CFO AI Action Plan: Modernizing Finance for 2026 and Beyond
By TED ROSE, ROSE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
Artificial Intelligence and automation aren’t optional anymore—they’re essential for every company’s business model. Financial Operations need to keep up with business model changes. The challenge is knowing where to start and how to scale without distracting from your company's core operations. I've outlined a practical, phased plan to help CFOs and finance leaders move from exploration to execution.
1. Focus on Core Competencies
Before deploying AI and automation, define what makes your company different. AI and automation should strengthen, not distract from, your core business model. Start by asking:
- What repetitive, manual financial workflows are slowing us down our core business?
- What would we gain if those processes were automated and real-time?
- How can data from across the business better inform strategic decisions?
The goal isn’t more AI—it’s
better clarity. Use automation to free up time for leadership to focus on growth, innovation, and client experience.
2. Streamline Financial Operations
AI and automation create value only when
data readiness and
controls are in place. CFOs should prioritize these projects:
- Clean, reconciled data from ERP, payroll, and CRM systems
- Automated reporting tied directly to data sources (no manual re-keying)
- Documented approval flows and access controls for all finance automations
- Regular back-testing and error logs to verify data accuracy
Key Point: There are many different types of AI. Make sure you are using the correct AI for the specific task in the process (i.e. do the math upstream and let Generative AI explain, not calculate).
3. Build a Secure, Compliant AI Foundation
Adopt AI safely with guardrails that make experimentation repeatable and auditable.
- Use only paid/enterprise AI platforms with data encryption and audit logs
- Keep all training off and prevent sensitive data (PII/PHI/PCI) from being exposed
- Require human oversight for all external communications, reports, and filings
- Keep human's in the loop to review transaction coding and processing - machine learning will help to reduce this over time, but LLM's alone won't get you to 99% accuracy.
AI success isn’t just technical—it’s cultural. Trust in the data starts with transparency. Make sure people understand and can audit the output.
4. Empower People, Not Just Systems
Automation changes job descriptions, not just workflows. The finance function must evolve from data-pullers to data translators—professionals who connect analytics to strategy.
- Upskill teams in data interpretation, not just analysis
- Create cross-functional rotations for business understanding
- Reward curiosity and continuous learning, not just output
Finance is becoming the bridge between data, decisions, and direction.
5. Partner for Scale with FaaS
CFOs don’t have to go it alone. That’s where
Finance-as-a-Service (FaaS) comes in.
FaaS allows CFOs to stay focused on their core business while leveraging scalable expertise in:
- Finance system modernization and automation setup and maintenance
- Data warehouse and dashboard integration and management
- Transaction readiness and audit-ready reporting
- Continuous improvement and operational efficiency
At ROSE, we partner with CFOs to modernize their back office—bringing together automation, analytics, and accounting under one unified financial infrastructure.
Our mission: to eliminate financial roadblocks so leadership can execute strategy with confidence.
6. Partner for Scale with FaaS
AI isn’t a one-time project—it’s a performance discipline.
- Run routine roadmap sessions to evaluate automation ROI
- Update data governance and access rules periodically
- Publish lessons learned internally to drive adoption
- Celebrate wins that free people from low-value work
The finance organization that learns fastest will lead the future.
Groups like the CFO Alliance are sharing real feedback from CFO's implementing AI and automation, but its clear that we are still in the early trial and error phase.
Bottom Line
CFOs are now the architects of automation and interpreters of intelligence. With the right partners and platforms, they can transform finance from a reporting function into an integrated real-time decision engine.
Rose Financial Solutions
and FaaS stands ready to help CFOs modernize financial operations—securely, strategically, and continuously—so they can focus on what truly matters: building the future for their stakeholders. Connect with us to discover how:
www.rosefinancial.com
Ted Rose
In 1994 Ted Rose founded Rose Financial Solutions (ROSE), the Premier U.S. Based Finance and Accounting Outsourcing Firm. In 2010, the Blackbook of Outsourcing named ROSE the #1 FAO firm in the world based on client satisfaction. As the president and CEO of ROSE, he provides executives with financial clarity. Ted has also acted as the CFO for a number of growth companies and assisted with various rounds of financing and M&A transactions.
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