2026 FINANCE REVIEW · SESSION 1 OF 2 · LIVE WEBINAR
AI in Your Books (what it actually changed this year)
For nonprofit, SaaS, and agency leaders who planned to put AI to work in 2026 and still can't say what it changed. A live Q&A on why it stalled, what AI can do in your finances today, and what to put in place before January. Nov 18 • 9:00 AM PT • 30 minutes
Register once, and you'll get a link to the library with on-demand recordings of both sessions, including Session 2, Year-End Budgeting (Dec 8). Want to join live and ask your questions? Register for each session separately.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
01 · THE PROMISE
Everyone planned for AI this year. Few can say what it changed.
“...we're looking at pattern-based auto-coding and grant allocation recommendations that AI can absolutely make.”
— CEO, youth-serving nonprofit
“I'm basically agentifying my entire company as much as I can.”
— CEO, travel and booking software company
At the start of 2026, the plan sounded simple. AI would take over the repetitive work and give the team its time back. Then the year happened. Some of it worked, as long as the inputs were predictable and looked the same every month. But AI only handled a few things, and the exceptions didn't always fit. Someone still had to check what AI produced.
It's not that nobody tried. Most teams did.
02 · THE DIAGNOSIS
AI didn't fail on its own. The ground under it wasn't ready.
“AI is going to willingly answer you and very happily be wrong, and have no idea it's wrong.”
— Rob Hamilton, Head of GTM, Digits
The reasons are familiar: no time to set it up, data that wasn't clean, tools that promised more than they delivered, and AI changing every few months. Add in everyone using it for their own bespoke use case with no shared rules, and you can end up making the problem bigger while feeling like you're solving it. That isn't anyone's fault. AI is only as good as what's underneath it.
But a stalled plan still costs something.
03 · THE COST
The year is almost over. The hours didn't come back.
“So I just ask that somebody spend a little bit of time looking in Bill.com at those that are automatically sent in, because the due dates are always wrong.”
— Creative agency owner
Instead of saving time, AI added a new job: checking its work. Teams are taking the time to check AI's work by hand to make sure it's right, and they correct the same mistakes month after month. Meanwhile, the close still runs late, and the people who need the numbers are still waiting on them.
So what can AI actually do for your finances right now?
04 · THE CONVERSATION
Your questions. Straight answers. not a sales pitch.
Thirty minutes of live Q&A with an accounting & financial operations expert. Submit your questions when you register, or ask live. We'll cover why AI mostly didn't change finances this year, what it can actually do today, and what to put in place so 2027 goes differently.
Matt Gardner
CEO & Co-Founder, Hiline
Katie Burns
Chief of Staff, Hiline
You'll leave knowing:
- Why so many AI plans stalled this year, and why it wasn't your fault
- What AI can and can't do in your finances today
- How to tell a useful AI tool from an oversold one
- What to have in place before January
Then in Session 2, we take what didn't work in 2026 and turn it into a 2027 budget that holds up.
05 · REGISTER
Close out 2026. Start 2027 ready.
Can't make it live? Your registration includes on-demand recordings of both sessions.