6DECEMBER 2020Managing EditorSarah DawsonAaron Pierce Ann Bennis Antony MosesVisualizerAlbert RozarioSalesSarah DawsonManaging Editoreditor@cfotechoutlook.comRichard Watsonrichard@cfotechoutlook.comEditor's NoteContact Us:Phone:510-556-2280 Fax:510-894-8405Email:sales@cfotechoutlook.comeditor@cfotechoutlook.commarketing@cfotechoutlook.com DECEMBER - 01 - 2020, Vol - 06, Issue - 09 (ISSN 2644 - 2841)Published by ValleyMedia, Inc. To subscribe to CFO Tech OutlookVisit www.cfotechoutlook.com Editorial StaffAva GarciaJoshua Parker Paul BarberJoy ParkerCopyright © 2020 ValleyMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof.*Some of the Insights are based on the interviews with respective CIOs and CXOs to our editorial staffSmart CFOs now have to give serious thought to artificial intelligence (AI). The technology, which enables computers to be taught to analyse data, identify patterns, and predict outcomes, has evolved from aspirational to mainstream, opening a potential knowledge gap among some finance leaders. Many CFOs effectively serve as the Chief Compliance Officer, often taking personal responsibility for adherence to financial and regulatory requirements. The finance function includes a wide range of repetitive and routine tasks ­ functions that are ripe for disruption by AI. Finally, the strategic CFO is increasingly asked to support the enterprise in its growth plans and play a direct role in building revenues.The expectations of shareholders, regulators and audit committees have been increasing, specifically in the areas of financial and nonfinancial reporting, transparency, and governance. All of these functions can benefit from AI.CFOs are called upon to advice on complex, high-impact decisions such as divestments, which need to be transparently justified for financial analysts and investors. These decisions are based on numerous metrics that do not always reflect the complex relationships between different performance drivers. AI cuts through this complexity by creating data networks that surface correlations between all the potential factors influencing performance, enabling CFOs to accurately model the impact of a decision.For companies in highly-cyclical industries, and those influenced by fluctuating commodity prices, accurate forecasting of economic indicators such as GDP, consumer price index or housing starts indicator can be the difference between success and failure. Therefore, more and more CFOs are looking for ways to get these indicators as early as possible to help anticipate economic environment changes and enable proactive decisions about risk exposure, capital investments, asset sales and activity forecasts. By combining external data with a company's internal data, AI can generate monthly or even weekly predictions and generate alerts about potential changes in the economy way before those leading indicators are published.AI is able to make sense of wide-ranging swathes of external and internal data that enable CFOs to make decisions on a broader range of business questions than was previously possible. And, like in the example of using AI to understand customer behavior when the company closed its stores, the insights generated--and the analyses behind them--can be relevant for other business decisions. Such AI-enabled capabilities have the potential not only to enhance CFOs strategic value alongside CEOs but make themselves indispensable advisors to the rest of the business.Let us know your thoughts.Expanding the Power of CFOs
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