When AI Changes the EPM Decision | David Den Boer, CEO, Column5 Consulting
David Den Boer, CEO of Column5 Consulting, discusses how AI is rapidly transforming enterprise performance management (EPM) and finance operations, arguing that no single technology component can handle finance operations alone and that CFOs must develop comprehensive understanding of how EPM, BI, data platforms, and AI work together. He explains the upcoming EPM Summit in Las Vegas is designed to help finance leaders evaluate competing vendors and understand the full landscape of available solutions.
Summary
In this episode, David Den Boer explores the accelerating changes in the EPM landscape since his previous appearance on the show. He emphasizes that AI has shifted from an experimental consideration to a mandatory capability that is enabling unprecedented automation in financial processes like the close, planning, and analytics. However, Den Boer cautions against simply bolting AI onto existing processes without fundamental rethinking. He describes two main approaches: vendors embedding AI internally within EPM tools to enable faster closes and higher quality outputs, and the need for orchestration layers that can connect disparate systems across the finance technology stack. Den Boer identifies a critical gap in the current market: while EPM tools are powerful, over 50% of financial models remain managed in Excel, indicating that no single system is solving the complete problem. He argues that CFOs face a complex decision-making environment where they must evaluate two major technology stacks—transactional (ERP) and analytics—but the analytics stack (data warehouse, BI, EPM, operational planning) is still being evaluated point-by-point rather than holistically. Den Boer criticizes the traditional vendor evaluation process where RFPs receive generic affirmative responses, making differentiation difficult. He explains that the EPM Summit will bring competing vendors together in one venue to have them defend their unique value propositions side-by-side, rather than in isolation. He notes vendors were initially resistant to this concept, preferring single-vendor shows. Den Boer identifies two types of innovation AI enables: operational agility (automating manual processes) and innovation agility (experimentation and trying new solutions without prohibitive costs). He argues that AI will lower barriers to experimentation, allowing finance organizations to test new tools and approaches for 90 days before committing long-term, contrasting with the past where expensive implementations created decade-long lock-ins. Den Boer emphasizes that no individual technology—not LLMs, data platforms, BI tools, or even EPM tools—can run finance operations without hallucination or gaps, making comprehensive technology literacy essential for CFOs. He stresses that the answer lies somewhere in the middle between those wanting to "vibe code the whole thing" and those never wanting to change, and that AI provides the opportunity for organizations to experiment and find their optimal formula.
About this episode
<p>AI is rapidly changing not only what finance technology can do, but how CFOs should think about the technology stack itself.</p><p>In this bonus episode of CFO Thought Leader, David Den Boer, CEO of Column Five and Darwin Analytics, joins Jack Sweeney to explore how AI is reshaping enterprise performance management—and why finance leaders may need to rethink long-held assumptions about EPM platforms, data systems and analytics.</p><p>Den Boer describes a market in which capabilities once associated with EPM are increasingly emerging from multiple directions. Large language models, data platforms, business intelligence tools and EPM vendors are all extending their reach into finance. For CFOs, the challenge is becoming less about selecting a single application and more about understanding how different technologies can work together.</p><p>That changing landscape is also behind Den Boer’s EPM Summit, taking place November 16–19 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Rather than centering on a single vendor, the event brings competing EPM providers, consultants and customers together, giving finance leaders an opportunity to compare approaches and question vendors side by side.</p><p>Den Boer argues that AI will also lower the cost of experimentation. Instead of making technology choices that effectively lock finance organizations into decade-long commitments, teams may increasingly be able to test new capabilities, evaluate new data sources and quickly determine what creates value.</p><p>His message to CFOs: AI is expanding the choices available to finance—but realizing its potential will require leaders who understand the entire technology landscape and know which questions to ask.</p>
Key Insights
- Den Boer argues that no single technology component—not LLMs, data platforms, BI tools, or EPM tools—can autonomously run finance operations without hallucination, meaning CFOs must understand what each component uniquely contributes to the overall ecosystem
- Den Boer claims that over 50% of financial models remain managed in Excel despite sophisticated EPM platforms, indicating that existing EPM solutions are not meeting the comprehensive needs of finance organizations
- Den Boer contends that the analytics technology stack is still evaluated point-by-point (choosing BI, then EPM, then data warehouse separately) rather than holistically, preventing CFOs from understanding how these systems work together
- Den Boer argues that AI is shifting finance organizations from a paradigm of manual, expensive implementations with decade-long commitments toward a model where they can experiment with new tools for 90-day periods and easily pivot if solutions don't work
- Den Boer claims that vendors were initially resistant to attending a multi-vendor summit, preferring single-vendor shows, because they want customers to view their solution as the complete answer rather than one component in a larger ecosystem
Topics
Transcript
Support for CFO Thought Leader comes from Salesforce. Unify selling and billing for a seamless customer experience. And OneStream. Trusted data. Faster decisions. Bonus episode. It's needed. And so you need this comprehensive understanding of what each technology component brings to the table in terms of potential, because I can tell you no individual component does it all and won't for any time soon. AI won't do it on its own. The LLMs, you can't say run my finance operations and it does it without hallucination. That's not a thing. The data platforms can't say run my finance operations and it does it without hallucination. That's not a thing. The data platforms can't do it. The BI tools don't do…
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