Why “tool first, not job first” kills most AI rollouts before month 3?

What’s the one question that separates pilots that ship from pilots that stall?

Is the CFO mandate actually enough to get an AI rollout across the finish line?

Every vendor sells AI. Most pilots stall anyway. In this episode I break down the three failure modes I keep seeing across real finance functions, why each one happens, and the exact set of questions I’d ask before any AI tool gets a CFO’s sign-off. If you’ve watched an AI pilot go quiet in the last year, or you’re staring down a vendor deck right now, this one is for you.

This episode’s sponsor is Finance AI Lab. Members who finish their first four roadmaps get about seven hours a week back. Fifty-nine dollars a month, cancel anytime. https://www.f9finance.com/lab/

Excel at AI in Finance is for the finance pro, executive, and CFO looking to take their work to the next level. Mike is a senior finance leader breaking down AI tools like Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and beyond to reduce hours and prevent burnout. If you’re ready to break free from burnout in corporate finance and FP&A, it’s time to invest in AI for Finance. 

The AI playbook for finance pros who want their nights back.

The finance job is getting bigger every quarter. The day isn’t getting any longer. Every week there’s a new tool, a new LinkedIn post about someone who automated their entire close, a new AI conversation happening around you.

If you’re the finance pro trying to keep up without giving up your evenings, your weekends, or the life you have outside the work, this show is built for you.

Excel at AI in Finance is a weekly podcast for corporate finance pros learning AI tools without the hype. Each week you get one thing you can take into your finance job right away:

Every episode opens with a real story from Mike’s desk or a finance pro he’s worked with. Not a hypothetical. Then a breakdown of what actually works. And an honest counterpoint at the close, because the AI advice you’re hearing everywhere else has almost never touched a real finance function.

The rule: if a workflow only ships in a vendor demo, it doesn’t ship on the show.

Because the finance pros who learn AI skip the burnout and keep their jobs. They become the ones their company can’t afford to lose.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Mike runs F9 Finance and is a senior finance leader working in the trenches with AI tools, automation, and the FP&A work that has to hold up under a CFO’s scrutiny. He writes the Finance AI Insider newsletter and runs the Finance AI Lab community for finance pros learning AI without the hype.

Excel at AI in Finance is for the finance pro, executive, and CFO looking to take their work to the next level. Mike is a senior finance leader breaking down AI tools like Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and beyond to reduce hours and prevent burnout. If you’re ready to break free from burnout in corporate finance and FP&A, it’s time to invest in AI for Finance.