When your CEO “chats with the data” and celebrates a great quarter that never happened, you’ve got a data problem — not an AI problem. AI doesn’t fix bad data; it amplifies it. This article explores what good data actually looks like, and why deliberate, consistent data design is the real foundation for AI-ready finance.

The real power of finance data, and the AI built on top of it, starts from the bottom up. A strong data foundation begins with uniform naming, structured onboarding, and disciplined entry at the transactional level. Companies that build from clean, consistent inputs will unlock faster closes, better insights, and true AI leverage. Those that don’t will spend their time fixing what better design could have prevented.