This fractional CFO just proved to me why it’s impossible for an AI to become a CFO.
Yesterday I had a video call with a CFO who actually impressed me (and I don’t say that a lot).
What stood out first was how he looked at LinkedIn:
Not as a client-grabbing machine
But as a networking platform
A place to educate, not pitch
He got that if you want to be trusted with someone’s deepest financial secrets, you don’t spam DMs, you build trust in public and relationships in private.
But the part that really fried my brain 🤯was his take on AI and the CFO role.
His argument was basically this:
> “AI can’t be a CFO… because a real CFO’s job is to say ‘no’.”
AI doesn’t do “no”.
AI doesn’t do “I don’t know”.
Have you noticed? LLMs are literally trained to keep talking:
Ask it:
“Can we 5x revenue next year?”
→ “Absolutely, here’s a 13-step plan.”
“Should we buy this company at 18x EBITDA?”
→ “Great idea, here’s your synergy deck.”
“Can we afford to open three new locations, hire a sales team, and buy a warehouse?”
→ “Of course, here’s the budget… that I just hallucinated for you with full confidence.”
An LLM will:
Drive you off a cliff
In a Ferrari
While narrating a 2,000-word strategy memo about how safe the road looks.
A real CFO, on the other hand, looks at your cash, margins, risk, timing, staffing…
And says:
> “No. Not like this. Not yet. Here’s what needs to be true first.”
That friction is the whole value.
The uncomfortable “no” is the thing AI can’t fake
So now I’m stuck on this question 👇
What’s actually more dangerous for small businesses:
AI replacing the CFO…
or
CFOs acting like AI and stopping saying “no” because everyone wants a feel-good plan?
Drop your take in the comments:
💬 Could an AI ever be trusted as the final decision-maker for a company’s money? Why or why not?
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