Implementing advanced AI technologies in finance

Sponsored In partnership withOracle NetSuite In finance departments that have long been defined by precision and control, AI has arrived less as a neatly managed upgrade than as a quiet insurgency. Employees are already using it while leadership races to impose structure, governance, and strategy after the fact. The result is a paradox: one of the most tightly regulated functions in the enterprise is now among the most experimentally transformed. REGISTER TO WATCH What’s emerging is a layered shift in how work gets done. From variance commentary and fraud detection to contract review and close narrative drafting, AI is embedding itself across workflows, particularly where unstructured data once slowed down everything. Yet, as Glenn Hopper, head of AI and managing director at VAi Consulting, puts it, “the proliferation of AI happened kind of before governance and before a real plan came about.” That bottom-up adoption is forcing a recalibration at the top, where executives must now reconcile productivity gains with oversight, risk, and accountability. Just as critical is reframing AI’s role. “AI as a means to an end, as opposed to AI being the end,” says Ranga Bodla, VP of industry and field marketing at Oracle NetSuite, underscores a growing consensus: the technology is most effective when it disappears into existing processes rather than outright replaces them. Embedded systems, seamless integrations, and tools like model context protocol (MCP) are accelerating this shift, making AI an ambient capability. Notably, ease of integration, not cost savings or new features, has become the strongest driver of adoption. Still, the real constraint may be neither data nor technology, but people. “Talent is the actual root cause,” Hopper argues, pointing to a widening gap between domain expertise and AI fluency. Even as concerns about data security and model opacity persist, the more pressing risk may be misunderstanding the tools altogether or restricting them so tightly that employees look for workarounds beyond leadership control. “The auditability of it, I think, is critical,” Bodla notes.  Looking ahead, the trajectory is clear but variable. AI agents capable of executing complex, multi-step tasks are beginning to materialize, while expanding context windows and interoperable systems promise deeper, more persistent intelligence. But the real transformation may be a gradual shift toward systems that bolster judgement, automate routines, and allow finance teams to spend less time reconciling the past and more time shaping what comes next.  This webcast is produced in partnership with Oracle NetSuite. Register to watch the webcast. This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. This includes the writing of surveys and collection of data for surveys. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review. Deep Dive Artificial intelligence OpenAI is throwing everything into building a fully automated researcher An exclusive conversation with OpenAI’s chief scientist, Jakub Pachocki, about his firm's new grand challenge and the future of AI. By Will Douglas Heavenarchive page Want to understand the current state of AI? Check out these charts. According to Stanford’s 2026 AI Index, AI is sprinting, and we’re struggling to keep up. By Michelle Kimarchive page Musk v. Altman week 1: Elon Musk says he was duped, warns AI could kill us all, and admits that xAI distills OpenAI’s models Musk kept his cool, and OpenAI’s lawyer bulldozed him with piercing questions about his motivations for suing the company. By Michelle Kimarchive page 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now MIT Technology Review's authoritative overview of the 10 technologies, emerging trends, bold ideas, and powerful movements in AI in 2026. By Amy Nordrumarchive page Stay connected Illustration by Rose Wong Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more. Enter your email Privacy Policy Thank you for submitting your email! Explore more newsletters It looks like something went wrong. We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.