From Finance 2035 to Forward Finance: Turning Opportunity Into Action

Over the last few years, I’ve had countless conversations with chief financial officers (CFOs) and finance leaders across industries, geographies, and stages of transformation.

Some were navigating volatility. Others were grappling with artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, data trust, or rising expectations from boards and chief executive officers (CEOs).

What united nearly all of them was a shared realization: The role of finance is expanding beyond its traditional boundaries.

Today, finance leaders are being asked to move faster, guide decisions in real time, and play a more direct role in how the business operates. Yet many are doing so with structures, teams, and operating models built for a different era. The challenge isn’t ambition. Instead, it’s how to meet these expectations while maintaining control, accuracy, and accountability.

What stood out in those conversations was that the shift is already underway. Finance is evolving from a steward of past performance into a strategic integrator, connecting data, operations, and insight to help the business move forward with confidence.

That shift became the starting point for our work on the Finance 2035 initiative in conjunction with finance leaders, academia, and public policy wonks.

Finance 2035 was never intended as a prediction exercise. Instead, we aimed to spark a dialogue to better understand where finance’s role is heading and what leaders will need to succeed in coming years. The discussions it sparked helped articulate the scale of the opportunity in front of finance leaders. But as the dialogue continued, we quickly realized that defining the future was only the first step.

A more practical question kept surfacing:

How do finance leaders make this shift real?

AI Adoption Rising While Confidence Is Lagging

That question has only become more urgent with the rise of AI.

In our ongoing research, we took a closer look at how finance leaders are approaching AI adoption and readiness. The findings were encouraging, but also revealing. While 75% of CFOs reported leading their organizations’ AI strategies, far fewer had deployed AI at scale or felt confident measuring its impact.

The ambition is there. The experimentation is there. But a confidence gap remains.

When we root-caused the situation, one insight stood out: Finance AI literacy must improve. Not just at a technical level, but also in practical terms. Teams are looking for clarity. They want to know where AI fits. They want to know how it should be governed. They want to know how human judgment remains central. They especially want to know how outcomes should be measured in a way the business trusts.

That realization led directly to our next step: the launch of the Finance AI Academy, a series of instructional videos. By design, these videos help finance professionals not only build AI confidence and skills, but also move beyond AI pilots to practical applications.

Yet even as these efforts took shape, one message from customers and partners remained consistent:

“We understand the pieces. But we need a blueprint.”

Why Forward Finance Was Created

Finance leaders aren’t asking for more theory. They’re asking for practical guidance.

They want a step-by-step guide on how finance must operate differently. They want a shared language to align finance and IT. They especially want a foundation to navigate AI, data, and organizational change.

Across conversations spanning industries, geographies, and operating models, the same patterns emerged. The most forward-thinking finance teams are strengthening a common set of capabilities, even if each team describes them differently.

Those patterns became the foundation for Forward Finance.

The Five Dimensions of Forward Finance

Forward Finance represents a practical operating manual for how finance will take on a more strategic, operational remit. And where finance operations are built around AI.

Where Finance 2035 defined the opportunity, Forward Finance focuses on execution. Forward Finance is an operating model grounded in how leading teams are working today, shaped by practice rather than theory.

Across our research and ongoing dialogue, five core dimensions consistently surfaced:

Data Steward
Forward Finance teams prioritize transparency over perfection. Numbers must be traceable, explainable, and auditable, ensuring decisions can move forward with confidence.

AI Strategist
Rather than broad experimentation, finance applies AI with intent, focusing on high-value workflows, strong governance, and measurable enterprise return on investment (ROI).

Chief Operator
Finance moves beyond periodic reporting into the flow of daily decision-making, informing choices on pricing, supply chain, investment, and workforce in real time.

IT Collaborator
Finance and IT operate as true partners, sharing ownership of data, platforms, and AI strategy to build secure, scalable foundations.

Workforce Architect
Forward Finance leaders invest as much in people as in technology, evolving roles, expanding skills, and designing teams that combine human judgment with AI-enabled capability.

These dimensions aren’t job titles. Instead, the dimensions reflect how finance operates at its best. No organization masters them all at once. Progress comes from strengthening them together.

From Blueprint to Answers

With the dimensions defined, the next step was making them actionable.

The Forward Finance Blueprint provides a practical foundation for organizations ready to accelerate their AI journey and elevate the finance function. The blueprint helps leaders address critical questions:

• How do we build confidence in our data without waiting for perfection?
• Where should AI be applied first to deliver measurable value?
• What does responsible operational influence from finance look like?
• How should finance and IT share ownership of data and AI?
• How do we prepare teams for an AI-enabled future while strengthening human judgment?

Finance leaders are tackling these questions every day. By bringing structure to those conversations, the blueprint helps teams move forward with clarity.

Designing the Future of Finance Together

Forward Finance wasn’t developed in isolation. Instead, it’s been shaped through ongoing dialogue with finance leaders, business consultants, and industry experts actively navigating this transformation.

None of us are on the sidelines.

If Finance 2035 was about understanding what’s possible, Forward Finance is about making it real. It’s about operating with confidence, clarity, and impact in a world that continues to accelerate.

The future of finance isn’t something to prepare for. It’s something to build. And the leaders who move now won’t just keep pace with change, they’ll decide what it looks like.