Renzo DemartiniInsights
Insights.
Notes on practical AI and automation, integration, reporting and the systems that hold a business together.
01 From the work
AI, automation, integration and reporting.
The first 100 days of an integration
An acquisition is one decision, but an integration is a hundred smaller ones, and most of them should be made before the deal completes.
Reading a loss-making division
A division's P&L is a system. Before you act on a loss, make sure the reporting tells you the truth.
How a month-end close went from 21 days to 5
A slow close is rarely one big problem; it is many small waits, and the fix is to remove them in the right order.
Practical AI for a small business: where to start
Start with the work, not the tool. Fix the data, count hours and dollars apart, name one owner and decide at day 90 against a baseline.
What an operating model is, and where AI changes it
An operating model is five parts you can see and change. Map one process, mark each step as rule, AI or person, and fix decision rights before you automate.
SOP template: document the work before automating it
Write the trigger, checks and exceptions first, then decide which steps need a person and which can run by rules.
AI for accountants: five workflows to automate first
Start with a bounded workflow, use the features already available and keep a named reviewer accountable for what leaves the practice.
Xero Projects vs job management: choose by margin
Choose the system that shows the margin you need, with the costs and work behind it.
An AI roadmap for a growing business
A roadmap shows what comes first, what it costs to run and who decides. Score each workflow on hours and on cash, apart.
AI agents for business: five board questions
An agent needs a defined job, limited access and a person who can stop it.
Leverage ratios before an acquisition: agree the debt
Agree which liabilities count as debt before you compare funding mixes. The ratio supports the decision. It does not make it.
How to calculate break-even before adding a team
A growth decision needs achievable sales, complete costs and a named owner for each assumption. Calculate break-even, then test it against capacity.
Liquidity ratios before you approve growth
Reconcile the inputs behind the ratio, then show what is actually available for the new commitment. The ratio supports the decision. It does not make it.
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02 Reporting and governance
What a CEO and board should ask for.
Management accounts and reporting that drive decisions, and that a board can trust
Design the report around one decision, then run five checks before an automated report reaches the CEO and board, and test them by breaking the report on purpose.
What automation costs, what it saves and who owns it
An automation is worth it when it saves more than it costs to own, gives your team better work and has a named owner who keeps it under control.
AI and customer data: what a board should ask
Before customer information goes into an AI tool, a board should know what each task sends, which tool receives it and who answers for it. Six questions, one decision record.
2026 surcharge changes: protect your small business margin
Model payment costs, prices and customer choices together before changing your prices.
AI business intelligence: prove the answer first
An AI answer earns a place in a decision when its definition and its source records agree. Test three answers before you rely on any.
Profit and loss statements you can compare month to month
A change in reported profit needs a bridge before it supports a growth decision. Check the report first, then read the result.
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03 Finance controls
Finance systems and controls.
AP automation ROI calculator: what automating invoice approval is worth
Automating invoice approval can give your team hours back and stop money leaking on bills nobody should pay, while a named person still approves each one.
Job margin: the profit a divisional P&L hides
A steady divisional margin can hide jobs that slide; a weekly forecast on every live job shows the contribution at stake while there is time to act.
Delegations of authority: a register a CEO can use
A delegations register works when it fits on a few pages, names positions rather than people, and is tested against real transactions every quarter.
Connect business systems: where a CEO should start
Decide which system owns each record, then pick the way to connect it. Fix cash and compliance records first, and switch old systems off last.
AI governance for a small business: what owners decide
AI governance for a small business is five decisions: who is accountable, what is in use, what data goes in, what gets approved and what the board sees.
AI regulation in Australia: what applies to your business
No general AI law applies to your business today. One dated rule does: from 10 December 2026, covered businesses must disclose program decisions in their privacy policy.
AI and client data in an accounting practice: access first
Approve the data flow, permissions and review before connecting AI to client Xero files.
An automation business case the board can test
A proposal earns approval when its evidence survives challenge and its controls work.
AI in finance: what an assistant may touch in the ledger
An AI assistant works with the access of the person who connected it. Decide what it may read, draft, approve and pay, and keep the money with two people.
Claude vs ChatGPT: test your existing work first
Benchmark scores do not predict your results. Run the work you already trust through both models, then let the owner decide on the evidence.
Human in the loop needs time and authority
A review promise needs funded hours, useful evidence and someone with the authority to stop work. Budget all three before volume grows.
Map the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to your controls
Start with the evidence your business already holds, then decide which gaps matter before you expand AI use. NIST’s framework is voluntary.
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