AI and Automation for Manufacturing CFOs: Why the Difference Matters

Ask two people to define “AI and automation” and you will likely get two different answers, and that mix-up is costing manufacturers time and money on the wrong tools.

During a recent Moore on Manufacturing episode, James Moore’s Mike Sibley and Kevin Golden sat down to talk about how the CFO role has changed and where automation and artificial intelligence actually fit into that shift. One of the most useful parts of the conversation was a plain breakdown of AI and automation for manufacturing CFOs: what each one is good for, where they overlap, and why treating them as interchangeable can lead a finance team astray.

Automation and AI Are Not the Same Tool

Automation, in Mike’s words, covers things like “formulas, Python code, macros, things that can be repeated over and over again.” It is not subject to interpretation. Run the same process twice and you get the same result twice.

AI works differently. As Mike pointed out, “you and I could put the same prompt in the chat GPT right now, and I bet you we’d get a little different answer.” That variability is not necessarily a flaw, but it does mean AI output needs review, the same way you would check work from a new employee.

Where Automation Wins

Automation is the right tool when consistency matters more than flexibility. Formulas that calculate margin, macros that pull reports into a dashboard, and scheduled processes that update a forecast all benefit from doing the exact same thing every single time.

Where AI Wins

AI is better suited to tasks that involve judgment, summarizing, drafting, or spotting patterns across large data sets. Kevin gave a striking example from a completely different industry: pharmaceutical researchers using AI to run thousands of drug trial simulations instead of a few hundred, narrowing down which options were worth a human researcher’s time. The manufacturing parallel is not exact, but the principle holds. AI can clear away the low value work so people can focus on the decisions that need real judgment.

Using Both Together

The most practical approach, according to Mike, is to use AI to help build the automation itself. “We’re using AI to help build these dashboards. We’re using AI to help build the code,” he explained. That combination removes the guesswork of manual dashboard building while keeping the underlying process consistent once it’s set up.

Kevin added that AI can also help identify what to automate in the first place. A CFO or team member can describe a task out loud (even in rough, unstructured sentences) and AI can turn that into a process map, cutting hours of documentation work down to minutes.

What This Means for Manufacturers

None of this requires a massive technology budget. As Mike put it, “nothing I’ve talked about here costs money necessarily.” What it does require is time: time to identify where a process breaks down, time to decide whether that process needs automation, AI, or both, and time to review AI generated work before it goes out the door.

For manufacturing CFOs weighing where to start, a few questions from the conversation are worth asking directly:

• Which of our repeatable tasks would benefit from a formula or macro instead of a person doing it manually
• Where do we need AI’s ability to summarize, draft, or sort through large amounts of information
• Are we reviewing AI output carefully enough before it’s used to make a decision

Getting this distinction right early prevents a common mistake: assuming a single AI tool will solve every problem, or assuming automation alone can replace the judgment a strategic CFO brings to the table.

Want the full conversation, including how this plays into forecasting, risk management, and reducing close times? Watch the complete Moore on Manufacturing episode above and  subscribe to Moore on Manufacturing to catch future conversations with the James Moore manufacturing team.

All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Matters discussed in this article are subject to change. For up-to-date information on this subject please contact a James Moore professional. James Moore will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.