Workshop

AI Project Evaluation for CFOs: A Working Session

John Michael Thomas

Chief AI Officer | AI Author & Advisor

Bringing Discipline to AI Investment Without Becoming the C-F-No

Every CFO knows the trap. Boards want AI. Teams want AI. Vendors want to sell you AI. And you're the one who has to decide what's worth funding, what needs more work, and what should be stopped.

All without exposing your organization to unacceptable data, compliance, and financial risk.

Apply too little discipline and you're funding compliance nightmares that never scale. Apply too much and you're the C-F-No – the person who killed AI before it had a chance.

This workshop gives you a structured way out of that trap: a step-by-step framework for evaluating AI projects, from defining the real business problem to assessing costs, risks, and scaling blockers. And a clear, objective way to communicate those decisions – so "no" comes with a reason, not just a verdict.

This is a working session, not a lecture. It's capped at 8 participants so we can evaluate real AI projects from your organization during the session itself.

And the work doesn't stop when the session ends. Your enrollment includes a follow-up 1-on-1 consulting session to help you work through at least 3 real projects from your organization, at no additional charge.

What you’ll learn

How to evaluate any AI project objectively and make fast, defensible, and repeatable investment decisions without becoming the C-F-No.

  • Apply a consistent framework to any AI proposal – new, in-progress, or competing for the same budget

  • Know exactly what's missing from a business case before you approve, redirect, or kill it

  • Identify the eight categories of AI risk that cause AI pilots to fail

  • Surface scaling blockers before they become budget problems

  • Communicate approvals, redirects, and rejections with objective criteria – not gut feel

  • Give boards and leadership a clear picture of how AI investments are being evaluated

  • Deploy a proposal form that pre-qualifies requests before they reach your desk

  • Shift the evaluation burden to the people proposing projects, not to you

  • Identify the highest-value, lowest-friction AI projects for finance teams

  • Prioritize based on your organization's current capabilities

  • Work through live examples from your organization with direct coach & peer feedback

  • Leave with real analysis done, not homework to finish later

Workshop agenda

  • Learn: How to Evaluate Any AI Project (45 min)

    A practical, step-by-step decision framework guiding you from defining the real business problem to protecting your data, controlling costs, identifying risk, and ensuring the project will scale.

  • Observe: Real Projects, Real Decisions (30 min)

    Instructor-led walkthrough evaluating real-world AI projects.

  • Apply & Exchange: Evaluate a Real Project (30 min)

    Evaluate a project yourself, then exchange approaches and insights with the group.

  • Learn: The Eight Types of AI Risk that End Projects (30 min)

    A practical risk assessment tool covering the issues that derail AI projects the most.

  • Apply: Evaluate Your Own Real Projects, Live (60 min)

    Work through participants' real AI projects together, with direct instructor & peer feedback.

  • Learn & Apply: AI Quick Wins for Finance Teams (20 min)

    A curated list of high-value AI projects specifically for finance, and which to tackle first.

  • Learn & Apply: Get the Information You Need Without Chasing Anyone (20 min)

    Review and use an AI project proposal form that pre-qualifies AI investment requests before they reach your desk.

  • Closing Exchange (20 min)

    Questions, reactions, and next steps.

Learn directly from John

John Michael Thomas

John Michael Thomas

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Chief AI Officer | Advisor - CFO AI Advisors | Author, Lead AI with Confidence

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Who this workshop is for

  • CFOs at organizations actively evaluating or funding AI projects.

  • Controllers and finance leaders being pulled into AI investment decisions.

  • Finance leaders at organizations just getting started with AI

What's included

AI Project Evaluation Guide

A consistent, step-by-step guide you can use immediately.

AI Project Proposal Form

A ready-to-deploy questionnaire that shifts the bulk of information collection to the people proposing projects.

Finance Function AI Quick-Start Guide

A curated an prioritized list of high-value AI projects specifically for finance teams.

Live project evaluation

At least one real AI project from your organization evaluated during the session.

Lifetime access

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

1-on-1 consulting session

A private follow-up session to help you evaluate at least 3 real projects from your organization – no hard stop, no additional charge.

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