It hardly needs to be said that AI will radically change the way we work. In the past board meeting cycle, it was a topic that was hard to ignore. Now is a great time for finance leaders to get to know AI proactively in order to effectively guide their organizations through the coming change.
Luckily, there’s a very simple way to start getting familiar with AI: chat with it.
AI assistants have exploded in the past few months, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT making a major splash in late 2022. Spending some time with an AI assistant can not only help you understand the current strengths and limitations of AI technology, but it can actually help you do your job more efficiently today.
We asked the AI assistants of two leading LLM providers—OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude—a few questions to explore some easy ways for finance leaders to leverage AI today.
Where AI assistants excel today
Writing and outlining
AI assistants are great at helping break down complex topics and suggesting ways to present information clearly. Try asking for help outlining written documents, slide decks, or presentations.
Prompt: I’m putting together a board deck for my investors. What are the important financial metrics I should show as a growth stage company?
Giving advice
Sometimes a fresh perspective can help with problem-solving, especially when the situation is stressful. AI assistants have access to a wide range of example solutions to various problems, and just might help jog a suitable approach to resolving yours.
Prompt: I’m having trouble with a few people at work. The sales team keeps wanting more headcount, and since I’m the finance leader, they are always coming to me for more budget. I can’t give them more budget until the business starts showing results. Meetings are getting tense and adversarial. What should I do?
Simple calculations
AI assistants are great at performing simple calculations, and their memory of previous questions makes them more than just a glorified calculator. Try working through a multi-step problem or running through different potential scenarios.
Prompt: If I sold $78,000 worth of software in Texas and the sales tax rate is 8.25%, what is the sales tax that I need to collect from the customer?
Prompt: What if only 70% of those sales were taxable?
