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How Microsoft and Velosio are helping finance teams reimagine the future of work.
Finance teams are under unprecedented pressure to close the books faster, deliver real-time insights, and guide strategic decisions in an unpredictable economy. During our recent AI in Finance webinar, panelists from Velosio and Microsoft discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous agents are transforming priorities, streamlining workflows, and creating new opportunities for growth.
Panelists included:
Before the session, we asked registrants about their biggest priorities for AI in finance:
This data highlights the real-world challenges and goals that finance teams are looking to solve with AI.
“Finance must do more, do it faster, and deliver greater strategic value,” opened Tara Cosca, framing the discussion around shifting expectations and persistent challenges, from manual reconciliations to fragmented data and talent gaps.
Bryan Redic explained that AI is reshaping how finance operates.
“AI unlocks new capabilities, from next-level automation to proactive, data-driven decision making. It also allows us to rethink how we handle long-standing priorities like planning, governance, and reporting, doing them more efficiently and with greater insight.”— Bryan Redic, VP of Finance, Velosio
Redic referenced Microsoft’s concept of becoming a “Frontier” organization, where AI creates value across four areas:
Muhammad Aurangzeb described the evolution of AI experiences across three stages:
“The future is moving toward autonomous systems,” Aurangzeb said. “Humans remain the orchestrators, but agents handle much of the operational work behind the scenes.”
Even though full autonomy is still on the horizon, finance teams today are already seeing measurable gains from AI copilots and agents embedded in Dynamics 365, Power BI, and Microsoft 365.
Jeff Smith demonstrated how Copilot for Finance automates reconciliation tasks. By defining matching rules, Copilot quickly reconciles bank transactions and ledger data, identifies discrepancies, generates summary reports, and dramatically reduces manual review time.
“It’s a true time-saver,” said Smith. “Not only does it complete reconciliations faster, it summarizes results so finance leaders can understand what happened and why—instantly.”
Redic shared an internal Velosio success story. His finance team built an AI agent to summarize a 65-page monthly reporting package:
“What used to take an hour and a half now takes 15 minutes… It’s a small but powerful example of how starting small with AI delivers immediate value.”— Bryan Redic, VP of Finance, Velosio
Smith also shared examples from Business Central and Power BI, showing how Copilot retrieves customer data using natural language, generates visual insights, and explains trends in seconds without complex queries.
Aurangzeb described practical AI agent scenarios emerging in finance departments:
Redic emphasized that these examples are achievable, not just theoretical.
“You may not adopt every type of agent,” he said, “but they show how finance can reimagine long-standing processes with AI.”
Smith added that predictive analytics, such as identifying customers at risk of late payment, help teams plan and act proactively, improving cash flow and decision confidence.
The panel concluded with a clear message: AI is a journey. Organizations do not need to leap to full automation overnight, but they should start experimenting and building trust in AI-driven processes.
Key takeaways:
“AI isn’t just about cutting costs. It’s about unlocking capacity so finance can focus on growth, strategy, and the work that truly drives value.”— Bryan Redic, VP of Finance, Velosio
Missed the live session? You can watch the full discussion and demos on-demand: AI in Finance: Driving Efficiency and Unlocking Growth
Explore how Microsoft Copilot and AI agents can transform finance processes with a 30-minute AI Strategy Session. It’s a great opportunity to discuss your unique challenges and explore tailored solutions for your organization.
Related Resources:
How CFOs Tackle Top Challenges with Technology & Innovation
AI for Finance Leaders: Unlocking Efficiency with Microsoft Copilot in Business Central
AI & Digital Transformation: A Guide for CFOs
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