Inside Consero's 2026 CFO Report: AI, ROI & Exit Readiness

The finance function is adopting AI faster than any technology in history but a deployment gap still separates the teams seeing real returns from the ones stacking AI on top of broken processes. In this webinar, Consero Global unpacks the 2026 CFO Report: a survey of 102 investor-backed finance leaders (CFOs and VPs of Finance). Consero's Tim Neville is joined by Kim Blascoe (Senior Director, CAS Professional Services at CPA.com) and Stephen Hedlund (Head of Finance at Rillet) to benchmark where AI, ROI, operations, and dealmaking stand heading into 2026. What you'll learn: • Why 97% of finance teams now use AI — and where efficiency gaps come from • The fastest paths to ROI (audit prep, reporting, forecasting) and how to measure it • How MCP connectors and AI-native tools are breaking down siloed systems and data-readiness blockers • Why 99% of surveyed leaders expect a transaction and what "always transaction-ready" demands of finance • What exit readiness looks like when "growth covers all sins" runs out • The skills the future CFO needs to lead AI adoption from the front Consero is an AI-enabled Finance as a Service (FaaS) provider — a modular finance operation combining a curated software stack, automation, and an expert finance team to give investor-backed companies audit-ready books and real-time visibility. Get the full 2026 CFO Report and book a consultation: https://conseroglobal.com/2026-cfo-su... Timestamps: 00:00 – Meet the panel: Consero, CPA.com, and Rillet 01:39 – What we'll cover 02:22 – Inside the 2026 CFO Report: who we surveyed 03:17 – The state of AI adoption in finance (97% now use it) 09:07 – Value creation: where investors and CFOs disagree 10:37 – From pilots to broad deployment (AI agent usage up 70%) 14:05 – How Claude and MCP changed the game 15:57 – A more strategic finance team, not a smaller one 18:06 – Where AI ROI shows up first 20:05 – How to measure AI ROI 23:18 – Poll: your team's attitude toward AI 26:49 – Data readiness and the four adoption blockers 33:23 – Breaking down siloed systems with MCP connectors 34:54 – Dealmaking pressure: 99% expect a transaction 38:46 – Exit readiness and "growth covers all sins" 41:57 – The future CFO: lead from the front