Don Tomoff, founder of Invenio Advisors and a finance expert with over 30 years of experience, dives into the impactful role of AI in financial planning. He highlights how AI can revolutionize efficiency, making it essential for modern finance professionals to adopt these technologies swiftly. Don discusses the democratization of data access and the importance of tailored AI prompts for task automation. He shares insights into transforming financial workflows and sheds light on the future of finance, where tech-savvy skills will be paramount.
AI empowers finance professionals to streamline tasks and enhance efficiency, leading to significant productivity gains in daily operations.
A bottom-up approach to AI adoption encourages employees to innovate and maximize efficiency, fostering a culture of technological advancement.
Generative AI democratizes data science in FP&A, automating analysis and boosting data literacy, allowing professionals to focus on strategic insights.
Deep dives
Embracing Generative AI in Finance
The rapid advancement of generative AI is revolutionizing the finance sector, enabling professionals to streamline tasks and enhance efficiency. Don Tomoff's early adoption of tools like ChatGPT illustrated his proactive approach to integrating AI into daily operations, leading to significant increases in productivity. By spending just 15 minutes daily on AI experimentation, he quickly discovered its potential to handle complex data tasks, prompting a call for finance professionals to recognize the opportunities within this technology. Emphasizing persistence, he encouraged users to overcome initial hurdles and foster a mindset that embraces trial and error with AI applications.
An AI-First Mindset
Adopting an 'AI-first mindset' transforms the way finance professionals interact with data tools. Rather than relying solely on traditional methods, incorporating AI can facilitate quicker data analysis and report generation. Don shared insights on using AI for drafting documents and creating Excel formulas, highlighting a more efficient workflow that allows professionals to focus on critical thinking and strategic decisions. The key takeaway is to prioritize AI in daily operations, which can drive significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness across various financial tasks.
The Bottom-Up Approach to AI Integration
Successfully leveraging AI tools in finance requires a bottom-up approach, allowing frontline workers to adopt and maximize their potential. Don emphasized that empowering employees with basic AI training encourages innovative thinking and leads to the discovery of streamlined processes. Personal examples of employees utilizing AI for vacation planning seamlessly translated into workplace efficiencies, demonstrating how familiarity with AI can spark broader organizational usage. This grassroots method ensures that the knowledge and capabilities of AI spread organically, fostering a company culture that embraces technological advancements.
The Role of AI in Financial Planning and Analysis
Generative AI holds the promise of transforming Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) by democratizing data science and making advanced analytics accessible to a larger audience. Don discussed how AI can automate preliminary analysis, allowing senior professionals to focus on high-level strategies rather than tedious data cleaning processes. As generative AI becomes integrated into FP&A, professionals will gain new capabilities, including the ability to conduct complex analyses without deep technical backgrounds. This shift not only enhances individual productivity but also uplifts the entire finance team's data literacy and analytical skills.
The Importance of Community and Continuous Learning
Don emphasized the significance of community engagement in mastering AI tools and technologies, suggesting that collaboration among peers can accelerate learning. By participating in groups or networks, finance professionals can share experiences and challenges, leading to collective growth and deeper understanding of AI applications. Continuous learning and adaptation are necessary, as technology evolves rapidly, especially in the context of AI. Don's advice of utilizing both paid AI plans and mobile accessibility illustrates his commitment to ensuring that finance professionals remain agile and well-informed in an increasingly automated landscape.
“Not having the answer is no longer acceptable because you are 30 seconds from having the answer. You’ve just gotta ask.” – Don Tomoff
Don Tomoff, founder of Invenio Advisors, is a finance rockstar and a trailblazer in AI adoption for finance. As a CMA his life’s mission is to make work easier for literally everyone he encounters. The CMA and finance expert has more than 30 years of experience spanning accounting, being a CFO, and consulting. Don Tomoff is not just an expert in his field including AI. He’s a passionate advocate for using technology to drive efficiency and innovation.
In this episode, Don emphasizes how AI has transformed the speed at which financial professionals can access information and solve problems. “Right now, if you’re doing AI, you have a huge advantage against those that aren’t. But I think in the next year or so, you’re going to quickly shift to, it’s a liability for you if you aren’t doing it.”
In this episode
Streamling finance tasks as an accountant and FP&A
Why efficiency is only a part of the finance AI revolution
Biggest area ripe for AI FP&A Disruption?
Democratization of data science
Retrieval augmented generation to analyze hundreds of documents (for instance filings)
