Matija Nakić, CEO & Co-founder, Farseer.
Finance is entering a period of rapid transformation. Automation, artificial intelligence and advanced analytics are reshaping how organizations plan, forecast and make decisions. But while technology adoption continues to accelerate, workforce transformation has consistently lagged. According to Deloitte, 63% of finance leaders say their teams have already fully deployed and are actively using AI solutions, yet 84% have not redesigned jobs or the nature of work around AI.
The message is clear: Finance’s biggest challenge is no longer adopting AI. It’s preparing teams to work alongside it.
As business leaders increasingly expect finance to model scenarios, interpret complex data and provide strategic guidance, success will depend on more than implementing new technology. It will require finance organizations to rethink how they develop talent, structure teams, and equip financial planning and analysis professionals with the skills needed to thrive in a more data-driven future.
Closing The Analytics And Automation Skills Gap
As automation takes over more manual work, finance professionals will spend less time collecting data, reconciling spreadsheets and producing recurring reports. Instead, they will be expected to analyze trends, challenge assumptions, evaluate scenarios and translate financial insights into strategic recommendations.
This shift will require stronger analytical skills and a deeper understanding of business drivers, along with greater confidence and savvy using technologies that support decision making. Finance teams are rapidly being asked to move beyond reporting numbers to interpreting what they mean and helping their organizations decide what to do next.
Any change in strategic approach will invariably force cultural shifts, as well. Finance has long rewarded precision, consistency and control, and while those qualities remain essential, tomorrow’s finance departments will also need their best people to act with curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to embrace new ways of working.
Upskilling, however, is about far more than learning how to use a new piece of software. Don’t worry, finance professionals don’t need to become data scientists or software engineers, but they do need enough technical fluency to understand how modern planning technologies work, ask better questions and confidently interpret the insights they produce.
Learning can take many forms. I’m seeing some organizations create internal finance academies that combine technical training with real business scenarios, while others are encouraging certifications in data analytics, business intelligence or AI fundamentals.
Cross-functional projects can give FP&A professionals opportunities to work alongside IT, HR, operations and data teams, building a stronger understanding of how financial and operational data come together to support better decisions.
Perhaps the most effective learning happens on the job. Finance professionals who build dashboards, explore scenario models or experiment with AI-assisted workflows can quickly develop a stronger understanding of both the technology’s capabilities and its limitations. Like any professional skill, confidence comes through application, not one-off training sessions.
Leaders, of course, have an equally important role to play. Organizations can’t simply deploy new technologies and expect employees to adapt overnight. They need to create time for learning, incentivize curiosity and growth, and make continuous development part of career progression. The finance teams I see making the greatest progress are those where managers encourage experimentation, invest in ongoing education and give employees the opportunity to apply new skills to real business challenges.
Moving From Report Producers To Strategic Advisors
Despite doomsday predictions, the evolution of FP&A is not about replacing traditional finance responsibilities. Accuracy, governance and financial discipline will always remain the foundation of the function. Instead, the opportunity is to expand finance’s impact by freeing professionals from repetitive tasks and enabling them to focus on higher-value analysis.
Consider a company facing weaker demand or rising costs. Rather than spending days reconciling spreadsheets to explain what happened, finance teams can evaluate multiple scenarios in real time: How would profitability change if hiring slowed? Should capital investments be delayed? Which operational levers would have the greatest impact on margins?
Technology can help answer these questions far more quickly than in the past, but it cannot determine which questions matter most or how the business should respond. Those decisions still rely on the judgment, experience and commercial understanding of finance professionals.
Technology can accelerate analysis. People create insight.
The Next Generation Of Finance Requires A New Way Of Working
Finance transformation is not only about adopting new technologies. It is also about rethinking how finance professionals spend their time and what work should look like.
For decades, long hours during month-end close, manual spreadsheet consolidation and repetitive reporting cycles were accepted as part of working in finance. But relying on these practices indefinitely is not sustainable.
As automation takes on more routine tasks, finance organizations have an opportunity to redesign work around higher-value activities. The goal is not simply to make teams faster; it’s to give finance professionals more time to analyze trends, collaborate with the business and support strategic decisions.
Organizations that embrace this shift will also be better positioned to attract and retain talent. The next generation of finance professionals expects opportunities to build analytical skills, work with modern technology and contribute to business strategy. Companies that continue relying on outdated workflows risk burnout among existing teams and may struggle to attract new talent.
The future of finance requires more than new tools. It requires a new definition of finance work.
Investing In People Is Investing In The Future Of Finance
The organizations that thrive in the next era of finance won’t necessarily be the ones with the newest technology. They will be the ones that combine modern tools with finance professionals who know how to use them thoughtfully and strategically.
AI, automation and advanced analytics can accelerate analysis, surface insights and make planning more dynamic. But these technologies only create lasting value when finance teams have the skills to interpret results, challenge assumptions and turn insights into action.
The future of FP&A belongs to organizations that invest in both technology and talent. As finance continues to evolve, competitive advantage won’t come from adopting the latest tools; it will come from developing people who know how to use them.
Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify?
