OpenAI and PwC build finance AI agents for CFO teams

OpenAI and PwC are collaborating on AI agents for finance teams, with the work focused on the office of the chief financial officer.

They are developing agent-based tools for core finance processes including planning, forecasting, reporting, procurement, payments, treasury, tax and the accounting close. The goal is to automate repeatable tasks, connect data across systems, identify risks and support decision-making with human oversight and governance controls.

Internal testing

Part of the work is being tested within OpenAI's own finance operation. A procurement agent is being built for internal use, and lessons from that project are being applied to other finance workflows.

OpenAI has already been using AI agents across investor relations, treasury, tax, reporting, corporate development and contract review. It describes its finance organisation as "customer zero" for the effort, using a live operating environment to test governance models, runtime controls and patterns for collaboration between people and software agents.

Finance focus

The collaboration reflects growing interest among large companies in using generative AI beyond chat interfaces and within operational workflows. Finance departments have become a key target because they span budgeting, capital allocation, compliance and reporting, while also handling large volumes of repeatable administrative work.

PwC is contributing finance transformation, controls and implementation support aimed at moving the tools from prototype to broader enterprise use. OpenAI is providing the models and products used to build and manage the workflows across existing software environments.

The companies said Codex can be used to create or adapt internal tools that support finance processes, such as dashboards, spend trackers and exception-management systems. Workspace agents, skills and connectors can also be used to run workflows across existing applications while following approved internal processes and using enterprise context.

Cost controls

Another issue for finance chiefs is controlling the cost of AI itself. As use of these systems grows, chief financial officers will need visibility into AI usage, token consumption and projected spending so adoption can be governed in the same way as other operating costs.

OpenAI cited internal examples of productivity gains from tools already in use. It said Codex helped its team process five times more contracts with the same-sized team, while IR-GPT was used to manage more than 200 investor interactions during a recent fundraise.

Executive view

Tyson Cornell, US advisory leader at PwC, outlined how the firm sees the shift in finance operations.

"Finance is at an inflection point, where organizations are moving from process efficiency to intelligent, decision-centric operations. Through our collaboration with OpenAI, we're helping clients embed agentic AI into the core fabric of the finance function, enabling more proactive insights, stronger controls, and a more adaptive operating model," said Tyson Cornell, US advisory leader, PwC.

OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said the changes could reshape how finance teams influence broader business decisions.

"Finance has always been about judgment, trust, and making decisions in environments filled with complexity and constant change. AI gives finance leaders a much deeper ability to see around corners and act faster. I believe we're now entering a moment where the finance function itself gets reimagined to shape decisions in real time. The opportunity here is far bigger than efficiency, it's about giving finance leaders the tools to operate with greater foresight, agility, and strategic impact across the business," said Sarah Friar, Chief Financial Officer, OpenAI.