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The State of AI Proficiency in the Enterprise – January 22 | Free Virtual Event
In 2026, the bar for being AI proficient has risen, but most of the workforce can barely prompt. And leadership has no idea how dire things really are.
On 1/22, join Section COO, Taylor Malmsheimer, for new data on the highest barriers to adoption, where leverage lies, and key mandates for leaders.
Hey there,
What happens when finance teams need to move faster, but finding the right people and skills gets harder? Demand for interim CFOs is rising as the leadership pipeline shrinks, while most CFOs say machine learning and automation are essential. However, only a small percentage have actually scaled these technologies beyond basic accounting tasks.
Take a moment to understand why finance is entering a new era where talent, technology, and execution need to come together.
Quick Win For Your Finance Team
10-Minute Daily “Anomaly Radar” Sweep
In 10 minutes every day, scan for weird, high-risk transactions so you catch fraud, mistakes, and policy drift while they are small, not after the audit.
Pull yesterday’s transactions from your ERP, card platform, and payroll system into a single view with Date, Vendor/Employee, Amount, Department, Category, and Payment Method.
Apply three quick filters or views:
Unusual Amounts (round numbers, amounts just under approval limits, or >X threshold)
New or Rare Counterparties (first-time vendors or employees with first-time reimbursements)
Sensitive Categories (travel, gift cards, refunds, manual journal entries, off-cycle payroll)
Tag any eyebrow-raising lines with one of three labels: Error Suspected, Policy Question, or Potential Risk, and jot a one-line note for each (for example, “odd timing,” “new vendor + high amount,” “off-cycle payment”).
Send a short daily note or a screenshot to your controller, flagging the items, and ask for a simple response for each: Confirm, Correct, or Escalate.
Keep a tiny log at the top of the sheet showing the daily count of flagged items and how many were ultimately real issues, so you can tighten thresholds or policies over time.
Immediate payoff:
You will catch fraud and sloppy mistakes far earlier, give auditors and the board more confidence in your controls, and build a daily habit where finance quietly keeps the system honest without drowning the team in heavyweight reviews.
📈 Interim CFO Demand Doubles as Pipeline Thins
Companies are experiencing a shortage of senior finance leaders, and the gap is widening as retirements increase, the role expands, and private equity activity remains strong. Demand for interim CFOs has more than doubled year over year, and firms will rely on interim executives and internal development as the challenge persists into 2026. See full article.
Why this matters (fast take):
📊 Interims Spike 100%: CFO.com reports that demand for interim CFOs more than doubled year over year as companies deal with lengthy searches. Empty seats don’t close the books.
🧓 Pipeline Tightens Quickly: ZRG cites faster retirements and weak succession planning, leaving fewer ready leaders. Boards seek operators who combine controls, analytics, and change management skills.
📉 CFOs Call ML Critical, Yet Only 10% Scale It
Egon Zehnder surveyed over 5,000 CFOs, and nearly half consider machine learning critical, yet fewer than 10% implement it at scale. Most deployments occur in controllership, accounting for about 80% of use cases, with FP&A accounting for about 30%. Thomas Spann expects scaling to exceed 40% within two to three years as strategy and infrastructure improve. See full article.
Fast move:
📊 Adoption Gap Widens: A survey of over 5,000 CFOs finds that nearly half say machine learning is essential, yet fewer than 10% are currently scaling it across finance.
🧾 Controllership Leaders: state that about 80% of existing deployments focus on accounting tasks such as journal entries, accounts payable, and invoicing, which helps speed up closings and reduce errors.
📊 88% Expect Automation To Transform Finance, Yet Skills Lag
Finance leaders see a fast shift coming. CIMA’s survey finds 59% prioritize new systems, 48% target task automation, and 88% expect the profession to transform within two years. The unlock is skills and workflow design, not more tools, and the next move is structured upskilling tied to measurable productivity wins. See full article.
Fast move:
📈 Productivity Push Is Real: 59% prioritize new systems, and 48% focus on task automation, aiming to eliminate waste from inefficient workflows and accelerate cycle completion.
🧠 Skills Block Progress: 50% cite missing skills as the main obstacle, and 39% state that significant business change is needed to achieve real improvements.
Automation Play Of The Week
Daily Forecast Change Log in Your Inbox
Automate a one-page daily view of what changed in your forecast so you stop asking “Why did the outlook move?” and instead start the day knowing exactly which lines and owners shifted the numbers. This change log is generated from your existing planning tool or forecast spreadsheet and can be fully managed by finance.
Define what you want to track: Decide which dimensions matter (e.g., scenario, department, account, month, owner) and which measures to log daily (e.g., revenue, opex, headcount, EBITDA).
Set up daily forecast snapshots: Configure your planning tool or spreadsheet to produce a timestamped CSV export of the current forecast each evening and save it in a shared folder with consistent column names.
Create a single “Forecast Change Log” tab: Use Excel or Google Sheets with data connections or Power Query to compare yesterday’s snapshot to today’s, and generate one summary tab that displays only the rows where the forecast changed beyond a set threshold, including old vs. new values and the owner.
Automate refresh and emailing: Use Power Automate, Zapier, or a scheduled macro or script to refresh the log each morning and email the summary as a PDF to you and FP&A, so everyone starts the day with a clear list of changes.
Benefits:
Prevents surprise swings in outlook by making forecast edits visible daily instead of at the next review.
- Enhances accountability and auditability by linking material forecast changes to specific owners and lines.
Control Check:
Once a week, have FP&A compare the change log totals to the official scenario in your planning tool to ensure you are tracking the correct version and that minor noise is filtered out by your thresholds.
📊 Take This Edition’s Poll:
Which move best prevents finance disruption when the CFO seat goes empty?
Why It Matters
This shift is prompting companies to rethink how they fill senior finance roles and modernize the function at the same time. The winners will combine interim leadership with practical automation in areas like close, payables, and planning, then invest in upskilling to ensure these tools lead to greater speed and accuracy.
By 2026, a finance advantage will be less about having a perfect org chart and more about having a team that can adapt quickly.
Until the next financial insight,
Corrine Maxwell
Editor-in-Chief
CFO Executive Insights
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