Does the term autonomous finance sound familiar—or maybe even a bit alarming?
If you attended the 2023 Gartner CFO and Financial Executive Conference in Maryland last week, you probably heard this term. Like autonomous vehicles, it suggests a future where humans are no longer in the driver’s seat.
According to Mark McDonald, a senior director analyst at Gartner who spoke throughout the event, two out of three CFOs predict that autonomous finance will be widespread within six years.
But for this vision to become reality, everyone in the organization—from leadership to project teams—will need to get on board with artificial intelligence (AI). The challenge? AI—especially generative AI tools like ChatGPT—looks very different depending on your role. Many employees feel uneasy about how quickly AI is advancing.
In fact, 70 percent of employees think AI will take their job, McDonald said at the event. That’s not surprising, considering how many business leaders have already brought AI into their workflows.
“We have leaders who want AI to do everything, and employees who don’t want it to do anything,” McDonald explained. He added, “AI isn’t a project at all—it’s a competency.”
Frame generative AI as a tool—not a peer
McDonald emphasized that leaders should manage expectations and be thoughtful when introducing new solutions. Don’t roll out generative AI “projects” that make employees feel like they’re training their own replacement.
Instead, McDonald and other Gartner analysts stressed that generative AI should be adopted gradually, introduced as a helpful tool—not a replacement or even a new coworker. The goal is to help teams focus on higher priorities and boost productivity. (TL;DR: AI is here to help!)
But why start with the finance team? And why is the CFO in the best position to lead this shift—and aren’t they worried about what “autonomous finance” means for their own future?
“CFOs should play a bigger role in generative AI than they have with other technologies,” Rajesh Kandaswamy, a VP AI analyst at Gartner, told the audience. Why? Because CFOs have the clearest view of where the company’s revenue comes from, where costs are highest, and where there’s room to save or grow profits.
With this perspective, the CFO is better equipped than IT to make smart decisions about generative AI. “The CFO is probably in the best position to help the company think strategically—not the CIO,” Kandaswamy said.
Focus less on the autonomous aspect, more on the outcomes
Even with strong leadership, Kandaswamy and his colleagues warn that adopting AI comes with risks. No company should take the “autonomous” label at face value. This is especially true in finance, where generative AI should never be given free rein over sensitive or confidential business data.
There are also bigger risks: copyright issues, “deepfake” misinformation, and cases where generative AI tools have simply made things up. All of this shows why human oversight is more important than ever as these tools become part of your IT stack—not less.
Even the creators of today’s most popular generative AI tools are upfront about their limitations. For example, OpenAI reports that ChatGPT-4 is less than 80 percent accurate in business settings, according to findings published in March.
Start with low-risk content for generative AI
So where should CFOs begin with AI? Gartner experts recommend starting wherever content creation is low risk—like sales memos, emails, or as a first draft for website copy. The key: AI should only be used as a starting point, with humans always reviewing and finalizing the work.
It’s also crucial to have a senior leader who is fully responsible for the technology—whether that’s the CFO, Financial Director, or a dedicated AI manager who can enforce responsible AI policies.
What does a responsible AI policy look like? While the full list is long, Gartner highlights a few pillars: technology should serve a wide range of stakeholders; use high-integrity data; protect against misuse and attacks; safeguard user data; avoid harming people, property, or the environment; and be explainable, transparent, and reliable.
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