https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pQsPAurZ5E

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/56xLS3vYYYDi3bsssHeBfq

Understanding how to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for rapid returns has become essential for today’s finance leaders. While many organizations invest in AI, few manage to achieve tangible value quickly. This episode tackles a critical strategic challenge: how CFOs and finance teams can deliver measurable ROI from AI initiatives within just 30 days—a key success factor for staying competitive, agile, and efficient in a fast-changing market.

Kevin Appleby speaks with Dan Fletcher, CFO of Planful, to uncover the often-overlooked strategies that accelerate AI’s impact in finance. Their conversation explores the evolving landscape of finance technology, upcoming consolidation trends in the CFO tech stack, and practical steps for achieving quick AI wins. Dan also shares insights on how early, effective adoption of AI empowers finance leaders to move their teams from manual processes to strategic, insight-driven advisory roles—positioning finance as a true business partner for the future.

Key topics covered:

Mindset change is the hardest aspect of finance digital transformation

Accurate, clean data is critical for successful AI adoption and savings

AI enables finance teams to spend less time crunching numbers, more time adding value

Savings are real when AI is applied to transactional and repetitive processes

AI leads to more frequent, adaptive forecasting and better business partnering

Boardroom strategy discussions increasingly focus on AI-driven transformation

Links

Dan Fletcher on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps

18:47 Future trends and generative AI’s impact on finance transformation

26:46 Real-world adoption stories, efficiency gains, and lessons for fast implementation

29:21 Step-by-step advice for CFOs on launching high-impact AI projects

34:51 Preparing finance teams for new job roles and skills in an AI-driven environment

38:26 Forecasting the biggest finance leadership challenges on the horizon

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