AI is here, and while it’s transforming tools and processes, it’s also raising an important question for finance leaders:
Is your team ready for what’s coming next?
Building an AI-ready finance team doesn’t mean replacing your people with robots. It means evolving your workforce to thrive alongside smarter systems.
The Three Pillars of an AI-Ready Finance Team
Digital Confidence
Your team doesn’t need to be made up of data scientists - but they do need to feel comfortable using modern tools, interpreting AI-generated reports, and engaging with new technologies. Digital confidence helps speed up adoption and avoids resistance to change.Human-Centric Skills
As automation takes over transactional tasks, finance professionals will be valued for the skills AI can’t replicate: critical thinking, stakeholder management, storytelling with data and sound commercial judgement.Forward-Looking Leadership
Future-ready teams need leaders who aren’t just digitally literate, but digitally curious. Leaders who champion innovation, empower their teams to experiment, and see AI as a tool for growth rather than a threat to tradition.
Where to Start
Audit your existing skill base
Take stock of where your team sits in terms of digital capability, adaptability and strategic thinking. Who’s already leading the way - and who needs support?
Update your hiring criteria
Focus on mindset as much as skillset. Prioritise candidates who are agile, curious, commercially aware and open to change - even if they’re not from a traditional finance background.
Invest in upskilling
Support your current team with access to training, CPD, and practical exposure to new tools like automation software, analytics platforms and AI-enhanced dashboards.
Rethink structure
Do you need to introduce hybrid roles - like finance business partners with data analytics skills - or consider how finance interacts with IT and operations more closely?
Final Thoughts
The most successful finance teams in the age of AI won’t be the ones with the flashiest tech - they’ll be the ones with the most adaptable people.
Change is coming fast. But by making strategic moves now, you can futureproof your team and stay ahead of the curve.
Need support building your AI-ready finance team? Our Accountancy & Finance specialists are here to help.