The first workflow to automate: a decision framework

The most common question I get from finance leaders ready to adopt agentic AI is simply: where do we start? The instinct is to pick the most painful process, but pain is only one factor. The right first workflow scores well on four dimensions at once, and choosing it deliberately sets up everything that follows.

The four dimensions

• Volume: high enough that automation moves a real number, not a rounding error.
• Rules-based: the logic is clear and documented, so an agent can apply it reliably.
• Low-risk: errors are recoverable and bounded, so an early stumble is not catastrophic.
• Visible: the pain and the win are obvious to the team and to leadership.

Why all four matter

High volume without low risk is a scary place to start. Low risk without visibility produces a win nobody notices. Rules-based without volume automates something that did not need it. The first workflow has to hit all four, because its job is not just to deliver value — it is to build the trust and the template that fund the second workflow.

Common good first picks

In practice, three-way match clearing in AP, routine reminder cadences in collections, and bank reconciliation matching tend to score well across all four. They are high-volume, well-understood, recoverable, and visibly painful today. Start there, bank the win, and expand from a position of demonstrated trust rather than promised potential.

The first workflow is a strategic choice, not just an operational one. Choose it for what it sets up, not only for how much it hurts today.