PwC and OpenAI Build a First-of-Its-Kind OpenAI Native Finance Function

The collaboration aims to help redefine the future of finance by combining agentic AI with human supervision, enabling finance teams to govern, improve, and scale AI agents over time.

NEW YORK, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PwC today announced an expanded collaboration with OpenAI to help create the first of its kind AI native finance function at enterprise scale, combining agentic AI with human supervision to reshape how finance work gets done.

Together, PwC and OpenAI are building AI agents around the core operating rhythms of finance, from planning, forecasting, and reporting to procurement, payments, treasury, tax, and the accounting close. What sets this collaboration apart is its focus on building in the real world, not just designing in theory. For example, PwC and OpenAI are building a procurement agent inside the OpenAI finance organization, and are applying those learnings to additional agents across core finance workflows. That hands-on model is intended to speed innovation, prove the value of an AI native finance function in practice at OpenAI, and continuously improve the offering based on learnings.

Powered by OpenAI native finance capabilities and PwC's deep expertise in finance, risk, and transformation, the collaboration is intended to move finance beyond task automation toward an operating model where AI agents can execute complex work, collaborate across workflows, and support faster, more insight-driven decisions.

"Finance is at an inflection point, where organizations are moving from process efficiency to intelligent, decision-centric operations," said Tyson Cornell, US Advisory Leader. "Through our collaboration with OpenAI, we're helping clients embed agentic AI into the core fabric of the finance function, enabling more proactive insights, stronger controls, and a more adaptive operating model."

In this new operating model, the role of finance professionals evolves from primarily executing processes to supervising, governing, and improving AI agents over time. Finance teams remain accountable for judgment, controls, and outcomes, while helping define the guardrails, policies, and organizational memory that allow agents to perform more effectively and responsibly. Through MCPs and reusable skills, agents can connect to enterprise systems with the right controls, produce more reliable outputs, and follow consistent operating patterns across finance processes.

At the same time, domain experts can use Codex and OpenAI emerging product surfaces to build bespoke applications for targeted finance workflows — accelerating solutions for accruals, close activities, reconciliations, reporting, and other operational needs without relying solely on traditional software development cycles. This is the foundation of a new kind of finance function: AI native by design, human-governed actions, continuously improving over time.

"Finance has always been about judgment, trust, and making decisions in environments filled with complexity and constant change. AI gives finance leaders a much deeper ability to see around corners and act faster," said Sarah Friar, CFO at OpenAI. "I believe we're now entering a moment where the finance function itself gets reimagined to shape decisions in real time. The opportunity here is far bigger than efficiency, it's about giving finance leaders the tools to operate with greater foresight, agility, and strategic impact across the business."

This collaboration reflects a broader shift toward an OpenAI native finance operating model, where work begins with intent and is executed by AI agents acting across systems, workflows, and data environments. Through hands-on collaboration, PwC and OpenAI are creating a continuous feedback loop between emerging innovation and real-world execution. This model allows both organizations to rapidly test, refine, and scale capabilities in ways that are practical, enterprise-ready, and closely aligned to the evolving priorities of CFOs.

Co-developing the future of Intelligent Enterprise for Finance

The focus of this collaboration is on practical, high-value workflows where AI agents can execute and coordinate work under human supervision. This includes:

• Procurement agents that guide intake, create requisitions, answer policy questions, record item receipt and support procurement workflows
• Specialized agents that accelerate contract review, perform risk assessments, and power other autonomous finance operations
• Bespoke applications that help automate accruals, accelerate close activities, streamline reporting, and deliver customized dashboards — enabling domain experts to build targeted solutions around enterprise platforms faster and better serve stakeholders.

By leveraging Workspace Agents, Codex and OpenAI emerging product surfaces, the collaboration aims to show how finance teams can move beyond point automation toward an enterprise operating model where agents run repeatable workflows, surface exceptions, and continuously improve how work gets done.

PwC is proud to collaborate with OpenAI in this way within the finance domain, helping shape how an AI native finance function can be deployed with the governance, transparency, and control required in enterprise environments. Together, PwC and OpenAI are translating emerging AI capabilities into enterprise-ready solutions designed to work within existing finance systems, controls, and operating models.

You can learn more about how PwC and OpenAI are helping drive impact here: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/alliances/openai.html

About PwC 

At PwC, we help clients build trust and reinvent so they can turn complexity into a competitive advantage. We're a tech-forward, people-empowered network with more than 364,000 people in 136 countries and 137 territories. Across audit and assurance, tax and legal, deals and consulting we help clients build, accelerate and sustain momentum. Find out more at www.pwc.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pwc-and-openai-build-a-first-of-its-kind-openai-native-finance-function-302762032.html

SOURCE PwC