India, Nov. 2 -- Finance in a smaller business rarely gets the luxury of being just one function. The same team may be responsible for keeping accounts clean, following up on receivables, managing cash flow, preparing reports and answering the founder's questions about where the business stands. As the business grows, the volume of information grows with it, but the finance team does not always grow at the same pace.

AI can change what a lean finance function is capable of handling. The obvious examples are reconciliation, reporting and routine transactions, but the more meaningful opportunity lies in what happens after the work is automated. When information can be collected, organised and analysed faster, finance has more time to under...