The problem
Finance did not reject AI. It rejected AI it could not defend.
Gartner says more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027. The three causes they name are cost, unclear value, and inadequate risk controls. Not one of those is a model-quality problem. All three are trust problems.
Finance did not reject AI. Finance rejected AI it could not defend to an auditor. We treated that failure rate as the design spec.
This is the keynote we delivered at Ai4 Las Vegas, now open to everyone who could not be in the room. The related argument in written form is our AI governance framework and the guardrails that catch AI errors in production.
What you will hear
What audit-grade autonomy actually requires
- Why every automation stack caps autonomy on deploy day, and how a two-tier reasoning layer compounds it instead
- The context graph: institutional memory that survives turnover, reasons exceptions to resolution, and gets better with volume, not more code
- English as code: the same AP exception logic in 1,400 lines of Python versus 13 lines your auditor reads unaided
- The five questions to ask every AI vendor, including us. If the answer needs a metaphor, it is a guess.
- The 4-week playbook: segment, score, and sequence your finance processes for a chartered first wave
Why this works
Named alongside Microsoft, Palantir and Neo4j
Kognitos is a Gartner Sample Vendor for Context Graphs in two 2026 Hype Cycles, named alongside Microsoft, Palantir, Neo4j, Siemens and Redis. It is the only neurosymbolic automation platform on the list.
That distinction is the whole argument of this session. A context graph is what lets an agent carry institutional memory instead of re-deriving it, and deterministic execution is what lets an auditor replay the result.
Speakers
Who you’ll hear from
Who this is for
Built for the people who have to sign off
- CFOs and Controllers accountable for what the automation did
- VPs of Finance evaluating agentic AI against a real control environment
- Heads of Shared Services and GBS measuring cost and exception volume
- Finance transformation and automation leads sequencing the first wave
Every attendee
A complimentary finance assessment
Every attendee can claim a complimentary finance assessment covering:
- Your finance domains scored and ranked by payback
- A 30/60/90 day roadmap
- A governance framework your auditor can read
- A live walkthrough with your team
We will share how to claim it during the session.
FAQ
Common questions about the session
When is it?
Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 10 AM PT. Runs 60 minutes.
Will there be a recording?
Yes, every registrant gets the same-day recording, even if you cannot attend live. Register anyway and it lands in your inbox the same day.
Is this the same talk you gave at Ai4?
Yes, this is the full Ai4 Las Vegas keynote, plus the live Q&A there was no time for in Vegas.
Who should attend?
CFOs, Controllers, VPs of Finance, Heads of Shared Services and GBS, and finance transformation and automation leads.
Is this a product pitch?
It is an argument about architecture, with the product as the worked example. The five-questions section is deliberately written to be used against us as well as everyone else.
