Generative AI enables CFOs to streamline processes, strengthen oversight, and shift finance from back-office operations toward strategic leadership. Generative AI is moving rapidly from buzzword to business reality. For finance leaders, the potential is transformative: reducing time spent on routine tasks and freeing up capacity for strategic advising. A recent MIT Technology Review Insights report, produced in collaboration with Deloitte, explores how CFOs can embrace this shift.

Here’s a breakdown of the key insights and what finance executives can do today.

Why Generative AI Matters in Finance

• Efficiency boost – AI tools can generate reports, summarize investor calls, and prepare strategic briefs, allowing CFOs to focus on decision-making instead of document production.

• Adoption is rising – About 1 in 5 finance organizations have already implemented generative AI. Nearly half of CFOs expect to increase spending on it in the next year.

• Strategic repositioning – Spending less time on mundane tasks that without AI occupy a lot of time, but spending more time and energy on proactively advising the business on financial strategy.

ROI and Productivity: Managing Expectations

Not every investment pays off immediately. The report found that ROI from generative AI in finance is still below expectations compared to other functions. Yet forward-looking CFOs continue to invest, seeing AI as a way to:

• Flatten the cost curve by scaling without expanding headcount.

• Implementing AI agents that pull data across multiple systems.

• Enhance forecasting and decision-making by reducing human bias in budgeting and analysis.

Use Cases Gaining Traction

1. Search, Summarize, Extract – Analyze large volumes of unstructured data like contracts, reports, and transcripts.

2. Talk to the Data – Use AI chat interfaces for instant insights from structured financial data.

3. Detect and Predict – Spot anomalies, detect fraud, and forecast revenue or demand trends.

The next step? Capability automation, where agentic AI tools stitch together tasks across workflows for end-to-end automation.

Risks and Challenges to Manage

Generative AI’s upside is clear, but risks remain:

• Cybersecurity threats – AI can supercharge phishing, malware, and even deepfake fraud. Losses in the U.S. alone could reach $40 billion by 2027.

• Accuracy and transparency – LLMs can hallucinate, especially with math-heavy tasks.

• Compliance pressures – Regulatory uncertainty makes oversight and explainability non-negotiable.

The takeaway: AI in finance requires human-in-the-loop governance and strong cybersecurity frameworks.

Conclusion

The finance function has always balanced stewardship with strategy. Generative AI makes it possible to lean more into the strategic role: helping CEOs and business leaders plan, pivot, and make disciplined decisions.

As James Glover of Deloitte puts it: “Being a co-pilot to a CEO or business unit leader is what finance aspires to be. If AI can take away the production effort, finance can spend more time being strategic.”

The message for CFOs is clear: don’t wait on the sidelines. The organizations that experiment with generative AI today will be the ones setting the pace tomorrow.

My personal take 

While the report focuses on large enterprises, the lessons apply just as strongly to SMBs:

• Affordable entry points – Many generative AI tools are available off-the-shelf or bundled into existing finance software, making experimentation less costly than in the past.

• Time savings matter more – In smaller finance teams, freeing up even a few hours per week through automation can have a significant impact on agility and decision-making.

• Leveling the playing field – AI can give SMBs access to forecasting, reporting, and compliance insights previously limited to enterprises with deep resources.

• Risk remains real – Cybersecurity and compliance challenges may be harder for SMBs with lean IT teams. Partnering with trusted vendors and ensuring human oversight are critical.

• Strategic mindset shift – For SMB CFOs and finance managers, adopting AI isn’t just about cost savings—it’s about positioning the business to compete with larger players.

Generative AI allows SMBs to punch above their weight in finance, provided they adopt it thoughtfully and keep humans firmly in the loop.