How is AI moving finance forward?

Finance departments have experienced substantial transformations over the last decade, embracing cloud computing, robotic process automation, and data analytics, among others. Finance, as a function, is constantly evolving, and the next wave of innovations—artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)—is not just on the horizon; it is already here.

While AI and ML are not novel technologies, the widespread adoption of AI solutions is revolutionizing the capabilities of finance departments globally, enhancing the efficiency of finance teams and redefining their roles within organizations.

Understanding the latest finance innovation

Since the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, there has been a growing awareness of AI’s capacity to enhance skills across various fields, including finance. This advancement has been facilitated by breakthroughs in computing power, enabling the training of machine learning models with vast amounts of high-quality data.

According to Workday co-president Sayan Chakraborty, this development requires a shift in how we perceive expertise. AI not only accelerates task completion but also streamlines our approach to identifying anomalies and patterns in data. For instance, while humans may struggle to sift through hundreds or thousands of transactions, AI can do so effortlessly and without fatigue. This capability reduces the mundane aspects of labour-intensive processes, allowing finance departments to focus on more strategic, value-adding activities.

The potential of AI in finance is widely recognized, with 73% of business decision-makers feeling the pressure to adopt AI, as per a global survey by Workday titled AI IQ: Insights on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise. Despite this, 47% of finance and procurement teams have yet to embark on their AI adoption journey, citing concerns about data volume, structure, reliability, or quality as common barriers.

Marise Maltman, APJ Office of the CFO Leader at Workday, emphasizes the need for finance leaders to embrace change and avoid falling behind. She advises defining the necessary changes in finance delivery and adopting a change mindset. Starting with addressing critical business issues and prioritizing them can help organizations navigate the evolving landscape of AI in finance.

Workday AI revolutionizes finance and HR departments by seamlessly integrating AI into its platform. With over 10,000 organizations and 65 million users worldwide, Workday provides a comprehensive suite of AI solutions, setting it apart from competitors.

One of Workday’s key strengths is its vast dataset, processing over 629 billion transactions annually. This dataset is leveraged to train Workday’s AI, ensuring consistently accurate, meaningful, and trustworthy results.

For instance, Workday’s journal insights feature allows accounting teams to identify potentially anomalous transactions in real time, enabling corrections to be made promptly. This contrasts with the traditional manual review process typically conducted at the end of a reporting period.

Moreover, Workday empowers customers to make informed decisions by analyzing historical data alongside other datasets. This capability enables faster reporting of actuals and improved forecasting through algorithmic scenario analysis.

Additionally, Workday aids in expense fraud detection by assessing the risk of submitted expense reports. By combining historical and contextual data, such as employee location and profile, Workday provides a risk score to prioritize auditing efforts.

Success stories

Workday’s finance and HR platform is trusted by organizations worldwide, including prominent companies in Australia.

Transurban, a leading toll-road developer and operator managing Sydney’s Cross City Tunnel and Melbourne’s CityLink, needed to modernize its data foundations and processes amid rapid global growth. By switching to Workday, Transurban accelerated its month-end processes from over a week to just a few days. Workday’s continuous updates eliminated the need for regular system upgrades, reducing Transurban’s total cost of ownership.

Similarly, Western Sydney Airport, tasked with delivering Sydney’s new international airport by 2026, transitioned to Workday to centralize its data. This shift enabled the organization to find answers in seconds, empowering faster decision-making and problem-solving.

Marise Maltman from Workday emphasizes that AI and ML enhance human capabilities, allowing for quicker, better decisions. Companies must choose between traditional operations and adopting AI to improve efficiency and redefine the finance function’s role.

Embracing AI can drive cost reduction and productivity while unlocking new value and meaning for businesses, workers, and customers.