{"id":36339,"date":"2026-04-29T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=36339"},"modified":"2026-05-01T12:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:04:32","slug":"sage-future-2026-high-performance-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/sage-future-2026-high-performance-under-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Sage Future\u00a02026:\u00a0Driving high performance in a high-pressure environment\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTrends & Insights<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSage Future\u00a02026:\u00a0Driving high performance in a high-pressure environment\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFinance teams are under pressure to move faster without losing control. At Sage Future, that tension came into focus\u2014revealing how real-time visibility, AI, and rising expectations are changing how finance operates for good.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Asavin\"\t\t\t\tAsavin Wattanajantra<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Finance teams are being asked to move faster\u2014without losing control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That tension is shaping how the role of finance is evolving, as organizations deal with increasing complexity, real-time expectations, and growing demands for visibility and accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first day of Sage Future 2026 in San Francisco, that shift was front and center. Across the opening keynote and day one sessions, the focus was clear: helping finance leaders navigate uncertainty, increase visibility, and perform at a higher level in complex, fast-moving environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the highlights from day one <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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High performance is a system <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One idea came through clearly on day one: high performance isn’t a personality type. It’s a system\u2014built on the right tools, the right data, and the right mindset working together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finance leaders are no longer just expected to close the books. They’re expected to bring judgment, foresight, and leadership to decisions across the organization.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two forces are shaping that expectation: greater real-time visibility, and the growing role of AI in finance workflows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More visibility, less buffer <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Connected systems and real-time data are giving finance teams a clearer picture of what’s happening across the business\u2014and that changes expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Yankees operate across dozens of departments<\/a>, with finance at the center. With Sage Intacct, their team can access shared, real-time information and provide faster answers without slowing them down.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that visibility also compresses the cycle. When information is available in real time, the gap between signal and action shrinks. Issues surface earlier. Decisions are expected sooner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI is accelerating the shift <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI isn’t just generating insights\u2014it’s being embedded directly into finance workflows, helping teams move from analyzing data to acting on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But new research from Sage and IDC highlights an important constraint.<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 70% of finance leaders say they would reject AI outputs they cannot explain\u2014even highly accurate ones. In practice, finance professionals are spending over 12 hours a week reconstructing, validating, and defending AI-generated work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Sage CEO Steve Hare highlighted in the keynote, in finance, accuracy isn\u2019t optional. Even small errors matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI can accelerate work. It cannot remove accountability. Finance leaders are still expected to apply judgment, validate outputs, and stand behind decisions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work doesn\u2019t disappear\u2014it shifts. More of it moves into validation, oversight, and control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From periodic reporting to continuous responsibility <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, finance has been structured around fixed cycles\u2014monthly close, quarterly reporting, year-end review. What’s emerging is different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As visibility increases and workflows become more connected, finance teams are moving into a more continuous operating rhythm: monitoring, validating, and responding in real time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means less time processing transactions, more time managing exceptions, reviewing outputs, and making decisions on current information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The underlying responsibility doesn’t diminish as new technology is introduced. If anything, it becomes more important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operating model is starting to change <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of tools out there. But finance teams need to ask questions about how they are structured and how they work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI reduces the time required for many tasks. At the same time, increased visibility and faster cycles expand the scope of responsibility.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result: work is more continuous, decisions are made earlier, and oversight matters more. For many organizations, existing processes weren’t designed for this pace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is where the real challenge\u2014and opportunity\u2014sits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Day two goes deeper into how AI supports this shift, with a focus on trust, explainability, and control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know finance teams can work more quickly. The focus is now more on effectively they can lead in a model where visibility is constant, decisions are faster, and responsibility is continuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finance teams are under pressure to move faster without losing control. At Sage Future, that tension came into focus\u2014revealing how real-time visibility, AI, and rising expectations are changing how finance operates for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":356,"featured_media":36343,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,49],"tags":[],"business_type":[41],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[100],"imagine_tag":[],"coauthors":[586],"class_list":["post-36339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology-innovation","category-trends-insights","business_type-growing-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Asavin Wattanajantra","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/sage_rushes_042826-91-low-rez-scaled.jpg","imagine_tags":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36339"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36432,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36339\/revisions\/36432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/36343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=36339"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=36339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}