Veteran CFO tips for budget management in the AI era

As companies pour significant capital into artificial intelligence (AI), the gap between expectations and measurable returns is becoming increasingly difficult for finance leaders to manage.

While some AI investments are producing clear wins, many outcomes remain uncertain, leaving chief financial officers (CFOs) to balance optimism with financial discipline in rapidly shifting conditions.

Amy Butte, who has served as CFO four times including at the New York Stock Exchange and more recently at Navan, said the role has always been demanding but is now facing “unique” pressures driven by fast-moving AI adoption and evolving business metrics.

“CFOs are always tasked with translating numbers into behavior,” Butte said in an interview.

“But today we’re dealing with rapid change, new AI adoption and new metrics. That requires openness to experimentation, even though CFOs are not traditionally seen as risk-takers.”

She emphasised that finance leaders do not need to abandon traditional frameworks but must adapt them for the AI era.

Butte outlined three key priorities: clearly defining success metrics aligned with investor expectations, establishing reliable performance indicators to measure AI impact, and ensuring finance teams do not obstruct innovation.

“Finance leaders shouldn’t stay on the sidelines,” she said, adding that measured risk-taking is increasingly necessary as technology reshapes business models.

Butte also noted that companies often misjudge progress by over-relying on narrow metrics, drawing an analogy to tracking steps while ignoring diet when trying to improve health.

“Declaring something is one thing,” she said. “Measuring it accurately across multiple dimensions is essential.”

She warned that overly simplistic tracking systems can create a false sense of progress, noting that strong measurement discipline is now a core responsibility for CFOs navigating AI-driven transformation.