CFOs Turn Agentic AI into Finance Efficiency Gains ⚡

Automate Close Tasks with Audit-Ready Workflows

Author

Vanessa Carter
September 10, 2025

Hey there, CFOs! 💼

In this issue, Workiva unveils agentic AI, unified data automation, and an enhanced controls experience designed to accelerate CFO workflows across finance, GRC, and sustainability.

These updates integrate agentic AI directly into reporting, resulting in shorter cycles and continuous, auditable insights. Customers are already reporting significant time savings.

Let’s analyze what’s ahead.

📰 Upcoming in this issue

  • 🤖 Workiva’s Agentic AI Boosts CFO Efficiency and Control

  • 💧 Liquidity Under Pressure: How CFOs Respond to Uncertainty

  • 🤖 Your New AI Mandate: Lead, Govern, and Sell the Vision

🤖 Workiva’s Agentic AI Boosts CFO Efficiency and Control

Workiva has introduced agentic AI, unified data automation, and updated controls into its platform. Early users cite faster reporting cycles and up to 40% time savings.

Key Takeaways:

  • 🤖 Agentic AI Embedded: Workiva embeds agents across Finance, GRC, and Sustainability, automating bottlenecks and accelerating reporting with built-in transparency.

  • 🔗 Unified Data Automation: Secure connections to governed datasets automate collection and analysis, delivering continuous insights for high-stakes decisions.

  • 🛡️ Stronger Controls: An updated controls experience improves auditability and trust, enabling continuous monitoring and faster approvals without sacrificing compliance.

  • 📈 Customer Results: PwC, Cognizant, StoneX, McCormick, and Playa report faster cycles and up to 40% time savings on critical reporting.

💧 Liquidity Under Pressure: How CFOs Respond to Uncertainty

Companies are responding with three strategies: improved forecasting, increased automation, and capital rebalancing. Together, these approaches can turn financial pressure into a competitive advantage.

Key Takeaways:

  • 📈 Inflation Squeezes Liquidity: 43% cite inflation and rising costs as the top pressure, with tight credit and changing customer payments compounding risk.

  • 🔭 Forecasting Tops Pain Points: 54% struggle with accuracy, and 55% boost forecasting focus by optimizing processes to help teams anticipate gaps and act earlier.

  • 🤖 Automation Lifts Accuracy: Finance automation in forecasting delivers a median 40% accuracy improvement, and 49% invest in AI to gain real-time liquidity visibility.

  • 🧰 Rebalance and Prepare: Firms increase cash reserves, adjust capex, secure new credit lines, and build contingency plans with reserves, hedging, and diversified revenue.

🤖 Your New AI Mandate: Lead, Govern, and Sell the Vision

FEI spotlights a FloQast-led playbook that helps CFOs lead AI transformation, featuring Tony Hawk as a special guest. Sessions tackle foundations, change leadership, and winning boardroom approval.

Key Takeaways:

  • 🧱 Lay the Groundwork: CFOs prioritize clean data, transparent governance, and standardized processes so AI pilots scale reliably across finance workflows.

  • 🧭 Lead Through Change: Leaders address skepticism, communicate benefits, and build a learning culture that accelerates responsible adoption across teams.

  • 🗣️ Win Boardroom Buy-In: An AI Playbook aligns high-impact use cases with goals, quantifies efficiency gains, and defines controls to secure stakeholder approval.

  • 📈 Shift to Strategic Advisory: With routine tasks automated, finance moves from execution to advisory, using agents to shorten close cycles and improve accuracy.

Why It Matters

Agentic AI shortens reporting timelines and frees teams to focus on planning. Unified data and stronger controls increase trust, auditability, and readiness for new regulations.

CFOs make quicker decisions with fewer manual errors.

More updates coming your way,

Vanessa Carter
Editor-in-Chief
CFO Executive Insights

P.S. Interested in sponsoring a future issue? Just reply to this email and I’ll send packages!

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