AI and corporate finance: current situation, trends, and challenges
07/03/2025
5 min
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is already impacting on the work of corporate financial professionals (CFOs, accountants, management controllers, etc.), but often with significant differences between professions and smaller and larger companies. However, as Marie REDON and Patrick DAGUET point out, this is not the first time that the world of corporate finance has faced a technological revolution. In the first part of this interview, the two experts take stock of the current use of AI, look at lessons we can learn from the past, including the selection of AI tools.
Marie, you conduct research on the use and influence of IT by corporate finance professionals. In what respect is AI an unavoidable revolution for finance departments, and what advice do you have to help them prepare?
Marie Redon (Professor of Accounting): Indeed, I ‘m doing research on this topic with my co-author Thuy Seran from the University of Montpellier. First, it is important to note that AI is not the first technological “revolution” that finance professionals have encountered. From the 1980s, and particularly in the early 1990s, they experienced a technological revolution with the arrival of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems.
This provided an opportunity for finance professionals who had developed IT skills, and for companies that were pioneers in the use of this technology.
AI and finance: lessons from the past
ERPs became widespread in the 1990s, and some large companies had no choice but to develop an ERP, particularly to facilitate communication with their stakeholders. In many cases, they deployed a standardized solution, such as those offered by companies such as SAP, Oracle etc. Professionals with ERP-related skills were then in high demand on the job market. This technology therefore had a significant impact on the profession.
Today, we should learn from the past to better prepare for the future, because the technological revolution will not wait. So, my advice is to be proactive and start training now. Just as ERPs have become essential, in 5, 10, or 15 years, it will certainly be the same for AI.
Can you summarize the findings of your study on AI, which provides a “state of play” overview?
Marie Redon (Professor of Accounting): We conducted a survey of 375 corporate finance professionals, including accountants, management controllers, and CFOs/Financial Directors. The results highlighted that about 50% of respondents used AI, but the study dates to 2023/2024 and things are changing rapidly.
AI and finance: Reality or myth?
The results show that finance professionals used AI for maintenance or administrative tasks (emails or reports, etc.), but less so for pure financial tasks, such as forecasting, budgeting, and cost calculation.
Therefore, while AI was already a reality for finance professionals in 2023/2024, its use for pure financial tasks was a myth.
Patrick DAGUET (Academic Director of the Executive Postgraduate Program in Financial Management): This is in line with what I have observed among the participants in our Executive program. These are mainly professionals working in or around small and mid-sized companies.
Certain professionals are obviously wondering about the impact of AI, and whether AI should be considered an opportunity or a threat. As Marie explained, this is not the first revolution they have faced, and it will certainly not be the last. So, the ability to reinvent oneself, transform and accept change, will be the determining factor in the evolution of AI in corporate finance careers.
AI and finance: different uses depending on the size of the company.
Today, AI is mainly used to streamline tasks or increase the productivity of certain repetitive tasks. This is how it is seen and used today in small and medium-sized companies. In larger companies, however, AI has a much more analytical and forward-looking role in everything related to financial planning and analysis.
Here, it is not perceived as a facilitator or a tool for improving productivity, but has taken on a different dimension, that of optimizing or supporting decision-making.
REDON Marie: In our study we see that, depending on the profession, there are different perceptions of this technology. Although the majority see AI as an opportunity for the evolution of their role, there are perceived disparities between financial professions, with some feeling more robust than others. Roles that involve many repetitive tasks, such as accounting, feel more vulnerable with regards to the automation that AI will enable.
Conversely, positions involving strategic vision, such as CFOs, see the potential to enrich their strategic thinking and challenge their analysis. And sometimes even to promote creation and innovation. They perceive AI as a real lever for change.
Can you give us some concrete examples of how AI is used to support decision-making?
DAGUET Patrick: In my view, it is no coincidence that large companies more commonly use AI to support decision-making. Their finance departments are often more structured. Most include financial planning and analysis (FP&A) which covers cost management control, investment analysis and decision- making and valuation. This way, FP&A supervises all value-creation decisions.
Here’s a concrete example of how artificial intelligence can be used by a FP&A department or unit. Imagine that a company needs to analyze the development of a new service or product, in terms of customer value and financial and environmental value. It will rely on traditional analysis tools. But often, it will want to go a step further, i.e., conduct sensitivity analysis and explore scenarios ranging from the worst to the best.
AI can add value to this process by developing diverse types of simulations. It can help broaden the field of vision of decision-makers by providing thousands of examples instead of just two or three. And among these thousands of cases, they can see the distribution with regards the proportions that would be above or below the minimum (expected) return. In this type of context, AI can play an extremely tangible role in supporting decision-making and arbitration.
This technology is also capable of providing inputs to aid reflection on strategic issues such as those related to production and product pricing. To answer questions such as: is it better to be ahead of the market or a little behind? Depending on the information provided, the FP&A department will be able to provide a high-quality response that will enrich the discussion.
I would like to stress that decisions are made by human beings. A decision is not made by artificial intelligence, so human judgment and the company’s experience in its sector will play a decisive role. However, what humans and experience cannot necessarily replicate, and duplicate quickly enough given the vast amounts of information to process, AI can do so in a relevant way.
The second part of this interview is available here.
These topics are the subject of research conducted by the CFO & Sustainable Transformation Chair (in partnership with the DFCG and Axys). If you would like to share your experience or contribute, please do not hesitate to contact Marie REDON: m.redon@ieseg.fr
The image accompanying this article has been generated by Dall-E
