Dear colleagues,

Every investment in FP&A must answer a clear objective: improve accuracy, expand capacity, reduce risk, and accelerate insight. AI initiatives often begin without that discipline. When intent is blurred, execution fragments.

This digest explores that balance: a structured CFO roadmap for defining AI maturity and strategic intent, combined with perspectives on separating hype from value and redefining leadership toward autonomous execution.

I hope this issue adds structure to how you approach AI initiatives in your organisation.

Best regards,

Larysa Melnychuk, CEO and Founder
FP&A Trends Group & International FP&A Board

AI is already embedded in finance workflows, yet meaningful integration remains uneven. Adoption often moves faster than structure — driven by pilots, isolated use cases, or vendor features rather than a defined maturity baseline. Without clarity on where you stand, scale introduces inconsistency instead of value.

The CFO’s AI Roadmap offers a staged framework that forces clarity before scale — aligning strategy, governance, and measurable impact before automation expands beyond defined control.

Inside the guide:

• Assess your organisation’s AI maturity
• Define strategy intent and measurable objectives
• Evaluate data readiness and governance requirements
• Prioritise finance use cases with measurable ROI
• Progress toward autonomous finance deliberately and responsibly

Download the guide 

By Harikrishna Kundariya, Co-Founder and Director of eSparkBiz

Most AI initiatives in FP&A begin with energy and end with ambiguity. Pilots are launched, dashboards improve, automation increases — yet measurable impact remains unclear. The missing piece is rarely technology, but a disciplined alignment between use cases, governance and financial outcomes.

Read this article to understand what separates AI theatre from measurable financial return.

By Waqas Choudhry, Head of Business Finance & Digital Strategy at Jøtul AS

As AI absorbs more execution, human contribution becomes more exposed. When systems generate insights, draft narratives and trigger actions, the expectation shifts upward — towards judgment, escalation and even ethical oversight. The role does not shrink; it sharpens.

Read this article to see what FP&A leadership looks like when AI handles execution.

By Ashok Manthena, Founder of ChatFin

AI adoption has accelerated, but clarity has not. Every platform claims intelligence. Every workflow promises automation. In that environment, progress becomes difficult to distinguish from distraction. Without a defined framework, activity can masquerade as advancement.

Read this article to reflect on how FP&A leaders cut through noise and focus on durable capability.

Every year, FP&A leaders are expected to respond to new demands — often without clarity on how peers are truly operating.

The 2026 FP&A Trends Survey is designed to close that gap by turning individual experience into shared, evidence-based insight. We invite you to contribute your personal perspective and help shape a realistic picture of how FP&A is evolving across organisations, beyond theory, marketing narratives, and isolated case studies.

The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete. Your perspective helps shape the benchmark others rely on.

Start the survey 

FP&A Trends digital events are vendor-agnostic and complimentary. If you are not able to join the live session, you can register to receive the recording later.

March 18, 2026

As AI becomes part of everyday FP&A work, the centre of gravity shifts towards interpretation, judgement and structured dialogue with the business.

Register for this webinar to learn how AI-enabled insights strengthen business partnering when paired with clear communication. The session focuses on how FP&A professionals translate advanced analytics into narratives that support trust, understanding and better decisions.

March 31, 2026

As FP&A moves towards more integrated planning and decision-making, many organisations discover that alignment breaks down at the analytical level. Models don’t connect, assumptions drift, and insights lose consistency across the business.

Register for this webinar to learn how a strong analytical backbone enables integrated FP&A in practice. The session explores how shared data, consistent logic, and aligned analytics help finance teams support clearer conversations and more coordinated decisions.

April 22, 2026

Many integrated FP&A initiatives stall not because of technology, but because organisational alignment remains unclear. Systems may be connected, yet roles, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration are not fully aligned.

Join this webinar to explore how people, processes, and decision ownership determine whether integrated FP&A delivers real impact in practice — not just technical integration.

Please refer to our Privacy Policy regarding the usage of your data by FP&A Trends. Contact us at privacy@fpa-trends.com if you have any questions or concerns.

All referenced trademarks are the property of their respective owners.