FINANCE AI DIAGNOSTIC FOR CFOS
Know Which Finance AI Initiatives Deserve Funding.
A company-specific AI readiness assessment for finance teams. Find where to start, price the full value case and leave with a 90-day plan.
Personally reviewed by Alankar Joshi, who teaches in the SMU CFO Programme.
No confidential document uploads · Fixed fee, US$4,950 · Report in 10 business days
THE DECISION, BEFORE
THE INVESTMENT.
ILLUSTRATIVE REPORT
From AI ambition to a decision you can act on.
Northbridge Components Ltd
Fictional company · Sample report
01
Direction
REVIEW
02
Economics
REVIEW
03
Architecture
FAIL
04
People
REVIEW
THE NEXT DECISION
Resolve the controls.
Then test one workflow.
10–50
People in Your Finance Team
US$4,950
Fixed-Fee Diagnostic
10 business days
Target After Inputs Are Complete
90-day plan
Priorities, Owners and Decision Points
What is the AIforCFO Diagnostic?
The AIforCFO Diagnostic is a fixed-fee AI readiness assessment for finance teams of about 10–50 people. Using role-based questionnaires and the Four Gates of AI ROI™ framework, it produces a company-specific report, a value case and a 90-day plan, reviewed by Alankar Joshi. It costs US$4,950 and targets delivery within 10 business days of complete inputs.
FINANCE AI ROI
AI Activity Is Easy to Count.
Value Needs a Harder Test.
Licences, faster drafts and promising pilots show that people can use AI. Your investment case needs to show what changes in the business.
80% feel it. 37% can show it. In McKinsey’s 2026 State of AI survey, 80% of respondents said AI has improved their individual productivity, but only 37% attribute any EBIT impact to it, and just 6% attribute 5% or more of EBIT.
1 in 4. Only 25% of AI initiatives have delivered expected ROI over the last few years, and only 16% have scaled enterprise-wide, according to IBM’s 2025 CEO Study of 2,000 CEOs.
01
Where should we start?
Find the workflows worth testing, and the foundations they depend on.
02
What could the benefit be?
Separate cash savings, released capacity and one-time cash release. See the assumptions behind each.
03
What should we fund, validate or defer?
Leave with a practical sequence and the evidence your next approval needs.
WHY TRUST THE DIAGNOSTIC
Judge the Method
Before You Buy It.
Everything the diagnostic produces is shown here first: the full sample report, the framework and the calculations behind every range.
EXPERIENCE AND AFFILIATIONS
FULL SAMPLE
Read the Whole Northbridge Report
All 13 pages of an illustrative diagnostic, from gate verdicts to the 90-day plan.
THE FRAMEWORK
Four Gates of AI ROI™ white paper
How each gate is tested and why the most constraining gate sets the plan.
THE NUMBERS
See how a value range is built
Hours, adoption, review effort and costs: every assumption is visible on the page.
Founding clients: first 5 diagnostics
Include a 30-day follow-up review call with Alankar, in return for permission to publish an anonymised case study.
Decision-ready, or your fee back
If the validation call shows the diagnostic cannot support a decision for your team, we refund the fee in full.
THE FOUR GATES OF AI ROI™ FRAMEWORK
Four Gates Between
AI Spend and AI Return.
What are the Four Gates of AI ROI™? An advisory framework by Alankar Joshi for deciding whether a finance AI initiative deserves funding. It tests four gates in order: Direction (which workflow and outcome), Economics (full cost including review and support), Architecture (approved data, access and controls) and People (who changes the work and owns the benefit).
Each gate asks for a decision and the evidence behind it. The most constraining unresolved gate shapes what happens next.
Direction
GATE 01
Pick the bets.
Which workflow matters, who owns it and what outcome should improve?
Economics
GATE 02
Price the full cost.
Does the value hold up after setup, usage, human review and support?
Architecture
GATE 03
Control the data.
Can the workflow run within approved data, access and review boundaries?
People
GATE 04
Fund the change.
Who changes the work, retires the old steps and owns the benefit?
HOW THE FINANCE AI READINESS ASSESSMENT WORKS
Your Team Supplies
The Context.
We Turn It Into a Plan.
The CFO and relevant leads contribute their perspectives across close, FP&A, treasury and operations, with tax where applicable.
Target: 10 business days*
*After required responses are complete and review sessions are scheduled. We agree timing and expected team effort before you book.
01
Confirm the fit
A 20-minute call to agree the decision you need to make, the functions in scope and who should contribute.
02
Gather your team’s answers
Complete role-based questionnaires. Financial ranges are welcome; confidential document uploads are not required.
03
Analyse and challenge
Alankar reviews the analysis and leads a 60-minute validation call to challenge assumptions and resolve important gaps.
04
Make the next decision
Receive your report and a 90-minute executive workshop to agree priorities, owners and evidence to collect.
Alankar Joshi
Founder, AIforCFO
YOUR NEXT STEP
Give Your Next AI
Investment A
Clear Starting Point.
For finance teams of around 10–50 people, with a CFO sponsor who can bring the relevant leads together and act on the findings.
→ Choosing a first finance AI initiative
→ Reassessing a stalled or disappointing pilot
→ Building the business case for a board or budget approval
AIFORCFO DIAGNOSTIC
US$ 4,950
Fixed fee · One-off diagnostic · Implementation scoped separately
-
Role-based questionnaires for your team
-
Your AIforCFO Diagnostic Report
-
60-minute validation call with Alankar
-
90-minute executive workshop
-
Proposed 90-day priorities and action plan
Decision-ready, or your fee back. Founding clients also receive a 30-day follow-up review call.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Finance AI Diagnostic:
Common Questions.
A structured review of whether a finance team’s priorities, economics, data controls and people are ready for a specific AI initiative. The AIforCFO Diagnostic does this through the Four Gates of AI ROI™.
CFOs of companies with finance teams of about 10–50 people who need to choose a first AI initiative or reassess a stalled pilot.
No. The standard diagnostic uses role-based questionnaires, financial ranges and a validation discussion. Detailed document or transaction analysis, if needed, would be scoped separately.
They are planning estimates based on your team’s responses and explicit assumptions. Cashable savings, released capacity and one-time cash release stay separate. Where evidence is insufficient, the report identifies what to validate instead of inventing a number.
Separate cashable savings, released capacity and one-time working-capital release; price setup, usage, review and support costs; and name the evidence still missing. The diagnostic report is structured this way.
That is a useful finding. Your plan may start with better baselines, approved data access, controls or ownership. A recommendation to defer an initiative can be as useful as a recommendation to test it.
Each participant completes the questions relevant to their role. Agreed attendees also join the 60-minute validation call and 90-minute workshop. We confirm the expected effort and participants before booking.
No. It identifies and evaluates opportunities. Realised returns depend on implementation, adoption, costs and operating conditions. Estimated opportunity value is not a guarantee of savings. This is an advisory assessment, not an audit or assurance engagement.
No. Take the plan forward with your own team or a delivery partner, or discuss a separately scoped engagement with AIforCFO. Implementation is not included in the diagnostic fee.
AI supports preparation and analysis. Alankar personally reviews the findings and recommendations and leads both review sessions. Unknown answers remain visible and material discrepancies are discussed in validation.
The free check gives one person’s initial view. The diagnostic gathers the CFO’s and team leads’ answers, is reviewed by Alankar, and ends in a company-specific report, validation call and workshop.