A veteran CFO's advice for managing budgets in the AI era

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Is being a CFO in the AI era one of the toughest jobs going?

With CEOs plowing big money into AI, it sometimes feels like that. We're starting to see success stories, but tangible results aren't yet guaranteed.

And for CFOs holding the purse strings, it's like standing between a hungry dog and dinner.

I decided to ask someone who's worn those shoes. Amy Butte is a four-time CFO, including at NYSE and, most recently, Navan. She said the CFO role has always been tough, but there are some "unique" challenges this time around.

"It's always incumbent on a CFO to measure outcomes or measure impact and to translate the language of numbers into behavior or behavior into the language of numbers. But I think today we're dealing with rapid transformation, new usage of AI, new things to measure," Butte told me. "And so a CFO has to be willing to try new things — and let's remember, CFOs are not always risk takers."

That doesn't mean CFOs need to reinvent the wheel. Butte said "old-school approaches" can work in this new environment. We talked through three key things for CFOs to be thinking about.

Define success: Figure out what your investors are looking for to measure your growth. (Honestly, if you don't know that, you might have bigger problems.) Maybe it's revenue. Maybe it's pretax earnings. Maybe it's return on equity. Whatever the case, Butte said to make sure your AI bets are working toward that.

Behind-the-scenes metrics: Now you can identify the key performance indicators that help you reach your ultimate goal (see above). Figure out a way to measure them. It could be comparing customer support interactions between AI and humans, or the percentage of code delivered successfully within a given timeframe.

Don't be the one to stop innovation: "This is not the time for finance leaders to sit on the sidelines," Butte said. "It's important to take risks. It's important to try new things in an environment where change really can move the needle."

None of this is set in stone. The measurements and definition of success can change, Butte said. Everyone just needs to be on board with the adjustments and make sure they're working together.

She gave the example of someone who wants to get fit and lose weight. They might decide to track their steps, but they don't consider their diet, which might be derailing their plans. The result is a false sense of progress.

That applies in the business world, where some companies are pushing hard for measurement tools like leaderboards and tokenmaxxing that don't ultimately lead to their bigger goals.

"Just saying it is one thing. Measuring it — and measuring it with the right things, and sometimes it's multiple things — is critical. And to me, that's the responsibility of a CFO," Butte said. "Tokenmaxxing isn't going to solve for a bad product."