As businesses pursue growth, finance leaders today face a dual challenge — accelerating efficiency while maintaining precision and control. This seemingly paradoxical goal lies at the heart of modern finance transformation.

Earlier this month, during a lunchtime talk jointly organized by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and Airwallex, Aprilina Loh, Partner at Triide Singapore, shared actionable insights drawn from our work with clients and Triide’s own digital transformation journeys — offering finance professionals practical strategies to navigate this delicate balance.

A “modern finance stack” refers to an integrated set of digital tools, software, and systems designed to streamline, automate, and enhance financial processes such as accounting, reporting, budgeting, and Treasury management. Building a modern finance stack allows companies to improve accuracy, increase efficiency, enable real-time insights, and adapt quickly to changing market conditions. It is crucial today because it helps organizations stay competitive, make data-driven decisions, ensure compliance, and scale effectively in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Addressing common misconceptions, Aprilina highlighted that ‘modernizing’ is not simply about upgrading or replacing legacy systems, but redefining the way finance creates value. Through real-world case studies, she illustrated how finance leaders can tell apart meaningful transformation from superficial “tech upgrades” — ensuring that every investment delivers tangible, long-term impact.

Drawing on her experience helping multiple organizations modernize upgrade their finance stacks, Aprilina shared how AI can truly empower finance teams. She emphasized that AI is not merely an automation tool, but a “smart brain” for decision-making.

 From invoice recognition to risk alerts, and from cash flow forecasting to issue tracing, the key lies in identifying the right use cases — where technology meaningfully enhances accuracy and agility without adding complexity.

Technology alone doesn’t drive change — people do. Aprilina shared practical approaches to ensure successful adoption, including fostering transparent communication throughout the transition; involving key users in a continual feedback loop to ensure the system meets their needs; providing ongoing support and training; and last but not least, setting measurable goals and monitoring progress towards those goals. These actions, she noted, will significantly improve engagement and ensure that new tools and workflows take root across teams.