Eric Kutcher likens the chief financial officer role to that of the catcher on a baseball field. It is the only position facing the field while all other players stare in the opposite direction.
“You have this unique angle, because you see everything in a different lens and in a different light,” said Kutcher, CFO of management consulting giant McKinsey & Co. Kutcher spoke alongside the CFOs of Workday and Kickstarter in a virtual conversation hosted by Fortune. This vantage point gives CFO leaders opportunities to ask questions, play defense, and help support innovation.
A McKinsey survey published this summer showed that the field of play for CFOs increasingly toggles between offensive and defensive stances, while they also put more resources into digitizing their finance functions. The share of respondents reporting that more than half of their finance function duties were digitized or automated in the past year doubled since McKinsey’s 2021 survey. This year, two-thirds of respondents said more than 25% of finance-related processes had been digitized or automated.
But any investments in automation across the business can create tensions between the CFO and chief technology officer, or CTO, roles. That’s because of the inherent purposes of each role: CFOs control costs, while IT is a major source of spending. And while tech spending is necessary to boost growth and productivity—as well as protect a business from risk, from a financial perspective—it looks like an expense.
“I do think that clash in many ways is a good and healthy clash,” said Kutcher.
Artificial intelligence, in particular the advancements of deep-learning generative AI models, has spurred particularly robust debates among finance departments and the broader C-suites and boardrooms.
“These technologies are terrific, but all need to be used in the right way,” said Zane Rowe, CFO of Workday. “All of the C-suite own the risk, the CFO in particular.”
Rowe added that the right people across an organization, which extends to the board and other members of the management team, need to be included in AI decision-making.
Sindy Wilson, CFO of Kickstarter, said one piece of information she asks for is a risk assessment. She wants to know: What can the technology deliver, but also, what’s the risk to the business?
“It’s more about the outcomes that it enables, opposed to the technology itself,” said Wilson.
One way to mitigate risk, said Kutcher, is to not go all in at once. Incremental investing and learning is a savvy approach to AI deployment.
“I am pretty bullish on opportunities around AI and finance,” said Kutcher. “I really think we are just at the beginning, but I think this is the biggest sea change we will see both in finance [and] in business at large.”
Kutcher said executives across the C-suite need to experiment with the technology. This could include using AI to draft an early version of a speech, craft an email, or consolidate analyst commentary when preparing for earnings Q&As.
CFOs also need to be willing to learn from other functions, including IT. Rowe spent 20 years in aviation, which is enhanced by technology, and the past decade more directly in the tech sector. He recommends that CFOs spend time with their tech partners to learn how to identify opportunities, prioritize, and think about what the shared mission is that they are working toward.
“As CFOs, you should be encouraged to work closely in partnership with technology,” said Rowe.
At crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, Wilson said she connects with the CTO at least once a week. Through their work together, Wilson is transparent about her process and how she thinks through potential investments.
“I’m an incrementalist,” said Wilson. “I like to make sure that we test and learn. I want to pilot and have proof before making big investments.”
“In the CFO role, you’re uniquely positioned to have that ability to partner and to influence investments,” said Rowe. “But do it in a transparent way so that others understand what some of the tradeoffs are that you have to make and some of the timelines you have to work within.”
One of the historical tensions between the CTO and CFO has involved the return on investment. But Kutcher said companies can make great use out of existing tech systems that can be modernized. “I’m remarkably optimistic about the path forward.”
When asked by Fortune CEO Alan Murray about balancing the risk of being either a leader when it comes to generative AI or a fast follower, Kutcher said it is important to be thoughtful and remain mindful of ethical questions around AI that aren’t going to be solved in the short term. Kutcher said business leaders must walk before running to ensure AI models are being properly used and that data is accurate.
That said, AI advances are here and changing business in profound ways. Six months ago, McKinsey had practically no generative AI tools at the firm’s disposal, while today half the company is using a new generative AI tool.
“It doesn’t feel like we are walking,” said Kutcher. “It feels like we are running because the rate and pace of change is so fast.”
