Spreadsheets to Strategy: How CFOs can stop fearing AI and Start using it
“AI won’t take your job — but the person who knows how to use it will.”
In this episode, Chris and Mike are joined by Julia Koslov, a finance executive and AI thought leader, to explore what happens when finance meets the future. Julia shares how a simple moment with a coffee machine and a little help from AI reveals how powerful these tools can be in everyday life and leadership.
They dig into how finance teams can use AI to simplify processes, clean up data, and stop wasting time on the wrong things. Julia talks about the hype vs. reality of “AI agents,” why governance matters more than gadgets, and how leaders can build psychological safety around experimentation.
She also opens up about her own “aha” moment at a finance conference that sent her down the AI rabbit hole and why she now believes the future of finance belongs to those who can combine EQ, IQ, and TQ (technical quotient). It’s a fast-paced, insightful look at what it really takes to lead in the age of AI, without losing your humanity.
Author
“Chris Argent isn’t here to play by finance’s old rulebook - he’s here to rewrite it.” From challenging outdated corporate thinking to rallying finance leaders around a more connected, adaptable future, the founder of GENCFO is leading a quiet revolution in how CFOs and finance leadership work, think, and influence. Chris Argent, founder of GENCFO, is a finance leader redefining the role beyond business partnering. A self-described “reluctant accountant,” he’s built a global community for progressive accounting and finance leaders who value connection over competition and action over tradition. Chris believes the greatest risk to the profession is clinging to outdated norms, and that mindset and adaptability outpace any technological change. His work champions leaders who turn new ideas into real-world change, blending people-centred strategies with new ways of working and technology. In conversations, he challenges, provokes, and inspires - proving that the future of finance belongs to those ready to lead it together.