In this conversation, Alex shares a stat from Aptitude's own research: 87% of CFOs say AI will be important to their finance operations this year. Less than 10% can point to any measurable return. She explains why, and the answer is not about AI itself. It is about what sits underneath it. Batched data. Summarized records. Systems that were never designed to support real-time anything.
We talk about why legacy ERPs cannot be retrofitted for the AI era, the difference between AI-native and AI-enabled finance systems, and why putting AI on top of old architecture just makes the mess bigger, faster, and more expensive. Alex also breaks down the three conversations every CFO needs to have with their CEO, what a zero-day close actually requires, and where agentic AI is heading inside the finance function.
If you are a CFO evaluating your next technology decision, a finance leader trying to figure out where AI fits, or a CEO wondering why your finance team still cannot answer questions in real time, this episode will reframe how you think about the problem.
Connect with Alex Curran: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-curran-9aa593b/
Today's episode is sponsored by Finipes, an AI-native finance ERP.
Learn more at [FineApps.com.app]
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🎬 Video chapters:
00:00 AI in Finance: The Gap Between Expectations and ROI
02:07 Introducing Alex Curran and the CFO’s Changing Role
04:27 Alex’s Career Journey at Aptitude Software
06:55 Building Aptitude’s North American Business
10:13 How the CFO Role Is Changing in the AI Era
12:59 What CEOs Now Expect From Their CFOs
14:58 The Biggest Misalignment Between CEOs and CFOs
16:53 Is a Zero-Day Financial Close Possible?
19:12 Navigating Finance ERP Transformation
21:29 Why CFOs Should Rethink Legacy Technology
23:32 What Is an ERP and Why Does It Matter?
25:08 Why Legacy ERPs Struggle With AI
26:37 What AI-Native Finance Systems Can Do
29:21 How AI Is Changing the CFO-CEO Partnership
29:38 Sponsor Message: FineApps
30:25 Why AI Adoption Isn’t Delivering Measurable ROI
32:42 Three Things CFOs Need for AI Success
35:12 The Biggest Technology Challenge Facing CFOs
36:31 Where CFOs Should Start With AI
37:08 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Finance Technology Vendor
39:18 Making AI Reliable and Auditable in Finance
41:50 What Should AI Agents Be Allowed to Do?
43:17 The Future of Autonomous Finance
45:19 What’s Exciting About the Future of Finance?
47:55 Alex Curran’s Life Outside Work
49:23 Closing Remarks and Where to Find Alex
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