What is agentic AI?
Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can pursue goals and execute tasks with a degree of autonomy. Unlike traditional AI assistants that generate responses, AI agents can break objectives into steps, access systems, retrieve information, perform analysis, and complete workflows across multiple actions.
For FP&A organizations, this creates opportunities to automate repetitive activities and accelerate decision support processes.
How agentic AI is changing FP&A roles
A major theme throughout the discussion was that AI will transform how finance teams work rather than eliminate the need for finance professionals.
Activities likely to become increasingly automated include:
- Data validation
- Reconciliations
- Standard reporting
- Commentary generation
- Information retrieval
- Frequent stakeholder requests
At the same time, demand is expected to increase for:
- Business partnering
- Strategic thinking
- Communication
- Storytelling
- Change management
- Cross-functional collaboration
FP&A professionals will increasingly act as interpreters, advisors, and orchestrators of AI-enabled processes.
This aligns closely with the evolution highlighted in the Future Ready CFO Report: finance teams will spend less time on manual activities and more time supporting strategic decision-making.
Preparing FP&A organizations for the Agentic AI era
The panel identified three foundational requirements for successful adoption.
1. Build a trusted data foundation
Organizations need:
- Consistent business definitions
- Governed data
- Reduced manual processing
- Reliable source systems
Data does not need to be perfect, but it needs to be trusted.
2. Develop the right culture
Successful AI adoption requires:
- Experimentation
- Learning
- Psychological safety
- Executive sponsorship
Organizations should encourage teams to test and learn rather than fear failure.
3. Understand end-to-end processes
Agentic AI works best when processes are clearly defined and documented. Before introducing AI agents, organizations should understand:
- Workflow steps
- Owners
- Exceptions
- Success criteria
High-value Agentic AI use cases for FP&A
The webinar highlighted several areas where finance teams can begin experimenting with AI agents.
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Data validation and reconciliation
Automating repetitive review and validation activities can significantly reduce manual effort while improving consistency.
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Management reporting and commentary
Agents can support report generation, narrative development, and explanation of performance trends.
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FP&A knowledge assistants
Organizations can deploy chatbot-style agents that answer recurring finance questions and provide self-service access to information.
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Forecasting and predictive planning
AI-enhanced planning can help organizations generate forecasts faster and identify emerging trends and risks.
The role of AI-enabled planning platforms
As organizations scale Agentic AI, standalone productivity tools are unlikely to be enough.
Enterprise finance teams require:
This is where platforms such as CCH Tagetik become relevant through a unified approach to close, planning, reporting, and AI-enabled decision support.
