We gave AI our messy ERP data, a budget model, and a list of management decisions. Here's what happened.

This is Part 2 of our AI series — if you missed Part 1, go watch that first (linked below).

In this episode, Kevin and Ash take the next step up the AI maturity ladder: from sifting transactions to actually building and updating a full financial model using Claude Projects.

We walk through a live demo using a fictional cabinet manufacturing business — loading April actuals from an ERP export, rolling the model forward, adding new hires, tweaking revenue assumptions, and generating a three-scenario analysis.

All from a prompt and a couple of uploaded files.

In this episode:

How to set up Claude Projects as a persistent FP&A workspace for a clientWriting guardrails that stop AI from hallucinating financial factsRolling actuals forward and updating a forecast in real timeRunning a sensitivity analysis and three-scenario (downside / base / upside) comparisonGenerating a management dashboard and director talking points — automatically

Claude AI is becoming the most powerful tool in an accountant's toolkit, and most finance professionals haven't touched it yet.

In this episode, we break down everything you need to know to get started with Claude as a finance manager, CFO, or business owner. We cover our 7 layers of AI adoption (and where most accountants are stuck), a simple trust framework for validating AI outputs, and then we open up our screens and demo two real use cases live.

Use Case 1: Processing a folder of supplier invoices into a structured, categorised CSV — with ABNs, line item flags, and category classifications — in seconds.

Use Case 2: Taking 500+ raw bank transactions in Excel and using Claude's Excel add-in to categorise them, build a full monthly P&L with formulas, and format it into presentation-ready financial statements.

Why does change feel so slow in so many businesses?

Operations wants speed. Finance wants certainty. And somewhere in the middle… nothing happens.

In this episode, we unpack the real tension between finance and operations, why spreadsheets become a comfort blanket, and how value creation and value preservation often pull in opposite directions.

We cover:

• Why finance is wired to slow things down
• Why operations can’t wait for month-end thinking
• The hidden cost of Excel addiction
• Value creation vs value preservation
• How better alignment actually accelerates change

If you’ve ever sat in a meeting thinking “this should be simple”, this episode is for you.

👇 Let us know in the comments Are you on the ops side, the finance side, or stuck in the middle?

Is AI about to replace finance and accounting roles — or is that just clickbait fear-mongering?

In this episode of AccountDads, Ash, Hubert, and Kevin break down the real impact of agentic AI on finance teams. We cut through the hype and talk honestly about what AI actually replaces (manual tasks), what it doesn’t (business partnering, leadership, judgment), and why most AI implementations fail before they even start.

We cover:

-Why forcing old finance processes into new AI tools is a guaranteed fail

-The difference between deterministic systems (ERPs) and non-deterministic AI

-Why finance teams resist change more than operations

-Real stories of AI fear, bans, and leadership pushback

-How AI shifts accountants from “doing the work” to supervising and deciding

-Why culture, data structure, and guardrails matter more than tools

If you’re a CFO, finance leader, accountant, or business owner trying to navigate AI without drinking the Kool-Aid — this one’s for you.

👇 Like, subscribe, and join the AccountDads community as we shape the future of finance.

We’ve worked under some exceptional CFOs — and a few we learned from for all the wrong reasons.

In this episode of Accountdads, we break down the real traits and skills that made the best CFOs effective, trusted, and influential — not just technically strong.

This isn’t theory or textbook leadership. These are hard-earned lessons from watching CFOs operate under pressure, in boardrooms, and through tough business decisions.

If you’re an accountant, finance manager, or aspiring CFO, this episode will help you focus on what actually matters in finance leadership today.

We just wrapped up Day 2 of the Accounting & Business Expo 2026 in Sydney — and we presented our first ever live session on the CFO'preneur concept. This is the debrief.

We talk about how the session went, what surprised us (spoiler: every question from the audience was about AI), our favourite presentations from the expo, the best stalls, the best merch (yes, the umbrella won), and what we think next year's expo will look like.

If you haven't heard the full CFO'preneur session yet, go listen to that one first — link below.

We presented live at the Accounting & Business Expo 2026 in Sydney on a topic we've been building towards for a while — the CFO'preneur.

The idea is simple: accountants and finance professionals need to stop being scorekeepers and start thinking like business owners. In this session, we unpack what "value creation" actually means in finance, why most analysis never moves the dial, and how AI is accelerating the shift from technical work to strategic work.

We share real examples from electrical construction, professional services recruitment, and Sydney Zoo — covering margin problems that weren't really about cost, how to spot the real business problem, and why balancing profit and purpose matters more than ever.

This was recorded live (audio only) at ABE 2026.

In this episode of AccountDads, Ash, Hubert and Kevin unpack one of Australia’s biggest recent accounting controversies.

Corporate Travel Management (ASX: CTD) went from ASX200 success story to trading suspension after auditors uncovered significant revenue recognition issues linked to UK contracts and customer refunds.

What actually happened?

Was it fraud, poor controls, or accounting judgement gone wrong?

We break down:

• The history and growth of Corporate Travel Management
 • What auditors uncovered and why financial statements were delayed
 • Revenue recognition under AASB 15 explained simply
 • Why refunds and agency models can become accounting landmines
 • Leadership and governance fallout
 • What finance teams, CFOs and business owners should learn from this case

We’ve been on the AI hype train.

While governments and boardrooms lean alarmist… we’re choosing to be AI optimists.

In this episode of The Accountdads, we move from theory to practice:

• How to create a safe “sandbox” AI environment
 • Why training and prompting skills matter more than the tool itself
 • Why most AI risk traces back to human judgement
 • How mature data environments accelerate AI adoption
 • Why it’s not too late to start your AI journey
 • And how leaders should think about investing in tools in a fast-changing landscape

If you’re a CFO, finance leader, strategist or business owner trying to navigate AI adoption without overreacting — this episode is for you.

We’ll also be at the Accounting & Business Expo — come say hi.

👍 Like & Subscribe to join the Accountdads community — leaders shaping the future of finance, culture and capability.

Is AI really the biggest risk to your organisation — or is it how leaders are reacting to it?

This week on the Ash, Hubert & Kevin Podcast (The Accountdads), we tackle one of the most uncomfortable conversations in finance leadership right now.

When companies ban AI tools to “stay safe”…What actually happens the next day?

People don’t stop using it.They just start hiding it.

We unpack: 

 • Why AI bans can increase risk instead of reduce it • What ungoverned, invisible AI usage looks like in real organisations • Whether “playing it safe” has become the riskiest move of all • And what real leadership looks like in the AI era

If you're a finance leader, CFO, strategist, or business partner trying to navigate AI, governance, and culture — this episode is for you.

👍 Like & Subscribe to join the Accountdads community — finance leaders shaping the future, not hiding from it.