We solved the problem, but too late
How digital agents could change the role of finance
When my company was facing a stock-out issue, I was pulled in as a finance analyst to analyze the situation and help resolve it. I pulled data, built a model, ran scenarios, and prepared a deck with recommendations.
Our product relied on a highly specialized vendor we had worked with for many years. When the vendor was unexpectedly unable to deliver a critical component, it triggered a stock-out. Until then, we had never thought about the risk of depending on a single supplier.
By the time my scenarios were discussed, customers were already leaving. The support from finance was valuable, and probably the only way forward in that moment. It felt good to contribute in a difficult situation and to help get the problem fixed. Still, the damage was real, and some customers were lost for good.
Looking back, the whole approach was very reactive. By the time discussions happened, the world had already moved on.
The cost of sequential thinking
Nothing about the original vendor decision was obviously wrong. Even after the incident, we would likely have selected the same partner again. The issue was not the decision itself, but when we started questioning it.
We designed the product, launched it, ran into problems, analyzed the situation, and then resolved it. A very sequential process, with little room for shared thinking upfront.
This setup is optimized for control and reporting, not for learning through ongoing dialogue.
If we are honest, we were probably a bit blind to the risks we were taking. Could the situation have been avoided? Maybe, maybe not. What became clear is that we only started thinking together once the problem had already escalated and order cancellations were piling up.
The moment we should have started talking
Would it not be better to think together earlier? To have a continuous discussion about trade-offs, risks, and options before things go wrong?
Imagine a product manager considering a new feature. Instead of discovering consequences weeks later, trade-offs surface immediately. Nothing dramatic, just a nudge: if you do this, here is what it means for margins, cash, capacity, and risk. No request, no ticket, no deck.
This is not how things usually work today. Even in well-run companies, discussions across functions tend to happen later and less frequently than they should. Supporting departments are brought in early, but the process remains largely sequential.
A different way finance could show up
You cannot involve finance, supply chain or other support functions in every single step of product development. At least not in today’s setup. This is where digital agents have real potential.
A finance agent could act like a personal consultant for product managers, project leads, or other decision-makers across the business. It understands the context of their decisions, monitors relevant data in the background, and surfaces trade-offs in real time. When needed, it pulls in a human finance colleague. Finance joins earlier, not in review meetings, but in exploration phases alongside the teams making decisions.
With this setup, analysis happens continuously, not on demand. The agent does not wait for questions. It observes, connects dots, and starts conversations when something looks off. A margin drop is not just flagged. It becomes the starting point for a discussion, guided by smart follow-up questions.
Embedding financial thinking into everyday decisions
The real shift is not about replacing people, but about spreading financial thinking across the organization. Digital agents help establish a finance mindset where decisions are made, not weeks later in review meetings.
Agents take care of consistency, monitoring, and pattern recognition in the background. They surface trade-offs and start conversations. Humans focus on judgment, assumptions, and the uncomfortable questions that cannot be automated.
In that sense, finance does not become less important. It becomes more embedded. Financial thinking shows up earlier, more often, and in smaller moments that collectively make a big difference.
The key is that the agent becomes a conversation partner, not an answering machine. Finance turns into a dialogue, not a spreadsheet.
Do your processes help people think together before the damage is done, or only after problems start piling up? Digital agents make financial thinking part of everyday decisions.
