iscover CFOs becoming a ‘proving ground’ for balancing innovation with regulatory oversight
TechnologyLast week’s AI Appreciation Day was an opportunity to recognise that the value of AI in finance is not measured by speed alone, but in having transparency and trust behind every outcome, one expert says.
According to BlackLine director of solution advisory, Mike Goldsworthy, AI is opening up new possibilities for finance but, as adoption grows, trust must grow with it.
Such technologies are advancing faster than the controls around it, he said, and in finance, that gap carries real risk. As ASIC sharpens its focus on AI governance, the conversation is moving from adoption to accountability: “Rising transaction volumes, tighter compliance obligations and more complex reporting requirements across ANZ mean the next phase of finance transformation will be led by organisations that can make AI traceable, explainable and auditable – moving from opaque ‘black box’ systems to a ‘glass box’ approach,” he said.
In comments made on 16 July, on which AI Appreciation Day was marked, Goldsworthy said it is worth recognising that the value of AI in finance “will not be measured by speed alone, but also the transparency and trust behind every outcome”.
“Agentic Financial Operations represents this next step: glass box AI embedded within governed financial workflows, supported by human oversight and the controls needed to help finance teams scale with confidence and meet regulatory expectations,” he said.
In conversation with Accountants Daily and Accounting Times, Goldsworthy said that as businesses get the new financial year into full swing, chief financial officers need to “prioritise trust before scale”, and treat AI as an operating model transformation, not just as a technology investment.
“Those that rush to adopt disconnected, generic AI tools may create new layers of complexity and risk rather than solving existing challenges,” he said.
“With 74 per cent of organisations planning to deploy agentic AI within two years, yet only 21 per cent having a mature governance model in place, CFOs need to reconcile AI ambition with the governance, controls and accountability required to scale it effectively.”
When asked about the shift from ‘black box’ to ‘glass box’ AI, and what practical steps must be taken by CFOs, Goldsworthy said that if finance teams cannot explain how an AI output was produced, they cannot validate it against accounting standards or defend it under audit. “That's the difference,” he said.
“Over the next 12 months, CFOs should begin by identifying where AI is already influencing financial workflow. They should then establish minimum requirements for any AI capability operating within finance, including explainability of outputs, visibility into source data, clear audit trails and defined human approval points.”
Further, with ASIC placing greater emphasis on AI governance, finance leaders must become the de facto steward of responsible AI adoption within the business.
“As organisations move towards hybrid workforces made up of finance professionals and digital agents, CFOs will play a central role in defining where human judgement is required, how AI decisions are validated and what controls are needed to maintain confidence in outcomes,” he said.
“Boards that have spent years asking finance to prove a number is right, not just assert it, are now being asked to do the same for AI. The Office of the CFO is becoming a proving ground for how organisations balance innovation with regulatory oversight.”
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Accountants Daily a preferred news source on Google.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Momentum Media’s professional services suite, encompassing Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times. He has worked as a journalist and podcast host at Momentum Media since February 2018. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.