Finance chiefs sound alarm: 88% see AI revolution but only 8% feel ready

The AI revolution sweeping through corporate finance has exposed a troubling disconnect: while nearly nine in 10 finance leaders recognise artificial intelligence as transformational, fewer than one in 12 feel their organisations are adequately prepared to harness it. A comprehensive survey of 1,446 finance and accounting professionals conducted by AICPA and CIMA between August and September 2025 reveals that 88% view AI as the dominant technological trend set to reshape the profession over the next 12 to 24 months. Yet when asked to rate their organisational readiness, only 8% felt “very well prepared” to handle the changes ahead, with 39% admitting they were barely prepared at all.

The findings underscore a critical vulnerability in the finance sector: awareness has not translated into action. Despite universal recognition of AI’s transformative potential, most organisations lack the human capital and strategic frameworks needed to capitalise on the technology. This readiness gap threatens to leave the profession ill-equipped for a future in which data-driven decision-making and automated processes become the norm rather than the exception.

The Widening Preparedness Gap

The preparedness deficit extends well beyond artificial intelligence alone. Even for technologies with established track records, finance leaders report concerning gaps in organisational capability. While 54% identified cybersecurity as critically influential, nearly a quarter rated their readiness at the lowest levels. Data analytics, selected by 59% as a top-tier technology, saw 30% of respondents admitting inadequate preparation despite its widespread recognition as fundamental to competitive advantage.

The pattern continues across emerging technologies. Robotic process automation, identified by 34% of respondents, and machine learning, cited by 33%, both face substantial implementation hurdles. For more nascent technologies such as blockchain and quantum computing, the readiness gap widens dramatically. More than half of finance leaders feel unprepared for quantum computing, while 44% express similar concerns about blockchain, reflecting unclear business cases and limited in-house expertise.

Skills Shortage As Primary Barrier

The survey identifies a clear culprit behind the implementation crisis: lack of skills and talent. Half of all respondents cited human capital shortfalls as the primary barrier preventing technology adoption, far outpacing concerns about safety and security (47%), technical maturity (42%), cost (39%), or the need for radical business transformation (39%). This skills deficit creates a self-reinforcing cycle in which organisations cannot adopt new technologies because they lack skilled employees and visionary leaders, which in turn prevents them from developing the human-technology synergies that drive transformation.

The skills crisis manifests most acutely in generative AI, where 46% of respondents identified capability gaps within their finance teams. This represents the single most prominent skills deficit in the profession, reflecting the technology’s rapid emergence and finance teams’ inability to build capacity at matching speed. Broader technology skills gaps follow closely, with 37% citing deficiencies in AI, big data, cloud computing, and robotics, while 36% point to inadequate data and analytics capabilities.

Andrew Harding, chief executive of management accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, emphasised the urgency in the report’s foreword. “This is not just a technology challenge; it is also a professional development and strategic priority,” he wrote. “The data make clear that our future success hinges on our ability to bridge this human capital gap.”

The Human Element Beyond Tech Skills

Notably, the skills gap extends beyond purely technical capabilities to encompass the soft skills essential for translating technological capability into business value. A third of respondents identified deficiencies in communication, influencing and critical thinking, while 32% pointed to gaps in business partnering, including commercial acumen, collaboration and leadership. These findings suggest that technical proficiency alone proves insufficient for finance teams to deliver relevant and impactful results in an AI-driven environment.

The prominence of these human-centric skills reflects a fundamental shift in the finance professional’s role. As artificial intelligence and automation handle increasingly sophisticated tasks, the uniquely human abilities of professional discretion, persuasion and collaboration become more rather than less critical. Finance professionals must excel not only at manipulating data and deploying technology but also at translating complex analytical insights into actionable business recommendations and influencing strategic decisions across their organisations.

Historical data from AICPA and CIMA surveys conducted in 2021 and 2023 reveal how dramatically priorities have shifted. Technology and AI skills have surged from a secondary concern, cited by 20% in 2021, to the single most dominant skillset today, with 47% identifying general IT and tech skills as gaps and 56% expressing specific concern about generative AI capabilities. Meanwhile, communication, influencing and critical thinking have shown steady growth from 35% in 2021 to 41% today, reinforcing that as technology automates routine tasks, human skills of judgement and collaboration become increasingly valuable.

Productivity Challenges Compound Hurdles

The skills shortage directly undermines productivity initiatives that chief financial officers are pursuing to enhance organisational performance. The survey found that lack of necessary skills topped the list of productivity barriers at 41%, followed by low motivation levels (37%), incompatible technology systems (32%) and poor coordination in implementing new technologies (32%). These findings demonstrate that productivity and innovation rely not merely on deploying new systems but on empowering people and developing capabilities.

Despite these challenges, CFOs are actively pursuing technology-driven productivity enhancements. The most common initiative, cited by 59% of respondents, involves implementing new systems and software, closely followed by automation of accounting and finance tasks (48%), new approaches to budgeting, pricing and reporting (46%), and cross-functional collaborations (45%). Nearly a third highlighted partnerships with customers and vendors as productivity enhancements driven by the finance team.

How Leaders Are Responding

Faced with mounting skills deficits, organisations are pursuing multiple strategies to build capability. Internal training programmes represent the most common approach, deployed by 62% of organisations, followed by external training programmes (45%) and hiring new talent (35%). The notable reliance on recruitment suggests that when internal capabilities fall short, many employers turn to the labour market as a practical solution, though this may represent a reactive strategy that fails to address the broader industry-wide skills shortage.

When asked to identify the most effective learning approaches for technology upskilling, respondents ranked on-the-job training highest at 61%. This preference for practical, experiential learning reflects a desire for just-in-time capability building that directly relates to daily work. Interestingly, respondents viewed online courses (45%) as equally effective as in-person workshops (46%), suggesting that delivery modality matters less than content relevance and practical applicability.

A Profession At A Crossroads

The survey data paint a picture of a profession in transition, caught between recognition of transformative potential and the practical realities of implementation. There exists near-universal acknowledgment that AI and data-centric technologies will fundamentally reshape finance and accounting work, yet this awareness remains unmatched by organisational preparedness, particularly regarding both technical capabilities and softer skills like communication and business partnering.

The constraint proves to be not primarily the technology itself but rather the human capital and organisational structures required to harness it effectively. The dominance of skills shortages as the primary barrier, combined with the strong preference for on-the-job learning, indicates a clear path forward: strategic investment must be channelled into practical, accessible and continuous upskilling programmes and collaborative projects to bridge the readiness gap and unlock productivity gains.

The findings serve as both warning and roadmap. Finance leaders who conduct honest assessments of their teams’ preparedness, audit their skill development strategies, diagnose their primary adoption barriers, align technology initiatives with productivity goals, and foster strategic partnerships position themselves to transform finance from record-keeping to forward-looking, data-driven strategic advisory. Those who delay face the prospect of watching the AI revolution pass them by, unable to bridge the gap between awareness and action that currently defines the profession’s greatest challenge.