AI in Financial Advisory Services: Useful Tool, Uncertain Substitute | Rob Hong

Where can AI add value in financial advisory services – and why is it unlikely to fully replace professional expertise in the near term?
Rob Hong of Sapling Financial Consultants joins Mario Nigro to discuss AI’s practical uses and significant limitations in financial advisory services, as well as the outlook for Canada’s lower mid-market M&A sector. Topics discussed include:
• Rob’s experience using AI at Sapling, the impact of advances in agentic AI and the ebb and flow of enthusiasm he is seeing in the financial advisory sector;
• Discrete tasks where AI often shines, including first-pass financial modelling and general-ledger analysis, “fuzzy matching,” research, and business development;
• Why AI efficiency gains do not displace experienced professionals with the ability to identify errors, exercise judgment, take responsibility and train junior colleagues; and
• Beyond AI, the current state of Canada’s lower mid-market, where trade uncertainty and insistence on extensive diligence are constraining transaction completion despite substantial dry powder and pent-up demand.
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