CFO+AI
Insights

Recent reading — what we're tracking for portfolio companies

Short takes on the best recent reporting and research for PE operating partners, portfolio company CFOs, and owners evaluating AI in finance, accounting and IR. Each cite links to the source — read the primary, not just my summary. I update this as useful new pieces publish.

AdoptionMcKinsey & Company · Mar 2025
The State of AI in 2025 — Global Survey

Adoption is broad, ROI is concentrated in redesigned workflows — not pilots. Directly supports the Wave 1 vs pilot argument.

Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai
CFODeloitte CFO Program · 2025
AI and the Modern CFO

CFOs are moving from reporting to orchestration — AI handles the close while the CFO handles capital allocation and the board.

Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/finance/articles/cfo-insights.html
Private EquityBain & Company · 2025
Private Equity and AI: From Hype to ROI

PE firms that embed AI in portfolio operations see value-creation faster than those that treat AI as an IT project.

Source: https://www.bain.com/insights/private-equity-and-ai-from-hype-to-roi/
TransformationDeloitte · 2024–2025
Finance 2025: The digital transformation of finance

Close, FP&A, and controllership are the first three finance towers to automate — in that order. Matches our Wave 1 sequencing.

Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/finance/solutions/finance-transformation.html
FrameworkAgrawal, Gans & Goldfarb — Prediction Machines · 2022 (updated 2024)
Why AI projects fail — and how to redesign the system

AI is a drop in the cost of prediction — the payoff comes from redesigning the system around cheaper prediction, not one-off automation.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647824672
GovernancePoulos (2025) · Nov 2025
The AI Governance Architect — Building auditable MLOps

Practitioner blueprint for immutable audit logging across LLM vendors, agent governance, and policy-as-code — the closest book to building our controls layer yourself.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G47KZLV3

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