In an environment where customer behaviour is changing rapidly, currencies can be volatile and decisions sometimes need to be made within hours, finance teams are increasingly in demand. For MTN Ghana, this pressure was long amplified by reporting and planning processes that were still largely manual. The company gradually embarked on a transformation with Vena, followed by Vena Copilot, to enable its finance function to devote more time to analysis and decision-making.
When manual tasks slow finance down
The starting point was fairly typical. MTN Ghana’s finance teams collected files from different entities, consolidated the data manually and prepared presentations using numerous copy-and-paste operations. Once reporting was complete, the information still had to be reformatted before being sent to the MTN Group, which used a different technology environment.
These operations took up a significant share of the teams’ time and made last-minute changes particularly difficult to absorb. A change in foreign exchange assumptions or revenue drivers could therefore force the teams to redo part of the work already completed.
Making finance a true decision-making partner
Under these conditions, finance risked remaining focused on a largely operational mission: collecting, checking, consolidating and presenting data. However, management wanted to evolve the function towards a more strategic role, capable of supporting the company in real time as it made decisions.
MTN Ghana’s CFO had therefore set a clear ambition: to bring the “Future of Finance” into the organisation’s day-to-day operations.
This ambition requires freeing teams from time-consuming tasks that do not necessarily create additional value. From this perspective, technology gradually became a lever for transformation.
Vena to automate FP&A processes
MTN Ghana leveraged Vena to automate part of its financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes, while bringing financial and non-financial data together on a centralised platform.
Consolidation operations that could previously take several hours are now completed in a matter of minutes. Teams therefore have more time to analyse results and work on higher-value topics. The Excel-like environment also made it easier for users to adopt the solution.
The issue is therefore not solely technological. It also concerns how work is organised: reducing repetitive operations so that finance professionals can focus more on their expertise.
AI gradually becomes part of the teams’ daily work
The second stage of this transformation involves artificial intelligence through Vena Copilot.
MTN Ghana now uses Copilot to access data quickly and answer questions that may arise during meetings or planning cycles. This capability notably makes it possible to find certain information more quickly when leaders need it.
However, the company did not choose to automate everything immediately. Instead, its approach is based on gradual adoption, with concrete use cases that are directly useful to teams.
Building trust before going further
This caution is one of the interesting lessons from MTN Ghana’s journey. The company believes that AI adoption must first be built on trust.
Teams therefore use Copilot in their daily activities to familiarise themselves with the tool and gradually integrate AI into their working habits. Forecasting and dedicated reporting agents could then represent the next stages in this evolution.
This approach is a reminder that digital transformation cannot be achieved simply by deploying a technology. It is also built with users, based on real needs and experiences that are concrete enough to create trust.
Less operational work, more strategy
Ultimately, MTN Ghana wants to fundamentally change how its finance teams allocate their time. Today, between 70 and 80% of their time is reportedly still devoted to operational activities. The ambition is to gradually move towards an organisation more focused on strategic responsibilities.
This evolution could change the very nature of finance professionals’ work. When data collection and consolidation take less time, teams can devote more energy to understanding trends, challenging assumptions, identifying risks and supporting decision-making.
A transformation that puts people back at the centre
MTN Ghana’s experience ultimately shows that artificial intelligence does not necessarily mean less human involvement in finance. On the contrary, it can enable employees to devote more time to the human and strategic dimensions of their work.
AI accelerates access to information and automates certain tasks. However, interpreting results, engaging with business teams and turning data into decisions remain at the heart of the finance teams’ role.
From finance that reports to finance that anticipates
MTN Ghana’s journey is still taking shape, but its direction is clear: to gradually move from a finance function primarily focused on explaining what happened to one capable of helping the company understand what might happen tomorrow.
This is what makes the experience particularly interesting. Transformation does not necessarily begin with a spectacular revolution. It can start with a very concrete question: how much time could a finance team devote to strategy if it spent less time searching for, consolidating and reformatting data?
At MTN Ghana, this reflection has already become an operational reality. And as confidence in AI grows, the technology could help create a faster, more available finance function that is, above all, closer to the decisions shaping the company’s future.
source: Vena Solutions
