There’s a growing divide in how different business functions are adopting AI – and it’s not because finance isn’t interested. Tools like ChatGPT have made it easy for teams like marketing, HR and operations to jump in with low-risk, low-effort use cases. Content creation, basic forecasting, even early-stage recruitment screening are easy wins.
Finance, on the other hand, is working with a different set of expectations. Accuracy, auditability and compliance come first. Which is why, for many finance teams, AI adoption has been more measured. The interest is definitely there – but so is a very real need for trust, clarity and control.
And that’s what we explored in our recent webinar AI outlook for finance – what every CFO needs to know in 2025, hosted by Ananda Iyer (Head of Customer Success, Annexa), with guest speakers Matthew Vorpasso (Head of Solution Consulting ANZ, NetSuite) and Matthew Owens (Director, Annexa). Hundreds of finance professionals attended, signalling a strong appetite for insight – but the webinar poll data told another story.
Where finance stands with AI today
Half the attendees said they were just getting started with AI. Not testing it, not scaling it. Just starting. Another 35% admitted they weren’t using AI at all, though they were exploring it. Only 18% said they were doing anything beyond basic tasks – and zero had scaled AI across their function.
What’s more, 55% said they weren’t confident their data was ready to support AI tools. That’s a critical insight. It suggests that even for the most ambitious finance teams, the foundations simply aren’t there yet.
So what is holding finance back?
It’s tempting to assume it’s a technology problem. But the reality is more layered than that.
AI in finance isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about trust, compliance, data quality and control. It’s about taking a process that’s heavily audited and deliberately cautious – and asking it to rely on predictions, probabilities and machine-generated insights. That’s a big leap. And for CFOs, the risks of getting it wrong can outweigh the benefits of going first.
As Annexa’s Matthew Owens put it in the webinar, “Finance teams are excited by the potential – but they need to know it’s secure, auditable and grounded in something more than tech optimism.”
But the landscape is shifting
What’s clear is that AI won’t remain a ‘wait and see’ issue much longer. The functionality is improving, the tools are maturing and the use cases are becoming harder to ignore.
During the session, NetSuite’s Matthew Vorpasso introduced a key concept: AI as both assistant and advisor.
As an assistant, AI takes care of repetitive, rules-based tasks – things like vendor bill creation, payment reminders or writing up transaction summaries. But as an advisor, it does something more powerful. It analyses, predicts and guides. It gives finance leaders visibility they’ve never had before – across cash flow, customer risk, operational anomalies, even product recommendations. It can answer questions you didn’t even think to ask.
And crucially, it can do this in real time.
NetSuite is making AI customisable – not just consumable
One of the most compelling parts of the session was the discussion around NetSuite’s Prompt Studio and GenAI API. Unlike fixed AI features, these tools let businesses build their own logic into the system. That means custom AI agents that surface customer sentiment, combine financial and support data, and even proactively suggest actions.
Annexa is already working on betas with customers to trial these tools in real-world scenarios – like automating account reconciliations, flagging risk before it becomes a compliance issue and predicting late payments before they hit cash flow. It’s not automation for automation’s sake. It’s about giving CFOs strategic control and operational clarity.
The real shift is in mindset
At its core, the move toward AI in finance is a technology change but it’s also a role change. It repositions finance from scorekeeper to strategist – from reactive to proactive.
But to unlock that shift, the foundations need to be right. That starts with data. Clean, consolidated, accessible data. Then it’s about the systems – are they integrated, scalable, AI-ready? And finally, it’s about vision. Can the finance team see where AI fits, how to test it, and who to partner with?
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Where Annexa fits in
This is exactly where Annexa is helping its customers move forward. Not just by implementing NetSuite solutions, but by building pathways to innovation. Working across finance, CRM and support data to eliminate silos. Guiding leaders through practical AI use cases, not theoretical ones. And designing finance systems that are ready for what’s next – not stuck maintaining what’s already outdated.
Ready to move? Start here
If you’re leading a finance team today and thinking about AI, here’s where to begin:
- Start with a clear understanding of your data. Is it centralised? Consistent? Actionable?
- Look for use cases that solve real friction points – collections, reporting, reconciliation.
- Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ tool. Focus on platforms that let you test and scale at your own pace.
- And partner with people who understand both the tech and the business logic – because without both, AI doesn’t stick.
Final thoughts
Finance can’t afford to sit out the AI conversation any longer. The tools are here. The use cases are proven, with more emerging every day. The innovations are already underway. What comes next isn’t about chasing hype. It’s about taking action – before the gap gets too wide to close.
Watch the full webinar
If you’re exploring this space, the webinar replay is now available. Host Ananda Iyer from Annexa is joined by Oracle NetSuite’s Matthew Vorpasso and Annexa’s Matthew Owens as they dive into what’s possible, what’s next and how to get your systems, data and people ready for the shift.
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