AI Isn’t Coming – It’s Already Here. Are You In?

Let me be clear — this year’s GENCFO Summit made one thing undeniable: AI has officially moved out of theory and into finance. And if you're still waiting for the “right moment” to explore what this means for your team, you’re already behind.

Finance Is Already Using AI — Just Not Loudly

If you still think AI is about fancy pilots or some experimental lab project, let’s set the record straight. Finance teams are already using AI to do real work — write reports, flag risks, accelerate month-end, even reduce reporting time from days to minutes.

“We’re no longer talking about using AI to generate a picture. We’re talking about using AI to generate real-time commentary.”
— Gilles Bonelli, Discover Your Bounce

At L’Oréal, Ludmila Rufitskaya’s team uses AI to capture meetings, generate actions, automate admin — all without adding headcount.

“If you’re not searching right now for use cases to apply AI and generate efficiencies, that’s an alert.”
— Ludmila Rufitskaya, CFO, Beauté Recherche et Industries, L’Oréal

It’s not loud. It’s not flashy. But it’s real. And it’s working.

Stop Waiting for Perfect — Start Doing Something

I hear this all the time: “We haven’t seen a case study that looks exactly like us.”

That’s not a reason to wait. That’s an excuse to stay safe. The most powerful use cases I saw this year? Happening quietly, globally, and often in organisations you’d never expect.

“AI is not overhyped. It’s under-applied.”
— Ludmila Rufitskaya

There is no universal playbook — because this moment is about curiosity, not conformity. The CFOs leading this change are the ones getting their hands dirty. Not with endless strategy decks, but by testing, learning and moving fast.

“Start by proving value in your own productivity, then scale across processes.”
— Gilles Bonelli

And they’re not waiting for permission either.

AI Adoption Starts With You, Not IT

Let’s kill another myth: you don’t need a dedicated AI team to start.

You need one brave finance leader, a few smart experiments, and the willingness to say: “We’re going to try this.”

“It’s not just about using the tool. It’s about developing the right habits — testing, learning, adapting. That’s where culture shifts.”
— Hannah Munro, CFO 4.0

We’ve seen finance teams use GenAI to summarise technical documentation, design internal training journeys, even power fraud detection systems. This isn’t the future. This is happening in Q2 2025.

If you're still stuck wondering what it takes to start — the answer is: less than you think, and more than you’ve probably done so far.

Ready or Not: Agentic AI Is Here

Let me drop this now, so you’re not surprised in six months.

The next evolution of AI isn’t about chatbots or dashboards — it’s Agentic AI. Tools that don’t just support your work… they do it.

“We’ve reached the point where automation is the norm. The next phase is AI actively contributing to decision-making.”
— Muhammad Anis Younus, CFO, Al Fadhili Housing Co.

This tech can now search, summarise, plan and act. And that’s raising new questions: Is your operating model ready? Is your governance fit for purpose?

Because AI is ready to run. Whether or not your controls are.

What You Do Now Matters Most

At GENCFO, we don’t believe in transformation theatre. We believe in finance-led digital change, powered by data, designed for impact, and built around our Digital Finance Function model.

It’s built on agility, automation and analytics — and it’s time we stop thinking of these as buzzwords and start treating them as business as usual.

Because standing still isn’t neutral. It’s a decision to let others lead.

This is your moment to step up — and step into what’s next.