Good morning. Tech company Workday’s AI platform manages finances, HR, and now digital employees. I recently sat down with Zane Rowe, CFO of Workday, to talk about agentic AI, which refers to AI-powered agents that can independently perform tasks, provide insights, and optimize workflows.

In the case of Workday, a CFO Daily sponsor, it recently launched an Agent System of Record, which is a hub for businesses to manage and govern large numbers of AI agents. It has garnered wide interest and is resonating with customers, Rowe said. 

However, entering this next phase of AI requires an enhanced workforce perspective. After all, agents are becoming part of the workplace community, alongside everybody else in the company, he said. 

“We see a lot of opportunity for people to be working alongside agents,” Rowe told me.

What would that look like in the finance org? Rowe gave the following example: In the purchasing group, an AI agent can have the job of scouring through thousands of contracts to assess whether, when a particular vendor comes up for renewal, discounts come into play. The agent can also come up with intel on ways to strengthen the relationship with a vendor, he said. An agent can also be useful when it comes to payroll accuracy. Companies have a lot of data, and agentic AI can help make it more accessible, Rowe said.

“We've also talked about a financial audit agent,” he added. That would provide a company the opportunity to look at 100% of your data and almost do an internal audit before you have external auditors come in, he said.

“Not only will we be producing a lot of these agents, but partnering with others to do the same on our platform,” Rowe said.

Workday, a Fortune 500 company, reported its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 25. Total revenues were $2.211 billion, an increase of 15% from the same period last year. Subscription revenues were $2.04 billion, an increase of 16% year over year, beating expectations. Continued momentum with its financial products and growing demand for our AI SKUs, contributed to Q4 results, according to Rowe.

Constant learners

When it comes to how AI will affect the workplace, American workers continue to have mixed feelings, a recent Pew Research Center survey finds. However, 40% of employees surveyed who have used AI chatbots for work say these tools have helped them to do things more quickly. So embracing agentic AI may be a matter of understanding how to work with the tool effectively.

As Workday is leaning heavily into AI internally, there are learning opportunities for employees across the company, Rowe said. In the finance organization, for example, “we've got our own tailored work streams, educational, peer teaching,” he said.

Regarding future finance talent, Rowe thinks being a constant learner is key. Along with aptitude in finance, and even tech, collaborative skills are high on his list, since finance must work with departments across the company, and being enthusiastic and willing to try new things, are important too.

And getting along with digital employees couldn't hurt.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com