Case 3: 📉 When Gut Feeling Replaces Systems – Why CFOs Still Trust Spreadsheets Over Tools
In many organizations, especially in the mid-market segment, we observed a surprising but widespread pattern: CFOs building their own “private logic” in Excel.
These self-built dashboards often reflect years of experience – but they also introduce risk, inefficiencies, and dependency.
🧩 The Traditional Way – Personal Logic, No Transparency
Typical Signs:
- Custom Excel models that only one or two people understand
- Frequent overrides of standardized reports because they “don’t feel right”
- Parallel reporting structures between BI tools and individual spreadsheets
- Teams spending hours reconciling versions instead of aligning actions
🕒 In some cases, we’ve seen:
- 2–3 FTEs maintaining reports manually
- 40+ hours per month on reconciliations
- Delayed closings due to manual corrections
💡 Where It Goes Wrong
- ❌ Overconfidence in manual models that can’t scale
- ❌ Low adoption of standardized tools due to lack of customization
- ❌ Strategic decisions based on instinct rather than shared data models
- ❌ Knowledge lock-in with senior individuals
✅ The Efficient Alternative – Tailored AI Agents That Learn How You Work
At Dr. Zwezich Consulting, we help CFOs design data models and AI tools that:
- Adapt to the CFO’s logic but make it scalable across teams
- Offer explainable output, bridging trust between human insight and machine output
- Allow real-time simulation and validation without requiring technical knowledge
- Gradually migrate Excel logic into governed, auditable environments
🧠 Why It Matters
Overconfidence is one of the most underestimated risks in finance. When teams stick to what feels familiar, they miss out on the clarity and speed modern tools can offer.
Our role is not to rip out what works – but to scale it, standardize it, and make it collaborative.