How to use AI to get out of Excel Hell

I spoke to a CFO of a $300 million company who said, Every financial metric is bullshit.

I spoke to a CFO of a $300 million company who said, Every financial metric is bullshit. And EBITDA is also bullshit. My first thought... Really?

He then said, If you only look at EBITDA.

This CFO doesn’t hate EBITDA. He says people just use it wrong.

No single number tells the whole story.

Don't just look at one metric. Look at everything together.

He uses EBITDA as a starting point to break down the business:

1. Breaks down the business

He doesn't just check the total company EBITDA. He uses EBITDA for all specific profits from each part of the business or sales area. This means he sees the direct money made and spent by each piece of the business.

2. Asks better questions

This detailed view changes everything. He asks direct, action-focused questions:

• Is our main office (back office) costing too much compared to what each sales area brings in?

• Do specific sales areas need to sell more, make more profit, or cut their own direct costs?

3. Drives real action

By focusing on sales areas, locations, and other key parts, he moves beyond just reporting. This approach helps him find problems, pushing for real fixes. He tells the full, complex business story, not just one number.

EBITDA isn't bullshit when it shows how well each part of the business performs and makes money. It's a tool that breaks down big ideas, points to growth, and helps make smarter calls.

Real money insight comes from:

• Connecting the dots.

• Seeing the full picture.

• Using every number as a piece of a bigger puzzle.

Metrics are just signals. On their own, they’re meaningless.

But layer them, compare them, and pressure-test your assumptions.

Now you’re doing real finance.

If you obsess over one number, you’re missing the story.

So everything is bullshit unless you see the full picture.

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How to use AI to get out of Excel Hell

Let’s get tactical.

Here’s exactly how AI pulls finance out of hell:

Note: The paid section is for those ready to go deeper.

1. Automated Data Intake

Old way:

• Export raw dumps from ERP/CRM.

• Clean them by hand.

• Hope the formats match your monster Excel template.

AI way:

• AI connects directly to systems.

• Cleans, maps, and categorizes data on import.

• Builds one “source of truth” table you can trust.

Result:

No more error-prone copy-paste marathons.

You’re ready to work in minutes, not days.

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2. Instant Structuring & Slicing

Old way:

• Build dozens of supporting tables and pivots to see sales by channel, region, or product.

• Redo them every time something changes.

AI way:

• Tell the system, “Show me EBITDA by channel, by month, by location.”

• Instantly slices and visualizes, no manual formulas.

Result:

Deep analysis on demand. No more getting lost in the weeds.

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3. One-Click Board Packs

Old way:

• Update 40+ slides by hand.

• Change every chart and bridge manually.

• Rewrite every comment.

AI way:

• Hit refresh.

• All visuals, tables, and commentary update automatically with the latest data.

Result:

Three days of prep become thirty minutes.

You use your brain for analysis, not for copy-paste.

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4. Narrative & Anomaly Detection

Old way:

• Spend hours explaining why revenue missed target or expenses spiked.

• Hunt through thousands of cells for answers.

AI way:

• AI scans for outliers, variances, and trends.

• Flags the biggest issues and drafts explanations for you.

Result:

You spot issues instantly and have a story to tell, not just a spreadsheet to defend.

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5. Eliminate Single-Point Failure

Old way:

• The whole process depends on one or two “spreadsheet whisperers.”

• If they leave, reporting halts for weeks.

AI way:

• Knowledge, rules, and structure are baked into the system.

• Anyone can update, refresh, and drill down.

Result:

Your finance process is resilient and scalable.

Remember

The root cause is never Excel.

It’s a mindset:

• This is how we’ve always done it.

• Excel is flexible.

• We don’t have time to change.

But here’s the risk:

Every month you spend stuck in Excel is another month you lose strategic leverage, time with your CEO, insight into the business, and the chance to move first.

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The Bottom Line

You know the signs:

• Fifty open Excel files.

• Dozens of tabs, each with its own broken formula.

• Three days to prep a board pack you barely trust.

• Only one person can fix the model, and if they quit, you’re screwed.

This is Excel hell.

And if you’re honest, it’s where most finance teams still live.

But you can break out of this permanently.

Ask any CFO or FP&A lead where their week goes:

• Gathering dumps.

• Reconciling numbers.

• Copy-pasting charts.

• Fixing links, finding errors, chasing version control.

You think you’re analyzing, but you’re mostly cleaning up yesterday’s mess.

What’s worse?

Your reporting chain depends on tribal knowledge.

If your Excel wizard takes a holiday, the whole system breaks.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

And that’s all for today.

See you on Sunday!

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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Promote your business to 21,000+ engaged CFOs and senior finance leaders by sponsoring this newsletter.

2. If you’re building an AI-powered CFO tech startup, I’d love to hear more and explore if it’s a fit for our investment portfolio.

I’m Wouter Born. A CFOTech investor, advisor, and founder of finstory.ai

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