before implementing AI. He also shared how he uses AI for personal tasks, data analysis, and augmenting applications to automate grunt work and improve productivity. He stressed the necessity of crafting clear, contextual questions for accurate and useful responses from AI. You can access the full podcast discussion here.
How is AI affecting the CFO? with Isaac Heller
In episode 166 of the GrowCFO Show, Isaac Heller, the CEO of Trullion, shared his perspective on how AI is automating routine accounting workflows to save time and money. Trullion is a next-gen technology company that is building a single source of truth for the accounting world. Isaac explained how Trullion uses AI to automate accounting workflows like revenue recognition and lease accounting. This saves time and money for both accounting teams and auditors. He also discussed how he is expanding AI applications beyond accounting to areas like customer service, marketing, and financial planning. He shared his strategic considerations around emerging AI costs and vendor strategies. He predicted that within five years, AI could significantly transform accounting and finance functions. You can listen to the complete episode here.
A WARNING – AI is very good at making things up.
For the first draft of this article, I used AI to generate some text. Usually I use Chat GPT for this, but today I used CoPilot Pro in MS Word, and as source information I gave it the show notes for each of the three podcasts I previously published. I was astounded by how bad the result was and how much AI had simply made up. For example, CoPilot believed that Nicolas Boucher was the founder of ChatGPT itself rather than an education company teaching folk how to use it. Similarly, the employers for both Adam Shilton and Isaac Heller were completely wrong, and not those specifically mentioned in the show notes.
Be careful. dont believe everything that AI tells you. Review the output thoroughly and double-check the facts.