We’re Ellen and Simone. After 36 years in finance, we’re ready to share what textbooks won’t tell you.

💛 Welcome to The CFO Playbook – your practical guide to real-world finance insights. A bi-weekly newsletter we’ll send out every other Thursday. The full read will take approximately 5 minutes. If you’re enjoying the newsletter, we’d greatly appreciate it if you shared it using the “Share the Newsletter” button at the end of this email.

📖 READ OF THE WEEK

In this special AI edition, we're taking one final deep dive into essential topics. Starting with our next newsletter, you’ll find all your AI updates in our new AI section!

In this edition, we cover:

• ChatGPT vs. Claude: A guide on when to choose each AI for your needs

• AI Security: Best practices for using AI with confidential data

• 5-Minute Magic: Use Case how AI powers rapid financial analysis

ChatGPT vs Claude: Which AI Assistant Should Finance Teams Choose?

Want a detailed comparison? Check out this great video from our friends at 9x. It’s 19 minutes well spent. Packed with insights to help you understand key differences.

Here's our quick take after extensive testing:

Performance & Strengths:

• Claude: Leads in overall performance

• Claude: Better at writing (emails, reports, content)

• ChatGPT: Offers web browsing, voice mode, chat memory

• Claude: Slightly more accurate, fewer hallucinations

Key Features:

• Canvas (GPT): Digital whiteboard for:

  • Creating code

  • Analyzing data and charts

• Artifacts (Claude): Dedicated space for:

  • Creating code

  • Analyzing data and charts

  • Generating diagrams and images

Quick Feature Guide:

• Canvas is ChatGPT's digital whiteboard (available in Plus/Enterprise, click Open in Canvas" button) where you can display code, charts, and more in an organized workspace.

• Artifacts is Claude's dedicated output space (available in both Free/Enterprise, outputs appear automatically) where code, charts, and diagrams are displayed separately from the chat for better organization.

Our Take: Test both with the same prompts. Most finance teams benefit from having both!

AI Security: What You Need to Know

Already using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? Enterprise AI platforms offer the same level of security you trust for your sensitive data.

When to Use Which Version:

Free & Plus Versions

• Perfect for Daily Tasks:

  • Writing emails & team updates

  • Creating month-end closing schedules

  • Drafting documentation & policies

  • Preparing meeting materials

• Basic coding assistance

• General Excel formulas

• Any non-confidential tasks

Enterprise Versions Required

• Financial data analysis

• HR and personnel information

• Strategic planning documents

• Confidential business data

Quick Rule: If it contains real company data → Use Enterprise!

Why Enterprise Matters

Free versions of AI tools may use your inputs for model training. Enterprise editions guarantee your data stays private. A company enterprise account provides secure access for your entire team, with pricing based on the number of users - typically around €25 per employee per month.

Key Takeaway

If you're comfortable with your current cloud security setup, enterprise AI platforms offer similar protection. Just remember: Keep sensitive data strictly to enterprise versions.

💡Pro Tip: Implement clear AI usage policies in your organization.

Check the security standards here for ChatGPT & Claude:

• ChatGPT Enterprise

• Claude Enterprise

USE CASE: AI for Financial Analysis Made Easy

Stop spending hours on complex Excel analyses. GPT and Claude help you complete them in minutes.

Here are just some use cases where AI can help you instantly 

• Excel or Google Sheets visuals and advanced formulas

• Data cleaning and formatting

• Python-powered financial analysis (and yes, you need zero coding skills for this!)

• Automated monthly reporting

• HR analytics

• Variance analysis and forecasting

Audit Proof: While AI tools like GPT-4 and Claude aren't audit-proof yet, developers are continuously working on making AI systems more transparent and traceable. Future advances will likely enable direct integration of AI models into auditable processes. For now, it's simple: just copy the AI suggestions for formulas and code into Spreadsheets (Excel, G-Sheets) or Python. Your trusted tools version control ensures auditors can follow your calculations easily.

Real World Example: Headcount Analysis in Minutes Using AI

Tools You Need For This Use Case:

• ChatGPT

• To run the Python code:

  • Google Workspace Users: Access Google Colab directly through your browser for Python coding at no additional cost.

  • Windows Users: Use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) as a powerful, free alternative for Python development.

• Google Sheets or Excel - Your choice of spreadsheet tool

That's it! No complex setups or expensive software required. These tools are already part of your workplace toolkit.

We'll use GPT, Google Colab, and Google Sheets in our example below:

The Situation: Your CEO needs a board presentation on headcount cost development for tomorrow! You have a spreadsheet with 100 employees looking like this:

The Perfect Prompt:

I need to analyze headcount data for a board presentation. I attach a spreadsheet Please help me:

1. Show headcount per department for 2024

2. Compare total salary costs 2024 vs 2025 by department

3. Create visualizations for the above

4. Write a 5-bullet executive summary with exact numbers

5. Provide Python code for Google Colab for the visualizations 

6. Benchmark our 2025 salary adjustments against other SaaS companies

7. Give me Google Sheets formulas for the same visualizations

💡 Pro Tip: AI works best when you break down complex requests into clear steps. Always mention your data structure and specific needs!

Watch our detailed Loom video (just 5:50 min) below to see this magic in action!

Here's a snapshot of what's generated for You:

• Complete headcount analysis

• Custom Python visualizations (no coding needed!)

• Executive summary with key metrics

• Industry benchmark comparison

Time Saved: 3+ hours of manual work condensed to 5 minutes!

AI vs. Traditional Benchmarking Tools: While companies traditionally paid thousands for access to salary benchmarks from Mercer, Radford, WTW and co, AI now instantly provides these insights from trusted sources - helping you make data-driven compensation decisions in minutes instead of weeks!

🔮 Navigating AI: Your Finance GPS

ChatGPT Search Goes Live: Google's Biggest Fear Just Became Reality

ChatGPT just got a major upgrade: It can now search the internet putting it in direct competition with Google Search. While this new feature is still being fine-tuned, it shows how OpenAI is rapidly transforming from a chatbot into a serious search competitor.

Sources: OpenAI, The Verge

💼 JOB SECTION

We’re connecting companies with the right candidates based on key criteria

• Remote work

• Salary expectations from both sides

• Technical skill set match

• Career growth opportunities

Companies: Register here
Applicants: Register here

Let’s find your perfect match!

🕵️‍♀️ EASY QUESTIONS - DIFFICULT ANSWERS

READER QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Question: "Tips for presenting financial results to non-finance audiences at company all-hands? As a Finance Leader, I struggle with what to share and to make the numbers engaging and understandable for everyone”

Answer: Here's how to make financial updates both meaningful and accessible:

Keep it simple:

• Use "sales" instead of "revenue topline"

• Talk about "money we earned" rather than "EBITDA"

• Make comparisons easy: "For every $100 in sales, we spend $120"

Create context and build trust:

• Help teams understand that most growing companies operate at a loss

• Connect spending to reality: "Would you book a 5-star luxury hotel if it was your own startup?"

• Be transparent - celebrate successes together when we beat budgets

• But also prepare teams for tough times - nothing worse than expecting funding news and hearing about layoffs - I've experienced this already twice in my career

Balance transparency and discretion:

• Be open about company performance

• But remember: with 200+ employees, numbers can (and will) travel

• Share enough to build trust, but be mindful of sensitive details like runway

Remember: Your team deserves to understand the company's financial health - good or challenging. It's their success too. But always align with leadership on what to share.

Got a burning question? Fill out this form

UPCOMING

• The Revival of Processes

• ERP Implementation Best Practices

• Finance Tech Stack

• …and many more

CLOSING REMARKS

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this edition, feel free to share it with your network. 📮 

Send your feedback, suggestions, or requests to feature something in future editions to [email protected]. We’d love to include your input.

Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates!

The CFO Playbook reflects our personal opinions, not professional advice.