AI is impossible to ignore, but for most business owners it comes with more noise than answers. Should you invest now or wait? Which tools are worth paying for? And how do you avoid spending money and time on shiny technology that never delivers a return? For smaller businesses without a big budget or a dedicated tech team, the pressure to "do something with AI" can be overwhelming, all while the day job still means late nights on spreadsheets, chasing receipts, and not really knowing where the business stands.

This session takes a refreshingly commercial view. Drawing on her experience as a fractional CFO across dozens of businesses, and as founder of an AI-native finance platform, Anne cuts through the hype to make a simple argument: much of the value on offer isn't really about AI at all. It's the efficiencies and automation opportunities most businesses have been missing for years. AI works best on a business whose data and processes are already in reasonable order, and the real skill is knowing where it adds something genuinely new versus where it's an expensive distraction. Used well, it can strip out the manual admin and turn your finance information into a live decision-making tool, so you can price, spend, hire and grow with confidence.

You'll come away knowing where AI genuinely earns its keep in your back office, how to tell a useful tool from an expensive distraction, and simple first steps to reclaim hours each month while getting a clearer, more current picture of your business. Whether you run the business single-handed or lead a growing team, you'll leave able to make faster, better-informed decisions, with a lot less admin getting in the way.
Ideal for owners, founders and decision-makers who are done losing evenings to the books and want their numbers working as hard as they do.