More than half of OG&C respondents (51%) said they plan to counter these industry risks by taking measured risks of their own, such as entering new markets or pursuing acquisitions, while the remaining 49% said they plan to address the risks by taking “risk-averse” actions such as reducing costs.
Lack of resources to maximize investment opportunities
Drilling down further, more than three-quarters of OG&C finance leaders (77%) reported resource constraints that could potentially limit plans to expand into new markets and undertake acquisitions. That includes 49% who said they need a moderate increase in additional resources to maximize investment opportunities and 28% who said they need “a lot more resources.” More than half (53%) also reported that finding top talent is difficult, while 47% said the same about retaining top talent.
AI for managing costs
Given these resource constraints, what are OG&C finance leaders doing to help reduce costs? Two words: artificial intelligence. AI came in as the top cost containment solution among OG&C survey respondents, with 40% using it to identify cost reduction opportunities and 39% applying it to automate processes and reduce costs. The third-most cited practice by 38% of respondents was using cloud-based solutions to optimize costs. Just 22% of respondents reported realizing clear, measurable value so far from their AI investments, with another 30% saying they’re seeing value, but the technology is not fully optimized.
Preparing for the future of finance with agentic AI
While AI value creation can take longer than expected, those delays aren’t deterring OG&C finance leaders from pursuing the next frontier: agentic AI. In fact, 67% said they’ve already begun integrating agentic AI or have fully integrated agentic AI into their finance operations, while 30% are actively exploring the possibilities.
One of the most promising areas for the technology is financial planning and analysis (FP&A), which plays an important role in navigating uncertainty and informing capital allocation decisions. Nearly half of OG&C finance executives (48%) called out FP&A as the highest-potential use case, while 38% highlighted working capital allocation as an important agentic AI focus area.
Leading practices for adopting AI in OG&C finance
For OG&C companies, adopting AI in finance and accounting can be complex, requiring governance designed specifically for emerging technologies. Below are selected governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) leading practices—taken from Deloitte’s thorough GRC framework—that can assist with your approach:
- Maintain a modern, AI-enabled enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.
- Regularly assess your governance and controls framework and its compatibility with emerging technology such as AI.
- As finance teams expand sensitive data across AI workflows, continuously monitor and test these AI tools for data security and compliance.
- Consider establishing an AI center of excellence to simplify access to specialized talent and upskill finance teams to collaborate more efficiently with AI.
- Enable collaborations between data scientists and accounting and finance teams to develop AI use cases that provide measurable value.
What role can Deloitte play?
Deloitte can advise finance and accounting teams in the OG&C sector as they navigate AI’s opportunities and challenges. We bring deep knowledge and experience in controls, data integrity, and independent governance for emerging technology—so you can build resilience for what’s next. Learn more in our report or on our Energy & Chemicals page—and request a readiness assessment or targeted advice from one of our leaders.