Finance departments of global companies are adopting new technologies at a fast rate and already see clear benefits from using intelligent automation, artificial intelligence and AI agents in their function, according to the Deloitte study Finance Trends 2026, conducted globally among companies with annual revenues exceeding US$1 billion. More than six out of ten (63%) of the surveyed finance leaders have fully deployed and actively use AI in their departments and 21% already report clear, measurable return on investment.
As most finance leaders focus on multiple top priorities simultaneously in 2026, the study found that adopting new technological capabilities, including AI, ranks highest for nearly half of respondents (48%), on par with planning for external challenges (such as inflation, tariffs, regulations). In order to build stronger anticipation and prompt response, companies use AI to create advanced scenario-planning capabilities (30%) and to guide better financial decisions with the help of AI-driven insights (25%). When it comes to scenario planning, the study explains that companies are increasing the sophistication level and the frequency of their forecasts, in some cases even moving from monthly to daily cadences. In order to meet these needs, the surveyed CFOs use AI, which allows them to analyze a variety of data sources, including competitor information, pricing data, inventory levels, and customer preferences.
The expansion of the role of the CFO, which has become a strategy leader in the company, has created the necessity for technological and AI-driven solutions. Nearly half (48%) of CFOs whose roles have evolved into strategy leaders have fully integrated AI agents into the finance function. The areas within the finance function which could benefit the most from AI agents are financial planning and analysis (52%), sales and profitability management (48%), working capital optimization (46%) and expense management (44%).
AI is also among the preferred solutions for ensuring cost management. Almost half of CFOs (49%) use AI to identify cost reduction opportunities and 43%, to automate repetitive processes or eliminate manual verification in certain transactions. For example, some of the surveyed finance leaders use AI to scan their accounts receivables and proactively analyze transactions to identify potential errors and accounts with a higher potential for delinquency.
Companies which are in advanced implementation stage of AI solutions in the finance function cite as major barriers in adoption data security concerns (57%), followed by limited expertise (47%), regulatory complexity (44%) and legacy technology (31%). As a solution to the limited expertise, CFOs focus on developing their teams’ AI and automation skills (28%) and data analysis and integration capabilities (27%). Another solution to this new set of skills required in the finance team is expanding talent strategies, with 35% of surveyed CFOs considering candidates from non-traditional backgrounds for the finance function, like data analysis, AI specialists, etc., and 28%, insourcing talent from other departments. The new finance departments combine data scientists and engineers with accountants and finance professionals to match business expertise with technical capabilities.
“Finance leaders are increasingly considering or already using automation and AI to increase efficiency of their traditional tasks, to optimize cost, and, at the same time, to meet the growing expectations from their expanded role and scope and have a relevant contribution in strategy creation. Building the necessary set of skills and the required level of agility implies much more than finding the appropriate blend of technology infrastructure to enable it, it requires the right people with a sense of curiosity and problem solving, as well as technology background, corroborated with continuous learning for upskilling. The extent to which finance leaders will succeed to create a connected data infrastructure, expand their value as leaders beyond the finance function and foster agility by prioritizing efficient governance and scenario planning will have major implications on their increased role across the organization going forward,” said Zeno Caprariu, Audit Partner, Deloitte Romania, and Leader of the CFO Program in Romania.
The Deloitte Finance Trends 2026 study was conducted globally among over 1,300 finance leaders working in companies in various industries. Respondents are CFOs or next-in-line to be CFOs.
