Jodie Meadows, former CFO at NRI ANZ, and Shilpa Bhale, Director of Strategy and Product Management at Oracle, discuss the transformative role of finance in fostering innovation and the importance of adopting AI and technology within financial operations at CFO Edge.

Shilpa outlines her role at Oracle, highlighting her focus on finance transformation to boost agility, compliance, and efficiency in financial processes.

By leveraging Oracle’s ERP Cloud Fusion, Shilpa collaborates with finance leaders to embed AI and machine learning, automating routine tasks and enhancing data quality to deliver accurate insights and predictive analytics.

This automation supports seamless, touch-free operations, allowing finance teams to move away from mundane tasks and improve decision-making, expediting month-end processes and enabling strategic business outcomes.

Jodie shares her experience leading a digital transformation at NRI, where finance has a pivotal role in driving ERP-led innovations.

She discusses the increasing involvement of CFOs in technology decisions due to their broad organisational view, which allows them to balance innovation with risk management effectively.

Jodie notes that integrating AI within an ERP framework governed by finance simplifies implementation and minimises risks.

She envisions finance moving from traditional historical analysis to predictive insights, enabling finance teams to focus on forward-looking data and collaborate more with other departments.

Both speakers agree that balancing innovation with risk requires trust in AI, robust data governance, and a gradual adoption approach to maintain compliance and data accuracy while empowering finance functions.

CFOs are encouraged to adopt a cautious yet proactive approach to integrating AI within organisations, focusing on specific use cases as a practical starting point.

Leveraging vendor-maintained AI within existing software (such as Oracle Fusion) allows organisations to balance innovation with risk, without needing extensive investment or management.

This incremental, use-case-driven approach helps demonstrate AI’s value, securing buy-in from key decision-makers and delivering a clear return on investment.

The conversation also highlighted the importance of evolving workplace skills and culture—fostering curiosity, adaptability, and collaboration, especially in traditionally siloed areas like finance.

Early AI adoption has enabled finance teams to automate tasks, reallocate resources, and reduce headcount, indicating a shift towards roles requiring broader analytical and communication skills.

Jodie and Shilpa also discussed the need to nurture a data-driven culture, where aligning teams around data objectives can mitigate resistance and build trust.

Their core message was to embrace experimentation, utilise available AI tools, and foster a partnership with technology, supporting a gradual AI adoption aligned with organisational goals.

 

Key Takeaways

  • Start small, experiment, and build trust: Organisations should start by trialling specific AI applications, particularly those embedded in existing software solutions, to balance innovation with risk. This enables teams to build trust with AI while showcasing clear, tangible business value and gaining support from decision-makers.
  • Evolve skills and create a data-driven culture: As automation frees up resources, employees need to develop new skills, particularly in communication and analysis, to adapt to evolving roles. Cultivating a culture of curiosity and collaboration, where teams work together to understand and leverage data effectively, is essential to maximising the value of AI and data.
  • Leverage existing technology and align teams: Many organisations already have AI capabilities embedded in their software, which should be fully utilised to maximise value. Fostering alignment across departments and prioritising data-sharing and collaboration can reduce resistance, ensuring that AI initiatives integrate smoothly with the broader business strategy.
Contributors
Jodie Meadows Former Chief Financial Officer at NRI ANZ
An accomplished CFO, Executive, and Director who has over 20 years of International and Australian experience across the IT, Professional Services, Telecommunications,... More

An accomplished CFO, Executive, and Director who has over 20 years of International and Australian experience across the IT, Professional Services, Telecommunications, Gaming, Hospitality, Property, and Manufacturing sectors. Professional areas of expertise span Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Transformational Change, Project
Management, Finance and Corporate Services Leadership (e.g. IT and Legal Services), Commercial Contract and Leasing Negotiations, and Cybersecurity.
Applies an entrepreneurial spirit to develop winning business growth strategies and creative, financial propositions. Drives innovative projects that leverage digitisation, automation and AI to create robust, streamlined operational systems and generate significant cost efficiencies and margin improvements.

Engages and exercises influence with Boards, Executive Leadership Teams, and managed teams through a combination of a strategic leadership style, business insight, an outgoing personality and sense of humour.

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Shilpa Bhale Director, Strategy and Product Management at Oracle
I am a technology and transformation leader with a wealth of global experience leading finance and related transformations for large organisations in... More

I am a technology and transformation leader with a wealth of global experience leading finance and related transformations for large organisations in a variety of consulting, strategy, and delivery leadership roles.

As an Industry strategist and technology professional, I am known for
– Improving efficiency & productivity, reducing TCO, and delivering simplification
– Helping clients realize sustainable value from their technology investments
– Translating a customer-wide vision into an actionable roadmap
– Being a trusted advisor to senior executives
– Navigating ambiguity to get things done

Through my journey I have worked for multi-national organizations, based out of India, UK and Australia, and gathered rich experience across global and multi-cultural teams.

My strengths include
– Uniquely connecting business outcomes with technology solutions
– Deep Financial Services experience with strong cross-functional/ domain understanding
– Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills enabling positive relations at all levels
– Leading by Influence, Strong people leadership, coaching and mentoring capabilities
– Tailoring complex concepts to the audience and engaging large audiences effectively
– Simplifying operating models through technology to make businesses resilient and change ready

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Matt Boon Senior Research Director at ADAPT
Matt Boon is the Senior Director for Strategic Research at ADAPT, responsible for directing and developing research content and positions. For over... More

Matt Boon is the Senior Director for Strategic Research at ADAPT, responsible for directing and developing research content and positions.

For over 30 years, Matt has worked in research and advisory, including senior leadership roles at Gartner as Principal Analyst, Research Director, and Managing Vice President, where his 18 year history included working with Dell, Microsoft, and many others.

Throughout his career, Matt has been a sought after and highly respected authority on the local and global IT landscape.​ He interacts with executives daily, bringing together groups of C-suite leaders to discuss and prepare for the challenges and opportunities they face.​
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At ADAPT, Matt hosts numerous industry-leading business and technology events which Matt chairs, including the yearly Security Edge conference, delivering unique market trends and white-papers, advising executives across the technology provider landscape to make informed IT decisions.​

When he is not working, Matt enjoys walking the many trails of the NSW Southern Highlands, travelling and listening to music. He is also partial to a good steak and nice glass of red wine.

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transformation data skills