AI in the finance function: usage grows on the path to scale
The increasing adoption rate of AI is remarkable considering AI only has been commercially available for around two years – and this might explain the maturity of organisations’ AI strategies.
CFOs at Australian corporations are seeing a rapid pick-up in the use of AI at their organisations and in their finance functions but are still working towards implementing the technology at scale as they juggle competing priorities.
According to Deloitte’s most recent biannual CFO Sentiment Report – which featured responses from more than 60 large company CFOs – AI use in the finance function has more than doubled to 64 per cent since the end of 2024 , narrowing the gap between it and the broader organisational adoption rate, which sits at 83 per cent.
It is a remarkable adoption rate considering AI really has only been commercially available for around two years – and this might explain the maturity of organisations’ AI strategies. Three-quarters of respondent CFOs said their organisations’ AI strategies are in either the “early” or “somewhat developed” stages.
It goes without saying that having a top-down approach, where AI is coordinated in a strategic way across both the finance function and the whole business can lead to bigger benefits and profitability.
Deloitte’s most recent State of Generative AI in the Enterprise report found the organisations who invested big and fast in AI transformation ended up with increased efficiency and product capabilities, translating into pricing advantages and market growth. Those who took a bit longer to invest in Gen AI are now struggling to catch up.
It can be hard to see AI investment through to implementation without those guiding top-down strategies both across the business and within the finance function. What’s preventing these strategies from developing?
At the moment, CFOs point to factors including competing priorities, investment costs, skills shortages and privacy concerns. Almost half of the CFOs surveyed described “competing priorities” as the biggest barrier to AI adoption in their company specifically. This was followed by “talent resources and capabilities” and “sufficient depth of understanding of AI technology” at 34 and 31 per cent respectively.
Interestingly, all three of these top barriers to AI deployment slightly decreased in their relevance for CFOs over the last six months. Comparatively, “privacy and security issues” grew by 13 percentage points over the same period, reflecting growing global concerns about data governance and rising cyber threats.
The challenges CFOs face with implementing firm-wide AI strategies may be influencing the way they view risk. For example, “technology implementation and digital disruption” jumped 12 percentage points in its perceived risk level for CFOs over the last six months, up to 48 per cent.
CFOs’ growing concerns around AI privacy and security could also suggest they increasingly recognise what’s at stake: Deloitte’s State of Generative AI in the Enterprise report highlights that organisations risk losing 20 to 56 per cent of their market cap following a negative trust-related event.
Ironically, it also found that the erosion of trust in AI is leading to an increased demand for personal customer service and human interaction, which could be another factor to consider in the development of a mature AI strategy.
Elsewhere, the global business landscape continues to be demanding, with compressed margins, weak profitability, and many businesses reluctant to pass on additional price increases to consumers already faced with cost-of-living pressures.
In the face of this, cost control and operational efficiency are top of mind for CFOs, with 80 per cent saying it’s a high priority for their organisation.
However, the report also suggests CFOs may be taking a growth-enabling perspective on cost management. Rather than viewing cost-cutting as a short-term, defensive strategy, they are aligning cost initiatives with strategic goals to encourage longer-term growth and efficiency improvements.
This has encouraged CFOs to make strategic choices about how to allocate limited resources for the greatest impact. It also implies they could be re-aligning their budgets to further invest in AI deployment or development.
Clearly, business leaders are aware of the need to invest in transformation and technology to boost productivity, and AI is front of mind. But as it becomes more powerful and pervasive, there’s growing pressure to deploy it responsibly, securely, and officially.
The pace of AI adoption has been remarkable, but with the technology so far mostly contained to growing pockets of use, its full potential – in the finance function and beyond - remain to be seen.
Once organisations overcome these barriers to scale (and they will) to execute deployment in accordance with a top-down strategy, the technology’s productivity benefits will become truly visible.
Stephen Gustafson is CFO Program Leader at Deloitte Australia.
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