Key findings from the Finance Trends 2026: Navigating the expanded scope of finance report
Scenario planning and strong governance help leaders navigate uncertainty
Finance leaders today face many different operational and macroeconomic risks competing for priority ranking, led by economic uncertainty (26%) and followed closely by financial reporting (25%) and data privacy (24%). To manage continued uncertainty, leaders are strengthening advanced scenario planning (30%) and building more agile governance models to support faster decision-making (28%).
Finance strategy leaders are more likely to embrace AI and cloud
The scope of finance leadership is expanding, with finance leaders holding greater accountability for driving business outcomes. More than half (57%) of surveyed leaders play a lead role in shaping enterprise strategy — and they are scaling their impact differently than less influential peers. Strategy leaders are ahead in adopting cloud (48%) and AI (43%) to drive results, with many also reporting clear and measurable value driven by these investments.
Finance-driven cost management is delivering savings through AI
Forty two percent of CFOs surveyed own cost management, yet the results they drive are powerful. Among all finance leaders surveyed, 47% consistently report meeting their cost savings goals compared to 39% of their non-owning peers. Finance leaders who lead on identifying cost reduction opportunities are primarily doing so through AI (49%) and cloud infrastructure (51%).
The disconnect between AI adoption and ROI
While 63 % of surveyed finance leaders have fully deployed and actively use AI, only 21% report clear, measurable ROI. Early-stage adopters cite legacy technology (41%) and justifying ROI (30%) as major adoption barriers, while data privacy concerns are prominent for leaders in an advanced implementation stage (57%). Even though just 14% of respondents have fully integrated AI agents, agentic AI is seen as the next frontier, with top opportunities in sales and profitability management (48%), working capital optimization (46%) and expense management (44%).
Embedding data science into finance talent toolkits
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of finance leaders plan to infuse more technical skills — such as AI, automation and data analysis — into their teams over the next two years. With fewer professionals seeking CPA licenses and many others nearing retirement, leaders are using AI and automation (40%) and specialized training (39%) to bridge skills gaps. Non-traditional talent sourcing (35%) and insourcing from other departments (28%) are also rising.
For more information and to download a copy of the “Finance Trends 2026” report, click here.