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Practitioner-led sessions reveal shift toward AI-augmented workflows that enhance finance expertise

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging finance leaders to balance innovation with accuracy and speed with reliability. The educational program for the 2026 AFP FP&A Forum, taking place March 23-25, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, reveals how finance teams leverage AI to elevate their role as strategic advisors to the business.

Curated by a task force of practitioners, the sessions highlight three pillars that define how AI-enabled technologies are reshaping the finance profession.

No-code and low-code tools are lowering the technical barrier to entry
No-code and low-code platforms are reducing reliance on heavy IT resources, allowing finance teams to lead AI adoption and apply their domain expertise directly. Clear business logic, data readiness and process design help turn AI into a practical decision-support tool.

• The session "From Now to Next: Roadmap to Your AI Future" explains how accessible automation and low-code tools can be used to modernize data, systems and processes and build an AI-ready finance function.
  
  
• The workshops "Designing Finance Bots that Don't Derail the Reporting Cycle" and "Orchestrating an FP&A Agent: Architecture, Prompts, and Packaging for Month-End Commentary" provide hands-on examples of advanced automation that requires no coding knowledge.

Finance professionals see efficiency gains with AI
Leading finance teams are saving time and enhancing workflows by automating common tasks and simplifying processes.

• The session "How AI Saved 50 Hours in My Monthly Finance Operations" showcases how one CFO used AI and automation tools to build a complete end-to-end business model, identify anomalies and judgment calls in month-end accruals and stress-test cash-flow assumptions through rapid scenario modeling.
  
  
• The session "Frictionless Finance" reveals how a Fortune 50 agribusiness is leveraging automation, AI and continuous improvement to remove roadblocks and advance toward a frictionless, end-to-end FP&A ecosystem.

Human connection as a competitive advantage

As AI increasingly handles more of the manual technical work, the human ability to influence, lead and partner becomes the ultimate differentiator.

• The session "Level Up Your Finance Team: Coaching, Accountability and Culture in the Next Era" underscores the importance of creating a culture of trust and learning to retain talent in an AI-heavy environment.
  
  
• The session "How AI Enhances Finance's Value to the Business: Our Story" spotlights how a lean FP&A team at a leading MRO distributor improved agility and business partnership value by reframing AI as a job enhancer.

Key quote
"AI in finance has moved beyond experimentation. The educational sessions at the 2026 AFP FP&A Forum show how finance teams are building AI into core functionality to accelerate analysis, rework budgeting processes and spend more time delivering insights that inform better business decisions," said Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, Director of FP&A Practice, AFP.

About the AFP FP&A Forum
Hosted by the Association for Financial Professionals, the AFP FP&A Forum is the premier in-person finance conference covering finance planning, budgeting and forecasting, data analytics, AI technologies and emerging trends. The program includes practitioner-led educational sessions, technology demonstrations, inspirational keynotes, topical roundtables and networking designed specifically for finance and FP&A professionals. Register for the AFP FP&A Forum.

About AFP^®
Headquartered outside of Washington, D.C., and located regionally in Singapore, the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) is the professional society committed to advancing the success of treasury and finance members and their organizations. Established and administered by AFP, the Certified Treasury Professional and Certified Corporate FP&A Professional credentials set standards of excellence in treasury and finance. Each year, AFP hosts the largest networking conference worldwide for about 7,000 corporate financial professionals.

Media contact
Joe Hodanich
Senior Director, Digital Strategy & Content
Association for Financial Professionals
Email: jhodanich@financialprofessionals.org
Phone: (301) 961-8845

SOURCE Association for Financial Professionals