Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way finance teams work. Automation is reducing the time spent on reconciliation and reporting, creating opportunities to focus on more valuable activities. 

But this shift also has implications for how finance professionals learn. The detailed work that AI can handle has traditionally helped junior employees build the knowledge and judgement needed to progress into leadership roles. 

For CFOs, the priority is clear: capture the productivity benefits of AI while creating opportunities to develop the next generation of finance leaders. 

Recognise how automation is changing finance career development 

Finance has traditionally developed leaders through practical experience. Reconciling accounts, investigating discrepancies, and challenging forecasts give professionals repeated exposure to business decisions and complexities. 

As AI becomes more capable of handling these activities, finance leaders need to consider how employees will acquire the same depth of understanding. 

Speaking on Soldo’s The CFO Playbook, Tom DiDesidero, CFO at SmartRecruiters, highlights the opportunity: “The goal is to free up time to do the value-added work. Use it to automate the repetitive, lower-value tasks, and then actually do something better with the time you get back.” 

Employees who enter the profession with fewer opportunities to examine underlying processes may need more structured support to understand how financial decisions are made. The challenge is ensuring that the time saved also contributes to professional development. 

Protect the practical experience that builds judgement 

Technical knowledge is only one area of effective finance leadership. CFOs also rely on commercial judgement, problem-solving and the ability to recognise patterns across financial performance, operations and investment decisions. 

These abilities develop through experience and exposure to different business situations. 

Roy Hefer, CFO at Perk, explains the connection: “Gut feel is not just a mood. It’s pattern recognition built over years of seeing businesses, deals and integrations, and learning what tends to work and what does not.” 

Sara Daw, CEO of The CFO Centre Group, raises a concern about the speed at which AI delivers answers: “I worry that we lose the ability to learn because AI gives us the answers too quickly. Sitting with a problem, and sitting in the messiness of it, is valuable for our judgement and experience.” 

For finance teams, this reinforces the importance of understanding outputs. Employees need opportunities to test assumptions, investigate unexpected results and explain their conclusions, even when AI can produce an answer more quickly. 

Build structured learning into everyday finance operations 

As traditional routes disappear, finance leaders have an opportunity to make professional development more intentional. 

Formal training provides a foundation, but employees also need to apply their knowledge to real challenges. A combination of mentoring, practical assignments and cross-functional exposure can help bridge this gap. 

At Amnesty International, CFO Rohan Hewavisenti and his team established a data and skills academy using funding from an apprenticeship levy. With recruitment restricted, the initiative focused on developing capabilities within the existing workforce. 

The academy attracted employees from finance, fundraising, marketing and other functions, with at least 30 people attending since the start of the year. 

Give emerging finance leaders responsibility and support 

Formal development programmes are most effective when accompanied by opportunities to exercise judgement. 

Bradley Channer, CFO at UBIO, has questioned how AI will change the traditional entry-level career path. His perspective highlights the importance of giving junior professionals opportunities to experiment and learn from decisions. 

Finance leaders can incorporate this approach into everyday operations by: 

  • Assigning junior employees ownership of analyses and asking them to present recommendations 
  • Including less-experienced colleagues in forecasting, budgeting and commercial planning discussions 
  • Encouraging employees to question AI-generated outputs and validate the assumptions behind them 
  • Offering mentors who expose emerging talent to experienced finance leaders 
  • Reviewing decisions and outcomes regularly so that teams can turn practical experience into learning. 

Make workforce development part of the AI strategy 

AI adoption is already influencing business priorities. According to Soldo’s Productivity at Work 2026 report, 88% of employees say AI tools have improved their productivity, while 83% of finance leaders consider AI investment important to achieving business goals.  

That highlights the importance of managing AI as both an investment and a workforce development priority. 

The finance professionals who could become CFOs in 2037 may already be working in today’s teams. Their development depends on the opportunities businesses create now. 

Soldo helps finance teams reduce routine expense administration and gain greater visibility and control over business spending, creating more capacity for analysis and informed decision-making. Explore how a more efficient approach to spend management could support your finance team’s changing priorities and give people more time to develop the skills that matter. 

Book a demo today: https://www.soldo.com/en-gb/book-a-demo/