Only 21% of CFOs rate their function’s AI preparedness as leading or advanced, with most gravitating toward defensive applications such as fraud detection and risk assessment rather than growth-oriented uses like forecasting or dynamic pricing. Larger organizations show a clear edge, with 35% of CFOs at firms generating more than US$10b in revenue describing strong AI capability, compared with 14% at smaller firms.
Data quality emerged as the biggest barrier to securing AI investment, cited by 61% of respondents, followed by the difficulty of building a compelling business case around long-term or indirect benefits.
The survey also points to a cultural problem. Finance transformation outcomes exceeded expectations at just 12% of organizations over the past two years, with 40% reporting slow or limited progress. The research links better outcomes directly to team adaptability, with 42% of CFOs whose teams are highly adaptable reporting transformation results that beat expectations, against just 3% where teams struggle with change.
Joseph Wolk, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Johnson & Johnson, acknowledged that AI investment discipline has historically been uneven. “There was a real concern about falling behind, and in some cases organizations were making investment decisions without the same level of financial discipline applied elsewhere. That is starting to change.”
The Secret CFO, a former finance chief at large multinationals and founder of the newsletter of the same name, argued that speed of decision-making will separate the CFOs who succeed. “Differentiation will come down to improving the speed and quality of decision-making across the business. That is not just about technology. It is about understanding processes deeply and being willing to redesign them.”
