Melissa Howatson, chief financial officer at Vena Solutions, says finance teams must filter a growing flood of data. She told CFO Dive that more information can speed decisions but also cause paralysis. Her approach leans on experts inside and outside finance, including marketing and research. She also checks that vendors and third parties read the data the same way. She argues waiting for complete data rarely changes the decision. Howatson says planning cycles are now revisited far more often than once a year. She uses AI as a thinking partner to simplify the story told to executives and the board. She has handed routine work, such as payroll oversight, to her team. Howatson says the shift unsettles finance staff whose identity rests on having the right answer.

• 80% of data vs 100%
• CFO at Vena since December 2022