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Hey there,

Are you actually getting a return on all that GenAI spend?

More CFOs are attaching complex numbers to experiments and teaming with CIOs to fund only what moves margin, cash, and growth.

Stick with this one to see how scorecards and shared ownership turn AI from a talking point into proof.

📰 Upcoming in this issue

• 📊 The New Calculus of Innovation: Turning GenAI Spend Into ROI

• 🤝 CFO and CIO Middle Ground Unlocks AI Value

• 📣 CFOs on the Move

📈 Trending news

• Is Progress For CFOs Slowing?

• The Deflection Metric CFOs Should Track

• What Boards Want From Fintech CFOs

📊 The New Calculus of Innovation: Turning GenAI Spend Into ROI

The CFO outlines a practical scorecard that ties GenAI projects to margin, cash, and growth. It shows how to move from flashy pilots to audited results.

Read the full article here »

Key Takeaways:

• 📈 Define Value Early: Set outcome metrics for revenue, cost, and risk, then link funding to milestones and verified financial impact.

• 🧪 Pilot With Rigor: Use control groups, baselines, and stage gates, funding only experiments that prove lift and pass audit checks.

• 🔐 Data and Governance: Standardize taxonomies, access, and lineage to keep models explainable, compliant, and enterprise-ready.

• 🤝 Operate Cross-Functionally: Align CFO, CIO, and business owners on budgets, capacity, and adoption plans, converting wins into repeatable programs.

🤝 CFO and CIO Middle Ground Unlocks AI Value

Bloomfire argues real ROI arrives when finance and IT share outcomes, standard data definitions, and a crawl-walk-run approach.

Read the full article here »

Key Takeaways:

• 🎯 Align on Outcomes: Finance and IT set measurable business goals, budgets, and risk limits before choosing models or vendors.

• 🔐 Data and Governance: Shared taxonomies, access rules, and lineage make AI explainable, auditable, and ready for scale.

• 🧰 Operate Together: Joint playbooks cover build versus buy, service levels, and change management to turn pilots into programs.

• 📈 Prove ROI Early: Start narrow, track lift, cost to serve, and cycle time, then reinvest only in winners.

📣 CFOs on the Move

A roundup tracks notable finance leadership changes across global brands, with each move signaling priorities from turnarounds to expansion and cost discipline.

Read the full article here »

Key Takeaways:

• 🔄 Strategy Signals: Appointments and exits hint at shifts in portfolio focus, operational resets, and renewed growth agendas.

• 🧭 Transformation Mandates: New CFOs inherit cost programs, margin goals, and systems upgrades that demand quick credibility and execution.

• 💸 Capital Priorities: Leaders emphasize cash, debt, and buyback discipline, aligning financing choices with near-term resilience and long-term investment.

• 👥 Succession and Retention: Internal promotions and external hires balance continuity with fresh perspective, stabilizing teams through change.

📊 Take This Edition’s Poll:

Why It Matters

Clear value metrics and joint CFO–CIO plans turn scattered pilots into programs that improve profitability and resilience. When you standardize data, governance, and stage gates, AI projects become auditable, explainable, and worth scaling.

This is how finance leadership quietly upgrades both innovation and investor confidence.

Wishing you continued success,

Vanessa Carter
Editor-in-Chief
CFO Executive Insights

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