Annual planning is back, and the pressure is squarely on Finance to deliver so the rest of the business can move forward.
Finance leaders are being asked to move faster, work leaner and deliver more strategic value, all while talent shortages intensify. The numbers are hard to ignore: a gap of 3.5 million finance professionals, 75% of CPAs retiring by 2040, fewer students studying accounting, and 80% of companies are unable to hire required talent. This is more than a staffing issue. It is a direct threat to the function’s ability to operate and evolve.
This planning season presents a critical opportunity to rethink how work gets done. CFOs can either push through with outdated tools and overworked teams or use this moment to lead change.
AI offers a clear path forward. It automates manual tasks, improves accuracy and gives teams the time and space to focus on strategic work. It does not replace people. It empowers them to do their best work, faster and more effectively.
CFOs who act now can turn annual planning from a resource drain into a catalyst for transformation. They can ease the burden on Finance, lead smarter planning across the business and build a future-ready team that top talent wants to be part of.
AI is helping CFOs achieve more this planning season
AI offers a proven—yes, proven—solution to the pressure of annual planning, and leading CFOs are already seeing results. This is not theoretical. AI-assisted planning is happening today inside modern finance teams, improving speed, accuracy and cross-functional alignment.
Below are five ways AI is helping CFOs transform planning and lay the foundation for broader business impact:
1. Automate the repetitive and accelerate the strategic
AI and automation are streamlining the repetitive and time-consuming work that bogs down planning cycles. Tasks such as data collection, error detection, task routing and report generation can now be executed with far less human effort. The result is a faster, more accurate planning process that frees up resources for higher-impact activities.
The result? Accelerated timelines, reduced errors and more space for more strategic contributions.
2. Elevate finance from execution to influence
By removing operational bottlenecks, AI allows finance professionals to shift their time toward analysis, strategic planning and business partnership. This not only enhances productivity but also improves job satisfaction and ultimately, employee retention.
MIT research supports this shift, noting that AI is unlikely to surpass humans in areas like leadership, empathy and complex judgment… exactly the areas where your finance talent should be spending more of their time.
3. See how your peers are winning with AI
More than half of global finance teams already use AI-assisted FP&A tools, according to Planful’s 2025 Global Finance Survey, and the results are clear. Finance leaders at Rocket Software use AI to eliminate hours of manual effort from the budgeting process. At specialty ingredients producer Aurorium, AI-driven tools have improved forecast accuracy and given FP&A greater confidence when offering guidance and making decisions. That confidence helps build trust with business partners and deepens collaboration across teams.
Among finance leaders who have adopted AI, the impact is measurable. 59% reported greater forecasting precision, 52% saw increased data transparency and 57% gained more time for strategic work. These results make one thing clear: AI isn’t a future bet, it’s a competitive edge today.
4. Scale smarter and win the war for finance talent
AI is not just changing the way teams do their annual planning, it’s helping finance leaders tackle one of their toughest challenges: the talent crisis. With fewer professionals entering the field and more pressure on lean teams, CFOs need to get more done with what they have. AI makes that possible.
Teams are speeding up the monthly close, cutting ad hoc reporting from hours to minutes and planning more often with less effort. For lean finance organizations this means scaling impact and accelerating cycles without expanding headcount, a critical advantage in a constrained talent market.
“AI-powered tools help us have a meaningful dialogue with the business, know where to ask questions, or see where someone accidentally added an extra zero. Best of all, we can do that at scale, without adding finance resources,” says Luis Martinez, Sr. Manager, FP&A at Rocket Software.
5. Lead the next phase of enterprise transformation
Annual planning provides a highly visible opportunity for finance leaders to model the potential of AI for the broader business. As CFOs take on expanded responsibility for AI strategy, planning becomes a practical test case.
From there, finance should help lead organizational change by aligning AI investments with business objectives, partnering with HR on workforce upskilling, establishing governance and compliance frameworks and fostering a culture of experimentation and innovation. In doing so, CFOs are not just solving for planning inefficiencies; they set the standard for AI leadership across the business.
Lead the shift to smarter, faster finance
Annual planning is your moment to lead change and gain ground in the war for finance talent. Use it to act now, not months from now.
AI is essential. It automates manual work, improves accuracy and gives your team the time and space to focus on strategic impact. Start by turning planning from a burden into a business advantage and then extend those gains. Use AI to accelerate close, sharpen forecasting, streamline reporting and drive better decisions across the business.
Most importantly, equip your team to lead. When you remove inefficiencies and elevate their work, you build a finance function where top talent wants to join and stay.
Winning the war for talent starts with creating the kind of work modern finance professionals want to do. It starts with planning. And it starts with you.
