AI in Finance: How CFOs Are Redesigning Finance Teams for the Future

The role of the CFO is evolving faster than ever.

At NY Tech Week, Merraine joined PwC, Nasdaq MarketSite, and a remarkable group of CFOs, founders, investors, and finance leaders for a discussion about one of the most important questions facing modern organizations: how do we leverage AI in finance while building teams that remain scalable, trusted, and strategically valuable?

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape finance and accounting, CFOs are being asked to do more than implement new technology. They are being asked to rethink how finance organizations are structured, how work gets done, and what leadership will look like in the years ahead.

Automation is creating enormous opportunities. AI-powered finance tools can reduce manual tasks, accelerate reporting, improve forecasting, and generate deeper business insights. These capabilities have the potential to transform finance operations and create significant value across organizations.

But technology alone does not create great finance organizations.

The most successful companies recognize that finance transformation is ultimately about people, leadership, and execution. Strong financial controls, sound governance, and trusted decision-making remain essential regardless of how sophisticated the technology becomes.

One of the most compelling discussions of the evening focused on risk management and AI agent errors. Finance leaders must evaluate not only whether an error occurred, but also how that error affects financial reporting, data quality, compliance, and stakeholder trust.

That conversation naturally led to a broader question: What should the finance team of the future actually look like?

The answer is not fewer people. It is different capabilities.

As automation takes over more transactional work, organizations will increasingly need finance professionals who excel at strategic planning, business partnership, communication, risk management, operational leadership, and decision-making.

The future finance organization will require leaders who can bridge technology and business strategy while helping companies navigate growth, transformation, and uncertainty.

At Merraine, we see this shift firsthand through our work in CFO executive search, finance leadership recruitment, accounting leadership hiring, and organizational design. Companies preparing for rapid growth, private equity investment, digital transformation, or an eventual exit need finance leaders who can drive both operational excellence and long-term value creation.

The organizations that win in the AI era will not simply adopt new tools. They will build finance teams capable of combining innovation, accountability, adaptability, and trust.

Thank you to PwC, Nasdaq MarketSite, and everyone who contributed to such a thoughtful discussion during NY Tech Week. Conversations like these are helping define the future of finance leadership and the evolving role of the CFO.