AI Is the Straw That Breaks the CFO's Back

"I think the AI is the straw that would break the camel's back." Natalia Taylor, Founding Partner at Unity Advisory, on the one thing tipping already-stretched CFOs over the edge — budgeting for AI token usage on top of a "perma-crisis" agenda that never lets up. Are you a CFO or C-suite executive exploring your next move? Visit https://stoix.co.uk/contact/ and speak to a search partner that does things differently. In this episode, Natalia also gets into: Why doing deals in 2026 is harder than it was in 2007 or 2017/18 "Continuous deal readiness" — why evidencing a company's value is no longer a one-off exercise before a sale Why the team one level below the CFO can make or break a deal, and why it needs to be in place 18-24 months out Her outlook for the second half of 2026, from AI infrastructure listings to a "recalibration" in tech and telecoms valuations Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:49 What Unity Advisory does for CFOs 2:07 Why deals are harder in 2026 than ever before 3:48 The CFO "perma-crisis" era 4:11 The pressure of doing everything, everywhere, all at once 6:51 Why CFO burnout is real 10:20 How Unity helps stretched CFOs 12:19 "AI is the straw that breaks the camel's back" 12:49 Where AI is actually moving the needle in finance 15:48 Automating workflows vs. changing the operating model 17:39 Why deal readiness now starts on day one 18:14 The rise of "continuous deal readiness" 21:10 Building the right team before a deal 24:57 Incentivising the talent one level below the CFO 27:44 Natalia's outlook for H2 2026 Find Chat CFO here: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4lagVbE... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... YouTube:    / @stoixchatcfo   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stoi...