CFOs and Business Leaders often focus on the incredible things AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Analytics can do—transforming decision-making, optimizing operations, and uncovering hidden insights. These advancements hold tremendous promise for finance and business leaders looking to enhance business performance including improved revenues, reduced costs, and mitigated risks. However, during a recent conversation with a group of CFOs, a senior CFO posed a critical question to me: WHERE CAN AI GO WRONG IN THE CFO FUNCTION? This inquiry sparked a discussion that led me to identify three key areas where Analytics (including AI) can present significant challenges for finance leaders in an organization.

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Capital is the lifeblood of any business. Paying for talent, equipment, marketing, inventory and other critical activities all require cash. Having a plan for securing capital well before the need arises is a key responsibility of a CFO. Without a funding strategy you may miss out on fleeting opportunities. Worse yet, even profitable, growing businesses fail because they run out of cash.

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Do you assess the market and business impact of your innovations?

Have they provided significant organic growth?

Have they contributed to both your top and bottom-line?

If your company’s performance gains from new product or service innovations are merely incremental you are likely approaching innovation from a problem-solving perspective:

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In Do You Know What the Income Trap Is? Joe Connors introduced us to a malady inflicting many business leaders, The Income Trap.

It’s a trap that occurs when a business spends too much time on the income statement at the expense of prudently managing the company’s financial reserves on the balance sheet. By comparing examples of companies like Enron and Amazon, and personal anecdotes, Joe illustrates how focusing solely on income can lead to financial instability.

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The internal audit department within the CFO’s office plays a vital role in overseeing the organization’s governance, risk management, and business operations. According to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Internal Audit is one of the three lines of defense (3LOD) in corporate governance, alongside Management and Risk. Internal Audit activities, including risk assessment, compliance audits, operational audits, and IT audits, help organizations manage complex risks, improve operational efficiency, ensure regulatory compliance, and achieve strategic goals. However, many Internal Audit teams face significant challenges that can hinder their effectiveness. Key challenges include managing evolving and complex regulations (such as GDPR, SOX, AML, HIPAA, and IFRS/GAAP), increasing cyber threats, limited budgets and staffing constraints, balancing diverse stakeholder expectations, and maintaining consistent audit practices across different jurisdictions, and more.

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