At the Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference, Soldo’s Brandon Till argued that finance must evolve from controlling spend to enabling it. With talent shortages and AI reshaping the profession, he said the real opportunity is empowering employees while keeping finance firmly in control.
At the Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference, the debate over whether finance should act as a “guardian” of resources or a “catalyst” for growth was front and center. For Brandon Till, Head of Business Solutions at Soldo, the answer is already clear.
Soldo focuses on the messy middle of corporate spending , the decentralized day-to-day purchases that don’t flow neatly through procurement but still matter to the business.
By combining company cards, a spend management platform, and a mobile app, Soldo gives employees the freedom to spend what they need while keeping finance in full control.
“Finance teams shouldn’t just be holding on to money,” Till told The CFO. “It’s about enabling people. The businesses that come out stronger are the ones that empower their teams and take opportunities. That’s the catalyst role finance needs to play.”
The opening keynote resonated deeply with Till. In tough markets, most CFOs tighten the reins, but Gartner’s data showed that nine out of ten may be getting it wrong. The firms that thrive will be those willing to invest and back their people.
“The expectations of finance have already shifted,” Till said. “The CFO office isn’t just a support function anymore. It’s a strategic leader across the business.”
Another statistic caught his attention: three-quarters of the accounting workforce is at or nearing retirement age.
“That surprised me,” he admitted. “It shows how fast finance leaders will need to lean on productivity tools. Pretty soon, they won’t have the people to fall back on.”
The talent shortage is more than a pipeline issue — it’s about appeal.
“Younger professionals don’t want to join companies stuck in outdated processes,” Till said. “If you’re still asking people to do manual tasks that should have been automated years ago, they’ll go somewhere else.”
That reality makes technology choices more than operational decisions. “Forward-thinking CFOs understand that the tools they invest in help shape the culture of their finance teams,” he added.
AI dominated the agenda, but Till warned against treating it as a cure-all. “We’re all excited about AI, but there are still big gains to be made from automation alone,” he said. “It’s about redesigning processes so that the people you do have can focus on decisions, not drudgery.”
Soldo itself has been adopting AI internally. Teams use generative AI platforms and smaller tools for one-off tasks, with Soldo’s spend controls making purchases quick and secure.
“It might be as simple as someone needing an AI headshot for a project,” Till explained. “With Soldo, they can make that purchase without creating headaches for finance.”
But with opportunity comes risk. Till said Soldo’s structure gives it an advantage in protecting client funds.
“We own the full payment processing stack, so client money only flows through Soldo. We’re not dependent on third parties,” he said.
That independence, he argued, allows the company to stay ahead of emerging fraud threats, including AI-driven phishing attacks.
“We’ve invested heavily this year to make sure we’re at the highest standards of security and compliance. Customers know their money is safe with us.”
Looking ahead, Till returned to the core theme of empowerment. “The role of finance isn’t just to be the guardian of the funds anymore. It’s to be the enabler,” he said.
Soldo’s vision is for every employee to have a card as naturally as they’re issued a laptop.
“Finance will still have oversight, but employees will be able to act quickly, spend responsibly, and help drive growth,” Till said. “That’s where finance as a catalyst really comes to life.”