Is your finance team built for the work AI is creating?

July 6, 2026

If AI can produce reports faster, generate forecasts quicker, and surface insights in seconds, what exactly should your finance team be hired to do next?

It’s a fair question. Maybe even a slightly uncomfortable one.

Not because AI is replacing finance professionals (let’s not panic just yet), but because it’s quietly shifting where their real value may sit.

Finance functions were obviously built around stability and compliance. Reporting, controls, compliance, governance, transaction processing, obviously all the things that keep the wheels turning and leaders happy. Clear structures, defined roles, dependable processes. It all worked, because finance was primarily there to validate what had already happened.

But do businesses still move in neatly buttoned reporting cycles?

Decisions are happening faster.

Data is flowing across teams. And finance is now expected to show up in conversations about growth, planning, and strategy in real time, not after the fact.

Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends report puts into clearer view. Traditional functions like finance, HR, IT, legal, and procurement were designed for efficiency and specialisation. Now, many of them are now slightly out of sync with how modern organisations actually operate.

In fact, 66% of leaders recognise the need to move beyond these traditional boundaries… but only 7% are making meaningful progress (Deloitte, 2026).

So yes, there’s a bit of a gap.

And now that gap is becoming visible in finance hiring.

On one hand, organisations know finance needs to be more integrated, more analytical, more commercially involved.

On the other hand, job specs still read like finance sits quietly in its own corner, minding the numbers.

Then along comes AI, adding a little more pressure to the situation.

KPMG’s global research on AI in finance shows adoption is growing, but not without its challenges, data security concerns, limited AI skills, inconsistent data, and a general lack of transparency (KPMG, 2023).

In other words, AI might help finance move faster… but now it also raises the risk.

You now need people who can question outputs, understand context, and make sure decisions don’t just look good on paper.

For South African finance teams, this shift is even more relevant. BANKSETA’s Sector Skills Plan 2025–2030 highlights growing demand for digital capabilities across banking and finance with automation, AI, machine learning, analytics, cybersecurity, risk, compliance (BANKSETA, 2024) and these aren’t “nice-to-have” skills anymore, they’re becoming part of the day-to-day.

The hiring brief is changing, we weren’t joking.

The strongest finance candidate isn’t just someone who can produce accurate reports (obviously that still matters).

They need to now;

• Interpret data

• Challenge assumptions

• Understand systems

• Collaborate across teams,

• And (this one is important) explain what the numbers actually mean for the business.

That’s where things get tricky because the market isn’t just looking for “qualified” finance professionals anymore. It’s looking for people who can operate across finance, technology, risk, and strategy all at once.

No pressure right?

So, if you are currently hiring a finance professional, the question shifts from ticking boxes on a CV, and more towards asking: can this person add value in a finance function that’s becoming more connected, more data-driven, and more involved in decision-making?

AI might be changing the tools finance teams use, but it’s also quietly raising the bar for human judgement.

At Communicate Recruitment, we’re seeing this play out every day.

The businesses getting ahead aren’t just asking who can keep up with AI. They’re asking who can use it responsibly, question it properly, and turn faster information into better decisions.