90% of the finance function is programmable.

No, this is not another pitch for AI. Neither Agents nor the finance departments are ready for that (if it’s even possible).

But it is a pitch to supplement the finance function with engineering fundamentals.

Here’s what emerges when you put a CFO in a room with a data specialist:

*The chart of accounts becomes a hierarchical database schema that defines the structure and relationships for categorizing and storing all financial data within the system.

*Double-entry bookkeeping turns into a distributed system with built-in redundancy where every transaction must update two or more accounts to maintain data integrity and enable automatic error detection.

*FP&A grows into continuous integration/monitoring system that ingests historical data then runs predictive models and performs variance analysis against benchmarks.

On its own, finance has become relegated to a stodgy, back-office department filling ad hoc information requests. Same with engineering – the less you see them, the better.

Together, the reactive reporting function becomes a proactive, strategic engine that can model scenarios at scale, detect anomalies instantly, and provide continuously updated insights for optimal resource allocation across the entire organization.