2026 CFO Playbook
Smarter spend: AI that actually works for finance teams (right now)
A blueprint for CFOs on how to use AI to win back time and cut spend costs. Built on 2026 Forrester data from over 700 finance leaders and automation insights from Flexport and Airwallex.
WHAT WE COVER
A guide to optimising your finance function
Moving beyond manual administration
Why 84% of finance workflows still require intervention – and how to buck this trend to gain visibility, win back time, and cut operational costs.
The true cost of receipt processing
How a £5 coffee expense equates to 13 minutes of manual effort, and the technology that reduces this to just 30 seconds.
Rails vs. agents
What comes first, and how to fix your upstream data layer.
Automation in practice
Real-world applications for self-enforcing expense policies and instant ledger categorisation.
Your 90-day roadmap
How to pilot, refine, and scale finance automation without disrupting your business.
FEATURED EXPERTS
Gain practical insights from EMEA industry leaders, including:
Leigh Sinclair – Senior Director of Finance & Business Operations EMEA, Flexport
Thibault Genaitay – Staff Product Manager, Agentic AI, Airwallex
Justin Oh – Senior Manager, Global Product Marketing, Airwallex
Sean Rowley – Associate Director for Enterprise Sales, Airwallex
OVERVIEW
Finance was right to be cautious. Today, the tech has caught up.
A misfiring marketing chatbot is an embarrassment. A misfiring finance agent, however, can genuinely harm your business by miscategorising tens of thousands of transactions or breaching tax compliance.
In recent years, technology has evolved rapidly. AI is now not only reliable, but trusted by an increasing number of finance teams globally. For the finance teams yet to upgrade, these businesses are now faced with a “productivity tax" eating away at their time, profits, and resources.
But what exactly has changed?
Today, breakthroughs have moved well beyond a clever chatbot; rule-bound, agentic AI has emerged as a solution built directly into trusted, regulated financial rails, and it is profoundly transforming how finance teams function. This playbook cuts through the vague generalised hype to explore how agile finance teams are automating the tedious work silently eating away at their bottom lines – all while maintaining control, increasing visibility, and cutting costs.
HOW AIRWALLEX CAN HELP
One global spend management platform, powered by AI
Save time while gaining greater visibility of spend across your global business with Airwallex Spend.
Time-saving automations, powered by AI
Leverage workflows designed to reduce manual tasks including AI-powered receipt and bill extraction and auto-categorised expenses.
Control spend, no matter your business size
Implement simple card controls and approval flows in minutes or set up customised workflows to centrally manage spend across multiple global entities.
Manage your spend, globally
Unify spend management across your domestic and international operations with payouts to 150+ countries and card issuing in 40+ markets.
AI that actually works for finance teams (right now)
Benchmark your workflows against over 700 finance leaders and discover Flexport's blueprint for scaling autonomous spend management.