OpenAI CFO: AI Proficiency Now Essential for Finance Hires
OpenAI's chief financial officer Sarah Friar said she would not hire a finance professional unfamiliar with AI tools, comparing their importance to spreadsheet software decades ago. Speaking at the Liquidity Summit 2026, Friar drew a direct parallel: "I would never hire a finance person who didn't know how to use Excel, and I probably wouldn't hire a finance person today that doesn't know how to use a tool like Codex."
Codex is OpenAI's AI coding agent that automates software development and technical tasks through natural-language prompts. Knowledge workers now represent roughly 20% of Codex users and are growing at more than three times the rate of other user groups.
AI Skills Outrank Traditional Finance Expertise
Finance leaders globally are already shifting hiring priorities. A Deloitte Finance Trends 2026 survey of more than 1,300 finance leaders found that AI and automation capabilities ranked as the most sought-after skills when recruiting and developing talent-ahead of regulatory compliance and cost management.
As AI tools integrate into daily workflows, employers increasingly expect candidates to use them for productivity gains, task automation, and faster data analysis. Friar's comments suggest AI proficiency will soon become a baseline expectation in finance roles, not a differentiator.
Computing Power Remains the Bottleneck
Friar also addressed a constraint limiting AI adoption: compute capacity. The processing power, chips, and infrastructure required to train and run AI models remain scarce as demand rises sharply.
"Compute is a very scarce resource at the moment," Friar said, describing demand as rising up a "vertical wall" that continues to outpace supply. She defended OpenAI's strategy of securing large compute capacity ahead of anticipated need-a move that had drawn criticism for its scale and cost.
"Thank God we did because in '26 we still won't have enough compute," she said.
Ensuring Inclusive Access
Friar emphasized that as AI adoption expands, access to these technologies must remain inclusive across communities. "It's really important there on the trust side, that we don't leave communities behind," she said.
For finance professionals, the message is clear: familiarity with AI tools is no longer optional. Those seeking to remain competitive should develop proficiency now. Explore AI for Finance resources or consider an AI Learning Path for CFOs to build these skills.
Your membership also unlocks:
