CFOs can use AI Agents like their 24/7 partner
The first real-time computer autopilot and new AI roles in finance.
You log in at 9AM. The report’s already done.
Not by your team. Not by your software vendor.
By an AI agent you didn’t even name.
It read the ERP. Pulled the numbers. Built the board slides. It found the anomaly in deferred revenue. Drafted a note for the CEO. Even highlighted the follow-up questions.
And it did it all while you were sleeping.
Welcome to the new reality.
The First Real-Time Computer Autopilot
A few months ago, we were talking about copilots. Now, we’re looking at autonomous operators who use your tools just like a junior analyst would, only faster, cheaper, and more accurate.
This week, a new open-source agent called ACE made waves across the AI and developer community. Created by Sherjil Ozair, ACE is the first real-time computer autopilot.
Ace performs tasks for you. On your computer.
Using your mouse and keyboard. At superhuman speeds!
Ace can use all the tools on your computer.
It’s faster than Operator. It runs on local GPUs. And it integrates with any tool that a human could use, no APIs required.
This isn’t theory. In one demo, ACE handled web navigation, file edits, and automated workflows that normally require junior analysts.
What took your team 3 hours? This did in 30 seconds.
And it’s just the beginning.
The Intelligence Explosion Is Closer Than You Think
AI isn’t getting smarter. It’s getting agentic.
That means it doesn’t wait for prompts. It takes initiative. It doesn’t need context. It learns from your systems. It doesn’t just assist you. It replaces workflows.
This is the shift no one’s ready for.
Illustration from Waitbutwhy/Tim Urban
Most scientists now believe we’ll hit Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by the 2030s. But AGI isn’t the destination. It’s the gateway to something far more extreme: recursive self-improvement.
Here’s what this means
An AI system reaches a basic human-level IQ. It improves itself. It gets better at improving itself. Now it’s 10x smarter. Then 100x. Then 10,000x. At each step, the upgrades happen faster.
This is the Intelligence Explosion.
A runaway chain reaction where AI growth goes vertical. From toddler-level understanding to Einstein to a superintelligence we can’t begin to comprehend.
After reaching AGI, it may take just 90 minutes to leap to ASI—artificial superintelligence.
That’s not sci-fi. That’s a real scenario forecasted by leading researchers.
An ASI with that much power could:
Rewrite the laws of physics.
Reverse aging or end life entirely.
Control atomic structures in real time.
If our IQs range from 80 to 130, what happens when the intelligence scale stretches to 12,000? What’s our role in that world?
There are maybe a few hundred people who understand what’s coming. And you’re probably one of them.
So what does this mean for CFOs?
You don’t need to panic. But you do need to prepare.
Because your finance systems, your team structure, and your workflows, they’re all built for a world that might not exist in 10 years.
And it won’t be a gradual shift. It can feel instant.
The CFOs who take this seriously today will have leverage when the paradigm shifts. The ones who wait will be watching their dashboards go dark while agents build the future without them.
Generic Agents vs. Finance-Specific Agents
This is the strategic question every CFO needs to ask now:
Do we build AI agents for every function. FP&A, controllership, AR/AP, treasury
Or do we deploy generalist agents that learn how to use the tools our teams already use?
Generic Agents (like ACE or CrewAI) replicate the workflows of human analysts by interacting directly with software via screen, keyboard, and mouse. No API needed. No custom integration.
AI agents are being used across all sectors.
Finance-Specific Agents (like those being embedded in Ramp, Payhawk, Anaplan Copilot, and AirOps) are purpose-built for domain logic.
You don't need to choose. Build both capabilities into your stack.
AI Roles
If execution is autonomous, structure must change.
Let me give you a wild example
A CFO sets a target to move 40% of forecasting, scenario modeling, and actuals analysis to agents in Q3.
The Head of Agent Ops works with Strategic Finance to train an FP&A agent on historicals and business logic. The Data Governance lead ensures CRM and ERP data is structured. The Risk Lead runs a shadow audit during the first 2 quarters of live agent output.
In this model, you don’t hire more analysts. You hire AI supervisors.
The future org chart might look like
Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Owns financial strategy, cross-functional influence, and oversees human + AI performance.
Head of Agent Operations: Manages the design, deployment, and debugging of agent workflows. Ensures agents deliver quality, not chaos.
Director of Strategic Finance: Interprets outputs, validates assumptions, and turns agent insight into business action.
Director of Data Governance: Owns the integrity of the data agents rely on, cleansing, labeling, and syncing across systems.
AI Risk & Compliance Lead: Audits agent behavior, explains model decisions, and ensures alignment with controls and regulations.
That’s it.
No layers of manual work. No headcount bloat. Just high-leverage thinkers managing AI workflows.
The value shifts from doing to directing.
The Bottom Line
Are agents coming after our jobs?
Not yet. But they’re coming after your work.
The CFOs who survive won’t be the ones who resist. They’ll be the ones who redesign their teams. Reimagine their tools. And reinvent their roles.
This isn’t a software update. It’s a workforce revolution.
And here’s the thing: There is no crack team coming to figure this out for us. No hidden council of experts that will build the “right” path for finance.
Just us.
A few hundred CFOs and operators quietly realizing how real this is. Realizing the next 3 years won’t just shape their teams, they’ll reshape industries.
If it all still feels abstract, that’s okay. But look closer: the playbooks are being written. The agents are improving weekly. The shift is visceral now.
You can see it, test it, and deploy it.
And if we don’t take control of the transformation? Someone else will.
You don’t need to master agents. You need to lead them.
Want to use ACE, the first real-time computer autopilot? It’s here
And that’s all for today.
See you on Thursday!
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I’m Wouter Born. A CFOTech investor, advisor, and entrepreneur.
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