3 Levels of Finance Relevance: Where Does Your Team Sit?

Two recent frameworks help answer this question. Liping Qi, CFO at MicroSurgical Technology, maps FP&A maturity across three levels based on the questions you answer. The Corporate Finance Institute identifies the skills each level now demands. Together, they create a roadmap for staying relevant.

Level 1: Explain (What)

Qi's entry point: tell stakeholders what happened. "Output dropped 10%, so sales dropped 10%." This is obvious math that doesn't provide much insight. Everyone can look at the numbers and figure it out.

CFI confirms this work is already disappearing. AI automates data collection and consolidation, variance analysis calculations, and standardized report generation. Two-thirds of finance professionals say AI will save up to 200 hours of FP&A work annually. Most of those hours come from Level 1 tasks.

If your team lives here, they're competing with software that doesn't need sleep.

Level 2: Predict (Why)

Qi's middle tier requires business acumen. Why did output drop despite adding headcount? Because new hires needed training from experienced workers, which hurt productivity. The ability to dig out the "why" and predict outcomes if root causes aren't addressed is immensely critical, he writes. Without understanding root causes, we cannot fundamentally cure the problem.

CFI frames the skills this demands: AI literacy to validate outputs and spot bias. Programming capability with Python and SQL to pull data directly rather than waiting for IT. Data visualization with Power BI and Tableau, now essential rather than optional.

But here's the threat. FP&A Trends research shows AI users already rate 73% of their forecasts as good or great, compared to 42% for non-users. AI is learning to predict. The 2025 survey found AI/ML users spend 39% of their time on high-value activities, nine percentage points more than non-users. The algorithm is climbing toward Level 2.

Level 3: Prescribe (How)

Qi's highest tier: recommend solutions. After finding the root cause, challenge yourself to address how we fix this. Like a doctor prescribing a cure. His example: phase future hiring so new workers can learn while experienced workers still meet production needs. Or create training videos so onboarding doesn't pull people off the line.

CFI calls this strategic advisory and business partnership — the shift from number-crunchers to strategic business advisors who guide decision making. The specific skills: narrative creation that transforms complex outputs into compelling stories that drive action. Business interpretation that understands what data means for strategy. Trust building that makes you the go-to advisor for financial decisions.

These tasks resist automation entirely, CFI argues, because they rely on distinctly human capabilities. Strategic planning requires pulling together different viewpoints, predicting market shifts, and adjusting assumptions based on business context that numbers alone can't capture. Stakeholder communication means building relationships, adapting to diverse audiences, tailoring messages for maximum impact.

Qi agrees humans still have the edge at Level 3. But he asks the uncomfortable question: how long can I be convinced?

The Diagnostic

Think about your team's last five contributions to business decisions. How many explained what happened? How many predicted why? How many prescribed what to do next?

If most answers cluster in Levels 1 and 2, you've identified your upskilling priority. The organisations getting this right aren't asking whether AI will replace finance. They're asking how fast they can move their people to Level 3 before the algorithm catches up.