At the recent finance leadership panel hosted by Light at Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s Amsterdam office, CFOs and investors explored “How AI Flipped the Script of Financial Reporting.” The discussion was lively and eye-opening: can AI finally deliver the holy grail of real-time financial reporting, and do we even want it if it could?

The event started with a demo of Lights soon-to-be-released text-to-chart function:

Real-time reporting – boon or bane? Panelists were divided on whether instant “close-free” reporting is desirable. “In general I’d be in favor, but I hesitate…you need to make sure the data is actually correct,” noted Werner Huijboom (founder Soigné ), emphasizing that finance teams won’t embrace real-time data without trust in its accuracy. The group agreed that speed means nothing without reliability. Uvashni Raman (CFO, Booking.com) stressed that real-time only works if built on a solid infrastructure and controls:

"I’m all for giving the right information to the right people as quick as possible…There have to be checks and balances in place…so you’re confident the information you’re getting is right"

In other words, faster reporting is great – but not at the expense of accuracy and context.

Who do you trust – AI or human?  This question sparked debate about trust and accountability when AI enters finance. “Would you trust an instant AI-generated report?” the moderator challenged. The consensus: trust has to be earned. Light’s co-founder Jonathan Sanders (who earlier demoed Light’s AI-driven finance platform) explained that building confidence in AI starts with design and transparency. For example, AI can flag whether figures come from a closed period vs. open books, check that all expected transactions are included, and even trace each number back to its source document.

"Ideally, with AI you should be able to pinpoint exactly which document a figure came from, and where in the document"

Jonathan noted, highlighting how such transparency can actually increase trust in the numbers.

Yet, panelists acknowledged a human element will always remain. As Uvashni put it, “It doesn’t take away the fact that you still have to rationalize whatever the output is…The human judgement element will always be there.” Jeyne Chun (SVP Finance, Adyen) agreed, emphasizing that CFOs are still on the hook:

"Accountability doesn’t change…If the CFO is responsible for financial reporting, the accuracy of the financials is [still] on the CFO."

AI or not, finance leaders won’t be off the hot seat – but AI can help them be confident that what they’re signing off on is accurate.

From number-cruncher to strategic partner. Perhaps the most exciting takeaway was how AI can free finance teams from grunt work. “Ideally, AI allows you to get rid of the boring stuff and focus on the more important, strategic questions,” said Alex A. (VC, Northzone). Several panelists echoed this point: rather than spending days chasing missing receipts or tweaking spreadsheets at month-end, teams can redirect energy to analysis and strategy. One memorable example: Jonathan described;

"Our AI-finance agent will automatically ping employees for missing expense receipts and context (like why a team dinner cost €1,500) – saving the CFO from being the “bad cop” on Slack."

See the Light Agent act as "bad cop" here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7327954506992812033

Removing that friction makes compliance a cooperative process and leaves humans to handle exceptions and big-picture questions. As Alexander quipped, “the finance function should be as lean as possible…with amazing professionals working on strategic questions, and all the boring stuff cut out by AI.”

So why isn’t every company doing this already? The audience of CFOs nodded in recognition as panelists cited cultural and systems hurdles. “People, culture, mindset,” are the biggest barriers, Jeyne said. It’s not outright resistance, but adopting AI in finance is a “very disruptive” change that many organizations are only slowly warming up to. Pilot projects are popping up, but redefining roles, retraining staff, and trusting new tools takes time. Legacy technology is another sticking point: companies have entrenched ERP systems not built for AI. “It feels like a big hurdle to move to something else,” Werner observed, especially for large firms with complex old tech. The panel noted a generational shift may force the issue – younger finance talent expects modern tools.

"Younger professionals are used to working with AI…they won’t want to work at a company still stuck with legacy systems."

Werner warned. In short, finance leaders must balance caution with urgency: waiting too long could mean falling behind (or failing to attract top talent), but moving too fast without preparation could undermine trust.

Flipping the script on financial reporting isn’t a one-and-done move – it’s a journey. The takeaway from this expert panel? Real-time, AI-powered finance is on the horizon and can deliver huge benefits, from continuous audit-ready books to truly data-driven decisions. But success requires bringing people along, redefining processes, and setting the right guardrails. As the panelists concluded, the goal is not to eliminate humans from finance – it’s to elevate them. By letting AI handle the tedious bits, CFOs and their teams can spend less time reporting history and more time shaping strategy.

Ready to see what AI-driven finance can do? Book a demo of Light’s multi entity accounting platform with real-time reporting capabilities to experience how AI can transform your finance operations in action.