Good morning. Tech company Workday’s AI platform manages finances, HR, and now digital employees. I recently sat down with Zane Rowe, CFO of Workday, to talk about agentic AI, which refers to AI-powered agents that can independently perform tasks, provide insights, and optimize workflows.
In the case of Workday, a CFO Daily sponsor, it recently launched an Agent System of Record, which is a hub for businesses to manage and govern large numbers of AI agents. It has garnered wide interest and is resonating with customers, Rowe said.
However, entering this next phase of AI requires an enhanced workforce perspective. After all, agents are becoming part of the workplace community, alongside everybody else in the company, he said.
“We see a lot of opportunity for people to be working alongside agents,” Rowe told me.
What would that look like in the finance org? Rowe gave the following example: In the purchasing group, an AI agent can have the job of scouring through thousands of contracts to assess whether, when a particular vendor comes up for renewal, discounts come into play. The agent can also come up with intel on ways to strengthen the relationship with a vendor, he said. An agent can also be useful when it comes to payroll accuracy. Companies have a lot of data, and agentic AI can help make it more accessible, Rowe said.
“We’ve also talked about a financial audit agent,” he added. That would provide a company the opportunity to look at 100% of your data and almost do an internal audit before you have external auditors come in, he said.
“Not only will we be producing a lot of these agents, but partnering with others to do the same on our platform,” Rowe said.
Workday, a Fortune 500 company, reported its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 25. Total revenues were $2.211 billion, an increase of 15% from the same period last year. Subscription revenues were $2.04 billion, an increase of 16% year over year, beating expectations. Continued momentum with its financial products and growing demand for our AI SKUs, contributed to Q4 results, according to Rowe.
Constant learners
When it comes to how AI will affect the workplace, American workers continue to have mixed feelings, a recent Pew Research Center survey finds. However, 40% of employees surveyed who have used AI chatbots for work say these tools have helped them to do things more quickly. So embracing agentic AI may be a matter of understanding how to work with the tool effectively.
As Workday is leaning heavily into AI internally, there are learning opportunities for employees across the company, Rowe said. In the finance organization, for example, “we’ve got our own tailored work streams, educational, peer teaching,” he said.
Regarding future finance talent, Rowe thinks being a constant learner is key. Along with aptitude in finance, and even tech, collaborative skills are high on his list, since finance must work with departments across the company, and being enthusiastic and willing to try new things, are important too.
And getting along with digital employees couldn’t hurt.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Amy Weaver, outgoing CFO of Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), was appointed CEO of Direct Relief, the fifth largest nonprofit in the U.S., beginning her tenure in May, Fortune reported. Weaver, who made the rare jump from chief legal officer to finance chief at Salesforce, announced in August her plans to step down. Her successor is the company’s lead independent director Robin Washington, who will hold the title of chief operating and financial officer. She begins at the Fortune 500 company on March 21. (Read about more C-suite moves in the weekly column, Fortune 500 Power Moves.)
Matt Hutcheson was promoted to CFO at Service One Credit Union. Hutcheson has been with Service One since 2010. He has worked in financial strategy, risk management, and operational efficiency at the company. As CFO, Hutcheson will provide financial leadership for the credit union, overseeing all aspects of financial management, including asset and liability management, budgeting, forecasting, liquidity, investments, and capital planning.
Big Deal
“Unlocking SaaS CFO Talent in a Tight Market” is a report by leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA). Demand for experienced software and SaaS CFOs in sponsor-backed companies continues to be highly competitive, according to the research. RRA analyzed 140 U.S. public, PE-backed, and VC-backed company CFOs in the $100 million to $2 billion revenue range.
Over the past two years, the number of SaaS organizations hiring highly experienced CFOs has increased from 64% between 2020 and 2022 to 82% in 2023 and 2024 at PE-backed SaaS organizations.
Within the S&P 500, 40% of CFOs come from outside the company. However, in comparison, SaaS organizations are overwhelmingly looking externally for their CFOs. About 73% of public SaaS companies, 74% of PE-backed organizations, and 83% of VC-backed organizations hired external CFOs, according to RRA.
Going deeper
“Retail’s Tough Reality: Lessons from Joann’s Closure” is a new episode of the Wharton Business Daily podcast. Along with discussing the closure of Joann Stores, Cait Lamberton, a marketing professor at the Wharton School, explains the broader challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers. Lamberton examines the impact of bankruptcy, shifting consumer behaviors, and the rise of e-commerce to provide insight into why some traditional retailers struggle to survive in today’s market.
Overheard
“It is the net effect of these policy changes that will matter for the economy and for the path of monetary policy. While there have been recent developments in some of these areas—especially trade policy—uncertainty around the changes and their likely effects remains high as we parse the incoming information. We are focused on separating the signal from the noise.”
—Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said at the University of Chicago’s Monetary Policy Forum on Friday, Fortune reported. During his speech, Powell said that the Trump administration is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation. The Fed needs to consider the effect the totality of the administration’s policies would have on the economy, he said.
