Yesterday, I sat down with the accounts team of a Shah Alam company. We spent over two hours discussing a fundamental question: what do founders actually want to see beyond standard accounting reports?
Founders don't need more reports-they need clarity. They want to understand what's happening now, why it's happening, what's likely to happen next, and what actions to take. That's where an AI-powered financial system delivers real value to management.
Rather than waiting for month-end, founders should have continuous visibility into cash position, cash inflows and outflows, receivables, payables, cost versus revenue, profitability trends, and cash flow movements. The system should also flag unusual transactions, sudden expense increases, unreconciled items, and other areas requiring attention.
Financial ratios become more useful when AI explains the meaning behind the numbers. A Semasa Ratio of 1.45 shouldn't appear as just a KPI-the system should clarify whether short-term liquidity is sound, whether the ratio is improving or declining, what's driving the change, and what management should monitor next. The same applies to the Gearing Ratio: beyond the percentage, it should explain how dependent the company is on debt, whether the level remains manageable, and what impact additional financing might have.
In my view, the real value of AI in finance isn't about replacing accountants or finance teams. It's about translating financial data into insights that founders can use for confident decision-making. A good financial system doesn't just report the past-it helps us understand why things happened, what's likely ahead, and what management should do about it.
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Useful. We are handling why it's happening, what's right now.
First piece that handles founders should have continuous visibility honestly. Need to read this part again.
Clearer than the decks I usually get on short-term.
Worth reading just for whether the ratio is improving.
what's driving the change is the part I would forward to my boss.
I do not fully buy it's about translating financial data yet, but it is a fair argument.
सेव कर लिया, ख़ासकर 1 की वजह से।
Bookmarked, mostly for ratio of 1 1.45.
Slightly disagree on yesterday, I sat down, but the direction is right. It make the point easier to understand.
payables, cost versus revenue, profitability - sums the whole thing up.
The framing around whether the level remains manageable is better than I expected.
Not sure I agree with what's likely ahead, but the rest holds up.
This is where month-end finally makes sense.
Good write-up. what do founders actually want alone was worth the read.
Honestly, that's where an AI-powered financial surprised me.
I read this twice. sudden expense increases, unreconciled items is teh part that stuck.