Finance Professionals as Spreadsheet Engineers

For decades, spreadsheets have been the cornerstone of financial planning and analysis (FP&A). What many don't realize is that finance professionals are, in essence, specialized software engineers—writing complex formulas, building intricate models, and creating computational systems that drive business decisions. The difference? While software engineers code in Python or Java, finance teams code in Excel and Google Sheets.

While both the professions are similar in nature, they evolved very differently. Twenty years ago, software engineers worked with low-level languages, used basic text editors, and lacked version control. Today, they enjoy sophisticated programming languages, powerful integrated development environments (IDEs), online version control, and now copilot (an intelligent agent that assists as you code)—making them 10x more productive.

Finance professionals deserve the same gains. Yet, they're still debugging complex VLOOKUP formulas, manually copying data between systems, and sending spreadsheet versions via email.

The core tools haven't fundamentally changed, even as the complexity of business has multiplied several times over. While software engineering has embraced specialized tools designed for scale, finance teams remain constrained by generic spreadsheet limitations.

This isn't just inefficient—it's a competitive disadvantage. Finance professionals spend up to 80% of their intellectual capacity on the operational aspects of their job rather than the strategic analysis that drives business value. It's time for finance to experience the same transformation that revolutionized software development.

Reimagining Financial Planning From the Ground Up

Drivetrain started with a vision—to use AI to help businesses make better decisions. As we built the product, we discovered that fundamental building blocks in the finance stack were missing. Before AI could truly transform financial planning, the underlying infrastructure upon which the practice was built needed to be completely redesigned. Building AI on top of spreadsheets would be like constructing a skyscraper on sand—impressive but unstable.

This realization led us to reimagine—and fundamentally rearchitect—the entire FP&A tech stack. We built:

DTML (Drivetrain Modeling Language): A powerful way to represent multi-dimensional financial formulas that maintains the familiar syntax of Excel, which finance professionals already know. You can build complex models without learning a new programming language.

Multi-dimensional Compute Engine: Unlike spreadsheets that slow to a crawl with large datasets, our engine processes millions of calculations across multiple dimensions within seconds. You can run complex scenario analyses, driver-based models, and detailed forecasts at a scale that would break traditional tools.

Finance-Friendly “Spreadsheet” Interface: We've preserved the intuitive grid-based environment finance professionals love about spreadsheets without the limitations. The learning curve is measured in hours, not weeks. Your team is productive from day one.

800+ Data Connectors: No more expensive data integration projects or messy manual imports. You can easily connect directly to your ERP, CRM, HRIS, and other systems to create a living financial model. With the ability to manipulate and transform data natively in Drivetrain, you don’t need separate ETL tools or technical assistance.

Drivetrain’s new foundation doesn't just solve today's challenges—it creates the FP&A platform necessary for AI to deliver on its transformative potential for finance teams.

From Automation to Strategic Insight

With a purpose-built business planning platform as our foundation, we've integrated AI capabilities that go far beyond simple automation. While traditional finance tools might automate calculations, Drivetrain's AI powers financial intelligence across your entire planning process:

AI Transforms lets you manipulate datasets with natural language commands. Simply say "Merge transaction and customer data" or "Add profit margin column" and it executes instantly, filling in the right formula. It gives finance teams the data manipulation powers once exclusive to engineers, without writing a single line of code.

AI Modeler generates sophisticated financial models from your existing systems with a single click. It automatically analyzes your ERP, CRM, and HRIS data to create baseline forecasting models that reflect your business structure. What previously required weeks of manual model building now happens instantly—providing a ready-to-use foundation that you can refine with your financial expertise.

AI Analyst serves as your 24/7 financial intelligence partner. Simply ask: "How's our West Coast performance trending?" or "What's driving our margin decline?" and get immediate, data-backed answers anytime. It’s like having your most insightful analyst available whenever strategic questions arise.

AI Alerts intelligently detects meaningful patterns and anomalies in your financial data. Beyond simple thresholds, it identifies significant trends, unexpected variances, and emerging opportunities. The system continuously monitors your financial ecosystem and notifies you of critical changes in real time, ensuring important signals never get missed.

These capabilities aren't just bolted-on features—they're deeply integrated into the workflow, creating a continuous feedback loop that makes your financial planning smarter with every cycle. These AI capabilities will never replace your financial expertise – they will magnify it.

Autonomous FP&A

AI will usher in a world of Autonomous FP&A by automating operational tasks of data collection, cleansing, and reconciliation – freeing finance teams to focus on strategic analysis, scenario planning, and business partnering. The role of FP&A is evolving, and with AI, finance professionals will become true navigators for the business, providing deeper insights faster than ever before.

This transformation isn't just about automation—it's about empowerment. It's about elevating finance from scorekeeper to strategic advisor. It's about moving from reactive reporting to proactive guidance. The finance function is now poised to become the central nervous system of the modern enterprise, connecting data points across the organization to guide critical decisions with unprecedented clarity.

The next era of finance is here. Those who embrace it will lead their organizations into the future. Those who don't risk being left behind.

Will you be a pioneer of Autonomous Finance?

Join us in reshaping the future of FP&A.

— The Drivetrain Team