“If you were building your business today, would it look the same?”
That was the defining question posed to senior finance and business leaders at Cooper Parry’s Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges event, which brought together senior business and finance leaders at our Reading hub. Hosted jointly with Richard Alborough of Savant there were some key messages that stood out when it comes to finance, tax, AI and cyber:
The biggest risk facing businesses today isn’t change – it’s failing to adapt to it and having the right people in pace to manage that change.
For owners, CFOs and senior leaders, that means stepping beyond stewardship and into something far more strategic: owning the future of the business.
Regulatory change is reshaping the financial reality
As Mark Newbold (Audit Partner at Cooper Parry) shared, the incoming FRS 102 changes will materially reshape how businesses look, perform and are perceived.
What’s changing:
- Revenue recognition is becoming more structured and judgement-led
- Lease accounting will bring significant liabilities onto the balance sheet
- Financial outputs will shift – even if underlying performance hasn’t
The commercial impact:
- Debt levels may appear to increase
- Profit profiles will change over time
- Banking covenants and KPIs could be affected
Here, leaders who are ready for tomorrow’s challenges will act early: stress-testing forecasts, engaging stakeholders and resetting expectations now – rather than scrambling at year-end.
Growth Decisions: Getting the structure right early
Matt Appleton (Tax Partner at Cooper Parry) told us that when it comes to making an investment, it’s preferable to consider the best route upfront, to ensure the tax position is optimised and risks are mitigated.
Considerations include:
How should the investment be structured – e.g. acquisition of shares or trade/assets;
By whom should the investment be made;
How should the investment be funded;
What are the implications on any future exit strategy.
Investment could relate not just to acquisitions but spend in areas where there may be tax breaks – such as R&D and capital allowances – which should also be carefully considered.
The key here is that tax is complex, the presentation only scratched the service and that advice should be sought at an early stage.
AI is shifting from experimentation to reinvention
Despite the seemingly never-ending AI noise, Mark Lockton (Partner at Cooper Parry Digital) & CEO at embracent said most organisations today are still:
- Experimenting with tools like ChatGPT or Copilot
- Using AI for basic productivity gains
- Testing early use cases
That means:
- AI maturity is still relatively low across the market
- Adoption is often driven by FOMO rather than strategy
- Most value is currently in incremental efficiency
But this is about to change.
What’s next:
- Agentic AI running workflows autonomously
- Real-time interrogation of business data
- Automation across finance, HR and operations
The shift is from optimisation to reinvention. And it’s happening right now.
The biggest risk? Standing still
Many organisations are holding back:
- “We don’t know where this will land”
- “The technology is moving too fast”
- “We might invest in the wrong solution”
But inaction isn’t neutral.
In a rapidly evolving landscape, waiting is falling behind.
Future-ready organisations:
- Take a test-and-learn approach to AI
- Treat investment like R&D, not fixed CapEx
- Focus on outcomes rather than perfect business cases
The CFO must stay front and centre
A clear warning emerged from the panel:
If finance doesn’t lead the AI and technology agenda, someone else will.
We’re already seeing:
- COOs or tech teams building forecasting tools
- Finance processes being shaped outside finance
- Data ownership becoming fragmented
That creates a loss of influence.
Future-ready CFOs take control of:
- Data strategy
- Systems and platforms
- Forecasting and decision-making tools
- AI adoption and governance
Because once that ground is lost, it’s hard to regain.
AI adoption is also a control issue
There’s a growing, often overlooked risk:
- Teams using public AI tools with sensitive financial data
- External stakeholders analysing business data through AI
- Information being unintentionally shared or exposed
Without guardrails, AI can create as much risk as opportunity.
Future-ready organisations:
- Use enterprise-grade AI tools with proper controls
- Define clear policies on what can and can’t be shared
- Ensure data isn’t used to train external models
Don’t just buy AI – build a strategy
One of the biggest pitfalls today is “point solution overload”:
- Buying tools to fix individual problems
- Investing in tech that becomes obsolete within months
- Relying on providers without understanding long-term risk
Future-ready organisations take a different approach:
- Anchor around core platforms (ERP, CRM)
- Let those ecosystems drive AI adoption where possible
- Build internal capability to evaluate and test new tools
Many are now:
- Creating internal AI labs (even small ones)
- Developing technology roadmaps
- Building organisational “muscle” for continuous change
Data is the foundation of everything
Across every session, one truth remained constant: without good data, none of this works.
Poor data leads to:
- Weak AI outputs
- Slow, reactive decisions
- Increased risk
Strong data enables:
- Real-time insight
- Better decision-making
- Meaningful AI transformation
Cyber risk is accelerating – and AI is amplifying it
As AI transforms businesses, it’s also transforming threats, as explained by Lisa Dargan, CEO at URM Consulting Services.
Key risks include:
- More sophisticated phishing and social engineering
- AI-driven attacks targeting finance teams
- Increased ransomware activity
- Greater exposure as data becomes more centralised
Finance teams are particularly vulnerable:
- High transaction volume
- Frequent payment changes
- Constant pressure and time constraints
Cyber security has gone beyond being an IT issue. Now, it’s a board-level, business survival priority.
Preparedness is what separates resilience from failure
Preparation is the biggest difference between organisations that recover quickly and those that don’t.
Future-ready organisations:
- Train their people (especially finance teams)
- Run phishing simulations
- Understand their cyber exposure
- Build and test incident response plans
Because when attacks happen, the response – not the breach – determines the outcome.
What does future-ready leadership look like?
It’s about anticipating change. Designing growth with long-term flexibility. Owning AI, data and technology decisions. Treating cyber risk as a board-level issue. Building internal capability, not just buying solutions. And acting early – even without perfect clarity.
As Richard from Savant explained one of the biggest challenges is that the talent pool remains extremely shallow. When organisations go to market looking for finance professionals who have genuine experience of applying AI within a finance environment, the available pool is currently very limited. There’s a lot of interest, but relatively few individuals who have had the opportunity to develop meaningful practical experience.
At the moment many professionals are experimenting with readily available tools such as Claude and other AI platforms. Whilst these have potential there are concerns around governance, accuracy and risk.
In six months’ time it’s likely that the landscape will look very different. Things are moving at pace.
At the moment, there’s still an element of exploration and uncertainty. But that‘s also what makes this such an interesting area for finance leaders to navigate.
Watch this space. This topic will continue to provoke conversations.
Thank you to all our speakers and attendees for a fascinating morning. If you’d like to find out how Cooper Parry can help you face tomorrow’s challenges, please get in touch.
