What Agentic AI Means for the Future of Work in Finance

Financial services is entering a period of transformation on par with the shift to digitization. Agents represent AI systems that operate autonomously, make decisions, and adapt without constant human oversight, fundamentally shaping how finance teams operate.

The Competitive Imperative

The agentic AI market in financial services is projected to explode from $2.1 billion in 2024 to $80.9 billion by 2031 (~70% CAGR).

Agentic systems work beyond predefined tasks, building and drawing conclusions from financial models all with minimal human intervention. By 2028, agentic AI is expected to autonomously handle at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions. It is an inevitability that agentic tools will upend the finance industry.

The New Human-Agent Dynamic

The agentic future involves orchestrating a hybrid workforce where both operate in complementary roles.

In banking, imagine VP’s overseeing AI agents that automatically build financial models, client-ready presentations, and update forecast projections based on the latest available data. In private equity, associates will deploy AI agents to automatically build LBO models, produce IC-ready investment memoranda, map markets to identify attractive companies, and construct detailed operating models for portfolio businesses. 

Your investment professionals now focus on sourcing relationships, negotiating deal terms, and making strategic decisions informed by modeling insights - rather than spending time building models. What once took a junior analyst days now happens in minutes, freeing the team to evaluate more opportunities and add value where human judgment truly matters.

The relationship is collaborative but clearly defined: AI agents execute within established parameters, while humans set direction, define constraints, and manage exceptions. Future finance professionals must think like coaches and strategists rather than individual contributors - delegating effectively to AI and knowing when autonomous decisions require human intervention.

The Path Forward

Success requires integration strategies that work within existing systems of record. Agentic tools must offer a combination of robust compliance, seamless interoperability with existing systems, and the flexibility to dynamically address bottlenecks across the workflow.

The institutions that move decisively now will define the next era of financial services. At Endex, we’re building the tools for an agentic future - native within Excel, the foundational system of record for financial work.