Finance AI Speaker
Ashok Manthena
Sessions on governed AI in finance for CFOs, controllers and boards. The topics, the audiences, the formats, and how to enquire.
- Ashok Manthena is the CEO and co founder of ChatFin, and speaks to finance leadership audiences on governed AI in the office of the CFO.
- Six topics. Where AI works and where it breaks, the approval line on ERP writes, why point tools stall, what changes for controllers, vendor evaluation, and roadmap sequencing.
- The audience is finance leadership rather than an engineering room, and the material assumes no technical background.
- Formats are keynote, fireside chat, panel, workshop, webinar and podcast. The topic is fitted to the format.
- Enquiries go through the ChatFin form on this page. Send the event, the audience, the format, the outcome and the location.
Ashok Manthena speaks to finance leadership audiences about using AI inside the office of the CFO without breaking the controls that make finance trustworthy. He is the CEO and co founder of ChatFin, an AI agent platform for enterprise finance, so the sessions are built on work that runs inside real ERP systems.
This page sets out the six talks and the argument inside each, the audiences they suit, the formats available, and what to send when you enquire. ChatFin handles enquiries through the form below.
The talks, and the argument inside each one
Six subjects, each built around one claim a finance audience can argue with. A session takes one of them.
| Talk | The argument |
|---|---|
| Where AI works in finance, and where it breaks | The easy population was automated years ago. The exception tail still costs the hours |
| Governed agents and the approval line | Approval on every ERP write is the design, not a restriction. The agent prepares, a named person signs |
| From point tools to systems of action | Capture stops at the ERP boundary. A tool that hands the posting back has automated the cheap half |
| What changes for the controller | The job moves from preparing work to reviewing prepared work, which changes how a close is staffed |
| Evaluating finance AI vendors | Ask to watch a write in a test environment. That request narrows a shortlist faster than a feature list |
| A practical finance AI roadmap | What to pilot first, what the next process depends on, and how to measure it in hours |
Running through all six is the ChatFin position that finance grade AI sits inside internal controls and auditability. Ashok Manthena is the CEO and co founder of ChatFin, so the material comes from building it.
Examples come from ChatFin work across payables, receivables, reconciliation, the close and reporting. A session is not a product demonstration, so say so if that is what you want.
Who the room should be
Finance leadership, and the audience does not need to be technical. The sessions suit people who own a number, a control or a close.
Two poor fits. An engineering audience wanting model architecture is better served elsewhere, and so is a room wanting a vendor neutral survey, because ChatFin builds in this market.
Formats that can be arranged
Five formats, and the choice follows the room.
| Format | What it suits | What the organiser gets |
|---|---|---|
| Keynote | A plenary needing one argument | A stated position, and questions from the floor |
| Fireside chat | An event wanting conversation, not slides | Questions agreed with the moderator, plus live ones |
| Panel | A programme comparing views on finance AI adoption | The governed agent case argued, including its limits |
| Workshop | A team that needs its own shortlist | A session built on your processes, volumes and ERP |
| Webinar or podcast | A remote audience, or an interview series | A recorded conversation on any of the six topics |
Enquiries are handled through ChatFin using the form below. Dates, fees and travel are agreed case by case.
What the audience leaves with
Four things, each meant to survive the walk back to the office.
A line between what should and should not be automated
Preparation, matching, coding and drafting on one side. Judgement, the posting decision and anything an auditor tests on the other.
The governance questions to put to any vendor
Which published interface it writes through, whose permissions apply and what is logged. Ask them of ChatFin too.
A sequencing view rather than a wish list
Teams pick the most visible process first and stall on master data.
A way to measure that finance recognises
Hours on the exception tail, queue length after matching, adjustments reaching the close.
The written versions sit on this site. AI for CFOs, AI for controllers and ERP AI agents.
Where the material comes from
The talks are built on ChatFin, an AI agent platform for enterprise finance that reads from and writes to the ERP through published interfaces, with a named person approving every posting. That is the source of the examples, and the bias, stated up front.
A worked example, and the kind of thing a session spends ten minutes on. A supplier invoice is paid in March. In May the supplier reissues it under a reference one character different and a clerk keys it on the morning of the payment run. A check on the reference string passes it. A check on supplier, amount, date and currency across a window catches it and holds the voucher.
ChatFin depends on usable master data and a governed write interface. Where an estate has neither, the honest answer is that it underperforms, and that gets said on stage too.
How to enquire, and what to send
Use the form below. An enquiry carrying these five usually gets a straight yes or no.
For a workshop, send material beforehand. Process volumes, the ERP you run and two or three exception patterns your team finds hardest are enough to rebuild the session around your estate. See ChatFin products and about ChatFin.
Speaking enquiries and product demonstration requests arrive through the same ChatFin form. Say which you want in the first line.
Read the arguments before you book
Every talk on this page has a written version on this site, so you can read the position before you book it.
Start with AI agents for finance, then finance automation and best AI tools for finance teams. Connect with Ashok Manthena on LinkedIn.
Questions organisers ask first
Who is Ashok Manthena?
Ashok Manthena is the CEO and co founder of ChatFin, an AI agent platform for enterprise finance that runs across NetSuite, Acumatica, JD Edwards, SAP, Dynamics 365, Oracle Fusion and Sage Intacct. He has worked across global enterprises including Google and Gap, advising finance organisations on AI adoption inside the office of the CFO.
What topics does Ashok Manthena speak on?
Six subjects, each with one argument at its centre. Where AI works in finance and where it breaks. Governed agents, and why a named person approves every ERP write. Why point tools stop at the ERP boundary. What changes for the controller. How to evaluate finance AI vendors. And how to sequence a practical roadmap. A session normally takes one of these.
What formats are available and how do I enquire?
Keynote, fireside chat, panel, workshop, webinar and podcast guest. The topic is fitted to the format and to the audience, and a workshop is rebuilt around your own processes using material you send beforehand. Enquiries go through the ChatFin form on this page. Include the event and date window, the audience, the format, the outcome you want and the location.
ChatFin is the work the talks are drawn from.
ChatFin is an AI agent platform for enterprise finance. It reads live ledger, payables, receivables and cash, prepares reconciliations, coding, matching exceptions and variance commentary, and routes every posting to a named approver.
It writes through the published interface of your ERP rather than a screen or a file drop. Every action is logged and that log exports for your auditor.
If your enquiry is really a product question, say so and it gets routed to a demonstration instead.
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Put the event, the date window, the audience, the format and the outcome in the message field. Say in the first line whether this is a speaking enquiry or a product request.
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