James Kennedy sits down with Anna Tiomina (Blend to Balance) a former CFO who turned a career curveball into a new mission: helping finance teams adopt AI responsibly and effectively. They unpack how AI is already changing finance work (reporting, commentary, document review, and more), why finance leaders shouldn’t wait for the tech to “mature,” and how to keep human controls in place so speed doesn’t come at the cost of accuracy.
About Anna Tiomina:
Anna has spent her career in finance across multiple industries – starting as a business analyst, moving through controller roles, and stepping into CFO leadership. After being laid off from a software company, she dove into AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, discovered a major knowledge gap in the finance community, and began teaching finance leaders how to use AI to boost productivity while managing risk. She now runs training, workshops, and an AI-focused newsletter for finance professionals.
What You’ll Learn:
- Where AI helps finance teams right now: Faster reporting packs, sharper written commentary, quicker document review, and streamlined analysis.
- Why “wait and see” is risky: The pace of change is so fast that delaying adoption makes future adoption harder – not easier.
- How to reduce AI errors (hallucinations): Use AI for the right tasks, build verification steps, and keep rule-based processes (like calculations) out of AI.
- Data and security basics: Avoid free tools for business use, understand enterprise settings, and align usage to your industry and risk profile.
- The new finance expectation: More data, more frequent forecasting cycles, and “do more with less” – with AI becoming the default assumption.
Episode Highlights:
- “AI is not a toy anymore… I do things that used to take eight hours—now it takes one or two.”
- “Don’t wait until the technology matures… you can never say it has matured enough.”
- “AI is not designed to do calculations – keep exact math in rule-based systems.”
- “Nothing goes out until I look at it and sign it off.”
More About Anna’s Role:
Anna focuses on helping finance leaders and professional services firms (fractional CFOs, outsourced accounting, CPAs, advisory teams) implement AI in practical, responsible ways. Her training covers use-case selection, team readiness, risk controls, workflow design, and how to build repeatable AI habits that actually stick – without compromising accuracy, compliance, or trust.
How to Contact Anna:
Anna is easiest to reach via LinkedIn, where she shares regular insights and AI-in-finance guidance. You can also visit her website to explore her newsletter, programs, and schedule a call: Blend to Balance.
