Originally aired October 29, 2025 on Extropy On AIr as a bonus episode.
Finance is moving from scorekeeper to strategist, and the teams that thrive will be the ones whose leaders invest in their people, not just their technology. In this bonus episode, recorded ahead of the IOFM Fall 2025 conference, Kevin Zirkle sits down with Extropy CEO Ravit Gutman to talk about the future of finance, why AP and IT need to work as one team, and how AI will reshape finance roles rather than replace them.
Listen: Extropy On AIr podcast page | Spotify
Key takeaways
- Finance is shifting from reacting and reporting to driving strategy and growth, not just governance.
- AP and AR leaders aren’t back office anymore. They control cash, enable compliance and shape working capital strategy.
- Misalignment between AP and IT is one of the biggest reasons transformation projects fail. Start every project with shared goals.
- AI cannot work without people. The real transformation that needs to happen now is with people, processes and roles.
- Modern finance leadership is about multiplying capability, and leading through clarity, compassion and curiosity.
How is the role of finance changing?
Kevin sees the CFO’s role expanding far beyond the balance sheet. CFOs now need to be digital visionaries, partnering with IT, procurement and operations to build data-driven decision making across the enterprise. AP and AR leaders are changing too. They control cash, enable compliance, influence supplier relationships and shape working capital strategy.
Ravit describes it as finance moving from scorekeeper to strategist. It starts with the data foundation built in accounting. Mature teams that have been through transformation can structure that data, use AI with it and become catalysts for the rest of the organization, partnering with supply chain, IT and others to reach their goals. AP in particular is moving from the back end, focused on closing the month, to a source of data that has a seat in the conversation.
Her focus is helping teams grow into these new roles without fear. Many people still feel a kind of FOMO: they want to automate, but they worry about their jobs, their team and whether they have the latest system. The answer, she says, is to look at what comes after digital transformation and invest in people as roles evolve.
Why do AP and IT need to work as one team?
Kevin notes that finance and IT often speak very different languages. Finance wants speed, visibility and compliance. IT is structured around security, scalability and governance. But neither can reach its goals without the other.
Ravit calls this one of the biggest pain points in implementation and one of the main reasons projects fail. AP and IT, or AP and procurement, often come in with completely different goals that were never aligned. Extropy now starts projects with cross-departmental alignment, getting everyone on the same page with shared goals from the beginning, and she has seen that change the outcome dramatically.
Will AI replace people in finance?
Kevin acknowledges that AI, RPA and data-driven decision making have people on edge. Tasks that used to take hours now take seconds. But at Extropy, this is one of the most exciting parts of the journey, because automation gives people the chance to elevate themselves, not disappear.
Ravit’s view is that AI cannot work without people. She believes AI has been mislabeled in the market, sold as fully autonomous, without enough focus on how it will evolve human roles. Leaders, managers and directors need to make AI part of their teams’ personal growth.
She ties it back to why Extropy exists. Over its 10-plus years, the company has worked to solve the entropy problem, the way work becomes siloed across organizations, and to help people evolve alongside technology. At conferences full of shiny new tools, she says, the transformation that most needs to happen is with people, processes and the organization itself.
What does modern finance leadership look like?
Kevin puts it simply: the modern CFO organization isn’t about controlling headcount, it is about multiplying capability. When teams see digital tools as enablers rather than replacements, engagement and innovation follow. Ravit adds that these tools won’t just help close the books faster. They will open up entirely new roles in finance.
For leaders in accounting, where the culture is built on control and compliance, Ravit says leadership is no longer about control. It is about clarity, compassion and curiosity, and about becoming part of the change rather than reacting to it.
In their words
AI cannot work without people.
Ravit Gutman, Extropy Advisors
The modern CFO organization, it’s not going to be about controlling head count. I think it’s truly going to be about multiplying capability.
Kevin Zirkle, Extropy Advisors
About the speakers
Ravit Gutman is Founder and CEO of Extropy Advisors, a women-owned finance transformation consultancy.
Kevin Zirkle is Director of Business Development at Extropy Advisors, where he works across Extropy’s partner ecosystem, matching organizations with the right technology and the right people to move transformation from the whiteboard into production.
FAQ
How is the role of finance changing?
Finance is moving from scorekeeper to strategist. With a strong data foundation and AI, finance teams can give other departments visibility into data, partner with supply chain, IT and procurement, and help drive decisions and growth rather than focusing only on governance and closing the books.
Why do AP and IT need to collaborate on finance transformation?
AP and IT often pursue different goals. AP focuses on speed, visibility and compliance, while IT focuses on security, scalability and governance. Neither can succeed without the other, and misaligned teams are one of the most common reasons transformation projects fail. Aligning both teams on shared goals at the start of a project changes the outcome.
Will AI replace finance jobs?
Ravit Gutman’s view is that AI cannot work without people. Rather than erasing roles, AI and automation free finance teams from repetitive work and create new roles, as long as leaders invest in their people and help them grow alongside the technology.
Keep exploring
- More episodes of Extropy On AIr
- After the conference: IOFM 2025 Unplugged: Trends, AP Roles and AI in Finance
- More from Ravit: 2025 in Review, 2026 in Focus: Leading with Intention
- Related: The Hidden Cost of Organizational Entropy
- Why Extropy
Want your finance team leading the change instead of reacting to it? Book a discovery call with our team.
